>~iQw^%tk^^ 


\ \Y -OF- A  M: 


LIBRARY 

OF    THE. 

U  N  1  VERS  ITY 

OF    I  LLI  NOIS 


1  F»l 


073 


hISl.  SURVW 


ENCYCLOPEDIA 


OF 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS 


Volume 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  ENGRAVED  AND  ETCHED  PORTRAITS 


CHICAGO 
THE  CENTURY  PUBLISHING  AND  ENGRAVING  COMPANY 


Copvi 

ID  ]        .1    u  inc.  I  OMPAM 


■    llli    A.. I) 


jpUAA 


PREFACE. 


No  State  of  the  American  Union  can  boast  a  prouder  history  than  that  <>t 
Illinois.  After  the  original  thirteen  colonies  which  foughl  the  battles  of  Independence, 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Stat.-  of  Illinois  stands  first  in  the  interest  attaching 
t,.  her  history,  while  she  has  tremendously  surpassed  the  majority  of  them  in  the 
importance  of  the  position  she  holds  in  tin-  greal  republic,  and  in  the  magnitude  of 
the  work  which  her  sons  have  accomplished.  The  pioneers  who  at  the  commencement 
of  tlie  present  century  laid  the  foundations  of  this  State,  were  the  descendants  of  the 
men  who  established  the  American  Republic  and  framed  its  constitution.  They  broughl 
with  them  to  the  great  West  the  heritage  of  free  institutions  which  their  Revolu- 
tionary father-  had  secured.  Thej  brought  with  them,  above  all.  the  hardy  and 
robust  physical  constitution-,  the  sterling  characters  and  the  virtuous  habits  by  which 
thfiir  forefathers  had  made  the  desert  in  New  England  to  "blossom  as  the  rose." 
and  which  enabled  them  to  push  forward  the  boundaries  of  civilization:  to  endure 
the  severe  hardships  of  pioneer  lite:  to  I. rave  the  perils  of  warfare  with  the  savage 
Indian:  and  finally  to  rear  on  the  Western  prairie  a  sovereign  State,  which  has 
grown  to  he  the  third  in  the  Union  in  population,  and  i-  rapidly  reaching  the  third 
place  in  agricultural  and  manufacturing  wealth. 

The  lives  of  tli,-  men  who  have  built  up  this  great  State,  and  shaped  it-  history, 
_are  well  worthy  of  permanent  record.  The  State  of  Illinois,  and  especially  the 
fCity  of  Chicago,  owe  their  origin  and  their  present  greatness  to  a  .-la—  of  men  who  in 
ienergy,  enterprise,  ability  and  success  in  their  various  walk-  of  life  are  simpl]  the 
wonder  of  the  n<zv.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  present  the  history  of  these 
omen  as  completely  and  accurately  as  possible,  and  the  publishers  congratulate  them- 
o°  selves  on  being  able  to  place  before  the  public  the  story  of  their  careers,  accompanied, 
-except    in    a    few    instance-,    by    such    faithful    ami    excellent    portrait-. 

No    word-    are    necessary    to    -how    the    desirability    id'    a   standard    work   to   which 
Srthe  student   of    our    Western    history   can    turn    with fidence   for  the    fullest    biogra- 
phical    information    obtainable    respecting    the    founder-    of    this    State    and    city.      There 
°  have  been  other  works  heretofore  published   in  this  State,  purporting  to  he  biographical 
"encyclopaedias  of  it-  distinguished  citizens,    hut  none  of  them  seem  to  have  risen  above 
jgfthe    dignity    of    a    mere    directory    of    the-    State    and    its    principal    cities.       Besides    these 
■si  there    have     been    local    historic-,    and     books    of    a    special    cla-s.    limited    in    their    scope 
-j  to   the    members   of     one    particular    profession    or   business.       Hut    nothing    like  a    com- 
Iprehensive   biographical    encyclopaedia,    embracing    an    account    of    the    lives    of    all   the 
S  notable  men   of   our   State,    and   at    the   same   time    judiciously   selective   in    its   range   ol 
subjects,    ami    thoroughly    reliable    for    the    accuracy   of    its   statements,    ha-   ever    before 


~08S^ 


i,  PREFACE. 

been  attempted.  The  time  has  come  when  the  importance  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
seems  i..  demam]  thai  such  au  effort  I"-  made,  and  thi~  it  ban  been  the  purpose  ol 
the    publishers   of   tin-    present    work    t"   accomplish. 

In    the    preparatu I     this    work     the    publishers    have    kept     stead  ih     in     view 

throughout  a  purpose  i"  include  in  it  only  such  nun  m-  reallj  seem  entitled  i"  :>  place 
in  a  work  '>t'  this  kind.  The  selection  of  subject*  has  been  determined  bj  the 
personal  Worthiness  of  each  individual,  and  the  lesson  lo  be  learned  from  his  career. 
In  making  this  selection,  the  mosl  absolute  independence  of  judgment  ha-  been 
exercised.  The  guiding  principle  which  has  been  conscientiously  followed  throughout 
has  been  in  present  a  complete  anil  comprehensive  survey  "1'  the  lives  of  the  repre- 
sentative nun  of  the  Siaii.  whose  deeds  have  formed,  in  the  main,  her  history.  This 
work  i-  in'!  a  mere  record  of  individual  success,  for  we  an-  not  unmindful  "I'  the 
great  truth  thai  success  does  nol  ol  itself  make  a  lid-  exemplar}  :  but  stricl  regard 
has  been  paid  to  the  bearing  and  influence  which  each  man's  career  has  had  upon 
the  fortunes  of  the  State  or  of  the  citj  which  lie  has  helped  to  build  up;  and  no 
biography  will  be  found  in  these  pages  which  i-  inn  t"  some  extent  a  contribution 
in  tlir  history  of  tin-  State  itself  in  it-  growth  in  material  prosperity,  or  to  it- 
advancement  in  tin-  higher  art-  of  civilization.  While  we  have  exercised  an  indc 
pendent    judgmenl    in    the   selection    of    tin-   subjects   of    these   biographical  sketches,    we 

feel   i tidenl   that    tin-   public   will   sustain    us   in   that    judgment,   ami   in   the  selections 

we   have   made.      In  order   to  make  the   work   thoroughlj    reliable  for  reference  purposes, 

neither   time   nor   pain-    have    been    spared    in    verifying    ever}    qucsti I'   fad    relating 

in   tin-  careers  of   the   nun    whose   lives   air   here   written. 

Readers  familiar  with  tin-  historj  of  the  State  »ill  readily  discover  thai  the 
present  volume  does  not  contain  sketches  of  all  tin-  leading  men  of  tin-  commonwealth. 
There  air  many  distinguished  citizens,  some  who  have  passed  away,  ami  others  -till 
living,    whose    biographies    will    nut    be   found    in   this    volume.      It    was    tin-  original 

intention   of    the    publishers   in   • pletc   tin-   work    in  a   single    volume,    in    which   thej 

hoped   tn   include   sketches   of   all    thai    are  deserving  of   In rablc  mention   for   the   pari 

they  have  played  in  the  historj  of  the  State;  bul  thej  earlj  found  it  impracticable 
tn    incorporate    all     the    desirable    material    al     their    disposal     without     producing     an 

unsightly     an. I     iinuiehlly     I k.       Ii      ha-    therefore     been     determined     tn    issue    the 

"Encyclopaedia  of   Biograph)   of    fllinois"   in  two   volumes,  the  iir-t   of  which    we  now 

take    great     pleasure    in    presenting    i r  readers.      In    dividing    the   work    into   two 

volumes,  care  has  been  taken  that  the  biographies  in  each  -hall  he  <>(  equal  interest 
ami  importance;  ami  the  same  rule  **(  selection  ami  discrimination  will  he  applied  in 
the   preparation   of  the  second   that    we    trusl    will    he   recognized    in   the  first. 

While  we  believe  that  the  work  will  hear  the  eln-e-t  inspection  a-  tn  ii-  literarj 
character,  we  take  considerable  pride  in  calling  attention  tn  the  very  line  steel 
portraits  ami  etchings  with  which  it  i-  illustrated.  No  work  of  the  same  class  has 
ever   Keen    published    in   this  country  containing    engraved    portraits  of    such  excellence 

ami    artistic   finish   a-    will    he   f i.l    in    the    vol e    we    novi     place    before   the   public; 

at   lea-t.    if  any    such   exists,    it    ha-   nol    come    within   our  observation. 

Chicago,   April,   1892. 


CONTENTS. 


Acki  RMAN,  William   K. 
Adams,  <  Ieorge  E.  . 
Allen,  J.  Adams 
Allen,  Charles  L. 
A  1.1  i  rton,  Samuel  W. 
Anthony,  Elliott  . 
Armour,  Philip  I). 
Arnold.  Isaac  X.    . 
Avery,  Thomas  M. 
Ayer.  Benjamin  1". 
Baker,  William  T. 
I!ai     nil,  URI 

Beckwith.  Corydon     . 
Bisbee,  Lewis  H.    . 
Hi  vckstone,  Timothy  B. 
r.    ,i  i..  (  Ihadncey  B. 
Blair,  William 
Blodgett,  Henry  W. 

BoGI  I  .  I  rEORGl    M. 

I  !i  ii  1 1  in.  Nathaniel  S. 
1!i  iDLEY,  William  H. 
1 1 : .  i  isrti;,  Edward  L. 
I  ,  n.  John 
Bb  i  in,  Thom  IS  B.  . 
Burley,  Arthur  <i. 
Byfi  i  i  :  i  >.  William  H. 
Byford,  Henry  T. 
Cable,  Ransom  E.  . 

CHAPPELL,  I'll  LRLES    1  [. 
Cl  \kk.  John  M. 
i  i    ib,  Emory 

(  !i  ibb,  Silas  B. 
Coonlf.v.  John  C. 

Coi  NS1  I.MAN.  CH  \RLI.s 

Cowles,  Alfred 
Cri  rar,  John 

p\\  in.  David 
Davis,  I  [eorge  K.  . 
Davis,  Nathan  S. 
Deere,  Cb  isles  H. 
Dextf.r,  Wirt    . 
Doane,  John  W. 
Dole,  Charles  S. 


276 
265 
174 
315 
236 
375 
320 
36 
206 
58 
300 
283 
381 
373 
28 
80 
98 
386 
293 
•Jin 
382 
"J7-"> 
329 
103 
•Jul 
ITs 

:{."»7 

."iT 
343 
108 
21  I 
203 
338 

jh 

L56 
17 
9 
258 
352 
37J 
140 

246 

JJ7 


DUNLAP,  (  rEORGl      E 

Edwards,  Rich  ird 
Evans,  Henry  H.    . 

EWI.N'..  Adlai  T. 

Fairbank.  Nathaniel  K 
Parwf.ll.  John  V..  Sr. 
Peehan.  Patrick  A. 
Field.  Marshall 
Gage,  Lvma.n  J. 
Gammon.  Elijah  II. 
Gassette,  Norman  T 

(  rILLETT,  JOHN    D. 

Gilman,  John  E.     . 
Goodrich,  <  !r  int 
Goudy,  Willi  \m  (  '. 

John  S.  . 
Grannis,  W.  C  D.  . 
Gray,  Franklin  D. 

(  rRESB  \.M.  W  m   mi.    Q 
(  iROSS,  SaMUI  I      E. 
GuNN,  W 

Harvey,  Turling  ro»  W 
Hay.  Milton 
II I  I'r  \nm.in   II. 

Henderson,  Charles  M, 
i  i  in.  Charles 

Hi  brick,  John  J.    . 
Hibbard.  William  ( ;. 
Higgins,  Van  H. 
Higinbotham,  Harlow  N. 
Hitchcock,  (  !b  vrles 

HOWLAND,    GeORG] 

Hoyne,  Thomas 

Hi;. l>.  II  LRVE1     B. 

Hi  n  binson,  Charles 
[sham,  Edward  S. 

. .  I  !dward  T. 
Jf.yvi.tt.  John  X. 
Johnson,  Hosmer  A. 
Jones,  J.  Russell 
Jones,  Samuel  J.     . 
Kales,  Francis  H. 
Kent.  Sidney  A. 


363 
216 
319 

138 
199 
349 

14 

4s 
291 
310 

78 
369 
284 
304 
JUS 
280 
ji  6 
248 
212 
182 
171 
153 
143 
230 
297 
313 
102 

S9 
338 
187 
361 

61 
is:  i 
309 
145 
301 
Us 
134 

91 
355 
380 
324 


con  n  \  rs 


'       I   I   I  V  M     I  >. 
I 
KlMBAI   I  .    Wll  I   I  1M     W 

M, 

KlMBARK,  Sink.   \    I  ' 

KlNG,  HKNR\      \V. 

KlRKMAN,  M  kRSB  »L1      M. 

Km.  ki  rbcm  ht  i:.  .'."-mi  \  < ' 
■.  I'.i>»  in  ('. 

I    |    IRLES    B. 
I  .  -..will.  I'll  Mil  RS    W. 

Li  «  i~.  John  11. 

Loi   w.  Si  i  rm  s   '1'. 

Loom  is,  John  M.    . 

I  .  i.  9 

l.\  M  *\.   1>\\  111    B.      . 
M  vn         . '.!  .  1  IrOROB 

M  v-i.n.  Rosw  1 1  i.  B. 

\1  v-,>v    Willi  VM     K. 

Mi  dii  u  Joseph 

l.i  mi  r  I,. 
Clifton  H. 

Wll  1  1AM     11. 

Morrison,  Isaj     1 

M. 
v  B. 

-  11 

HICK,  Wll  1  .  ■ 

il. 

ES, 
\  son,  S        M. 

S  A'ni.ixM    P. 

JOHN   J.  P.    . 
kRD  J, 

-      JOHN     E. 

. 
W. 

K      . 
•V. 

S 

r. 

Wll  1.1  VM    1" 


133 

l'l  1  1  M  \N.  <  lEOROl    M.    . 

322 

Qt'lKBY,   [VORV 

272 

Ki  hi,  Norn  \n  l>. 

336 

III.  i.  .1  nil  -   11. 

335 

R               Hi.,  ii     . 

169 

Kin  i\.  Ki>\\  m;i>   P. 

i.;i 

UN     W.   . 

L10 

.  I  1  N       . 

- 

SCHNEIDER,  t  rEORGE 

112 

So      ,  James  W. 

.      290 

.1.M1N     M. 

237 

M  xri  in  W  rr. 

1 19 

Edwin  H. 

347 

Shorj  v.  Daniel  L. 

.      .S.-.7 

Short  mi  .  John  (1.       . 

267 

Mark 

105 

Sm  mi  .  Edward  A. 

L97 

Smith.  Charles  <i. 

.     218 

Smith.  David  S. 

34 

Smith,  t  it  OROE  W. 

127 

Smith.  Orson 

192 

Smith.  Pkkky  H.     . 

•-".".> 

3lDNXT     . 

..  Franklin  1". 

■JT7 

SPRAGCE,  Axbert  A.     . 

•J.-.4 

Stager,  Anson 

- 

Stukni  v.  Emx  \ri>  S.  . 

163 

Stone,  Melville  E. 

."►4 

Strawn,  Jacob    . 

- 

Stkeetkr.  John  W. 

.     239 

William  E. 

•J71 

St  John.  Evkrittk  . 

74 

Tokkkn.  i.  Joseph  T.   . 

278 

i  .       Lambert 

:c> 

John  B. 

- 

.  VoLVNTlNt     C. 

41 

Walter,  Joel  C. 

- 

kth,  John  . 

118 

William-.  Norm  xn 

130 

Willing.  Henri  -T. 

John  P. 

361 

.  Frederics  H.    . 

.".1 

■    Frederii  k  S 

•r.i 

IBK.RT 

Richard  . 

90 
L32 
243 
340 

- 

J-Jl 

•J."-: 

:>i 

194 

- 

69 

.».>o 

-".'7 

108 

342 

:;i 

97 

L80 

364 

67 

244 

263 
100 

•J7o 
-•> 

124 
316 

225 
::7i 
165 

39 

53 

253 

MS 
114 
159 
163 
109 
l-Jl 
! 
28 
:'.44 


UWVEfis 


J^TzUsl  d—j&zu.  ^/ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA 

OF 

BIOGEAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


DAVID  DAVIS. 

JUDGE  DAVID  DAVIS  was  bora  on  the  9th 
da)  of  March.  1815,  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland. 
His  family  was  of  Welsh  origin;  but  had  been 
settled  in  that  county  for  more  than  a  century, 
and  had  acquired  in  every  particular  the  distinct 
ive  features  of  American  nationality.  He  was 
unfortunate  in  the  loss  of  his  father  at  an  early 
age;  but  the  kindness  of  an  ancle  in  man)  ways 
atoned  in  some  measure  for  his  early  privation. 
His  father  left  sufficient  estate,  not  only  to  educate 
him  in  elassieal  acquirements,  but  enough  to  ena- 
ble him  to  live  beyond  the  apprehension  of  want. 
during  the  years  of  unproductive  life,  in  the  earl) 
career  of  manhood.  This  patrimony  was, through 
the  dishonesty  ami  negligence  of  hisguardian, 
lost  to  him.  Having  attended  the  local  schools  of 
Maryland,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  entered 
a  student  at  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  from  which 
he  graduated  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  Although 
he  had  no  special  talent  for  public  speaking,  his 
taste  and  inclination  directed  his  attention  to  the 
bar  as  the  business  of  life.  As  has  been  said,  he 
had  sufficient  means  to  enable  him  to  acquire  an 
education  and  profession.  He  was  not  borne 
down  by  the  privations  of  poverty,  nor  was  he 
enervated  by  the  expectation  of  hereditary  riches. 
The  lilies  had  fallen   to  him   in   the  golden    mean. 

between  want  and  wealth.    After  leaving  college 

he  went  to  Lenox.  Massachusetts,  and  read  law 
in  the  office  of  Judge  Henry  W.  Bishi  >p,  then  one  of 
the  leading  lawyers  of  .Massachusetts.  After  re- 
maining in  the  law  office  of  Judge  Bishop  about 
two  years,  he  attended  the  New  Haven  law  school 
for  one  year.     With  a  good  classical  education,  a 


course  of  reading  in  tin-  office  "t   Judge  Bishop, 

and  a  term  at  New  Haven,  he  was  fully  prepared 
to  enter  upon  the  responsible  and  arduous  duties 
of  a  practising  lawyer.  His  residence  in  Ohio, 
and  other  information,  impressed  on  his  mind  the 
magnitude  of  the  resources  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  especially  tin-  Northwest;  and  on  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  he  emigrated,  in  the  year 
IS.",."),  to  Illinois.  It  has  been  said:  "At  the  time 
he  sought  his  home  in  the  West  as  a  verj  young 
man.  he  traversed  the  breadth  of  nearly  five 
Stales,  then  in  comparative  infancy,  that  he 
might  grow  with  the  growth  and  strengthen  with 
the  strength  of  that  commonwealth,  which  has  so 
honored  him  by  its  confidence,  and  whose  history 
his  name  has  enriched  in  the  example  of  a  great 
character."  He  first  located  at  Peldn,  but  alter  a 
short  time,  in  1836,  he  removed  to  Bloomington, 
which  for  a  period  of  fifty  years  was  his  home. 
In  ls.'ls  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  W.Walker, 
daughter  of  Judge  Wm.  P.  Walker,  of  Lenox, 
Mass.  She  was  well  worthy  to  be  the  wife  of 
Judge  Davis,  and  shared  with  him  the  privations 
of  his  early  struggles  and  the  prosperity  of  his 
later  triumphs,  with  all  the  grace  ami  dignity  that 
is  born  of  the  beauty  of  goodness.  The  Judge,  on 
coming  to  the  years  of  responsible  life,  followed 
the  hereditary  tendency  of  his  family  in  politics 
and  became  an  ardent  Whig.  He  had  a  great 
admiration  for  Mr.  Clay,  which  amounted  to  an 
enthusiasm.  In  1840  he  was  the  Whig  candidate 
in  the  Bloomington  district  for  State  Senator;  bu1 
the  majority  being  largely  against  his  party,  he 
was  defeated  l.\  Gov.  John  Moore,  t hen  and  for 
many  years  after  one  of  the  most  popular  demo- 
crats of  the   state.     While  the  Judge    was   active 


io 


B KU'IIV    OP    ILLINOIS. 


in  politics,  he  did  not  permit  Ins  part]  to  inter- 
fere with  his  practice.  He  was  most  diligenl 
in  and  devoted  to  his  profession.  Shortly  after 
his  coming  to  the  bar,  he  was  offered  the  position 

<if  clerk  "f  the  court,  in  which  office   hi uld 

make  tour  tin ><-s  hii  om   bis  pracl icej 

hut  he  declined,  having  no  doubl  the  inspiration 
nf  tliiit  hope,  which,  in  the  end  "I  his  career, 
placed  liim  among  the  most  distinguished  jurists 
of  the  United  States.  Daniel  Webster  had  the 
Bame  experience  with  a  clerkship  in  the  coin 
i  eer  as  a  lawyer,  and  disposed 
or  it  in  the  same  way  much  to  the  disgust  and 
disappointment  of  his  father.  In  1844  Judge  I  in  \  is 
was  elected  to  the  Lower  Blouse  of  the  [Hit  i  I . 
islature,  and  distinguished  himself  by  the  clear- 
ness and  accuracy  of  liis  views  of  the  law,  and  his 

great  capacity  or  labor  in  the  i imittee  room. 

He  declined  a  renomination,  Although  pro 
aounced  in  his  political  opinions,  he  was  not  a  poli 
til-inn:  he  delighted  in  the  practice  or  the  law,  and 
the  acquirement  or  that  information  which  would 
enable  him  to  discharge  the  higher  functions  of 
judge.  During  the  time  of  ins  practice,  the  bar 
or  central  Illinois  was  very  able,  and  afterwards 
became  most  distinguished.  Among  the  promi- 
nent were  Mr.  Lincoln.  Judge  Logan,  Judge 
Douglas,  Col.  Baker  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
orators  or  his  day  Judge  Trumbull,  Major  Stuart, 
.Mr.  lirov  .  ad  Col.  Hardin.  It  would  be  un- 
true, and  therefore  unjust,  to  the  memory  of  Judge 
l>a\  is  to  rank  him  with  some  or  those  names  as  a 
practising  lawyer.  He  always  disclaimed  the  com 
parison,  and  an  honest  chronicler  should  disclaim 
it  Tor  him.  The  profession  of  the  law  had  to  him 
a  wiiler  range  than  the  ambition  of  the  barrister. 
Nature  had  made  him  a  judge  bj  the  same  mys- 
terious economy  that  it  had  made  other  advo 
eatis.  and  while  lie  was  not  to  wear  the  glory  of 
■  'i.  he  was  to  be  graced  by  the  beauty  i>r 

the  ermine.      While  at  the  bar,  he   had   a   judicial 

a  la  a  yer  marks  the 
high  mission  ami  duty  "T  the  truly  professional  in 

the  •  I J    Ol    BOCietj  .        In    1S|7    ]1(.  waS  elected   to 

the  constitutional  convention  which  framed  the 
constitution  of  1848,  and  he  bore  a  verj  important 
peciall)  in  work  providing  for  and  estale 
fishing  the  judicial  department.  During  his  pub 
lie  lire  as  a  legislator,  he  has  I i aspicuous  in 

his  efforts   to    remodel    and    improve    the    judicial 

machinery  of  both  the  state  and  c 

incuts.     I  ■  system  or  federal  appellate 

jurisdiction    is  modeled   on    the    plan    proposed  by 

him  when  a  member  or  the  Senate  of  the  United 


Slates,  and  which  passed  that  body  with  marked 
unanimity.  At  the  time  or  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution  of  lsps.  he  had  been  at  the  bar  about 

twelve  Mais,  and  during  that    time  had  mosl  dill 

gently  given  his  attention  to  the  practice,  ami  had 

impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the  bar  and  the  pen 
pi'  ol  central  Illinois  the  ract  that  he  was  most 
eminently  qualified  for  the  bench.  Ai  the  first 
election  ol'  judges,  without  opposition  he  was 
elected  in  a  circuit  composed  of  fourteen  counties, 
embracing  McLean  and  Sangamon.  At  the  time 
he  became  identified  with  the  bar  or  Illinois,  in 
1836,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  struggling  in  the  commence 
uient  ol'  that  career  which  not  only  made  him 
conspicuous  in    the    ranks   of    the    profession,  but 

i narked  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  history. 
Between  him  and  Judge  Davis,  from  their  first 
acquaintance  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  lire,  a 

most  cordial  intimacy  existed.      In  the  exercise  < >f 

thai  unerring  judgment  which  enabled  the  Judge 

lo  pass  upon  the  qualities  of  men.  he  discerned  in 
Mr.  Lincoln  intellectual  and  moral  attributes  of 
the  highest  ord.-r.    After  In-  became  judge,  Mr. 

Lincoln  continued  to  travel  the  circuit,  attending 
court   in  all    the   counties  of   the   circuit,  and  con 

tributing  by  his  learning  and  ability  to  the  admin 
istrati t  justice,  and  to  the  social  enjoyment  of 

life  by  a  humor  unsurpassed  in  the  richness  of  its 
merriment.  In  1848  the  soil  of  the  circuit  had  not 
been  broken  by  the  survey  of  a  railroad,  and  his 

duties  as  judge  required   him  to  hold  two  sessions 

of  th"  court  iii  each  year,  in  lour  teen  of  thi 

COUntiesof  the  state.  The  clearness  and  quick 
ness  of  his  intellect,  his  preparatory  education, 
both  literary  and  professional,  and  his  practice, 
had  fully  capacitated  him  to  discharge  with 
promptness  the  various  and  laborious  duties  of 
his  position.     In  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  judge 

he  has  had  I  nil  a  few  superiors  m  I  he  long  line  of 
judicial  ability  with  which  our  history  as  a  pi  ople 

has  I n  graced.    The  important  duty  of  a  judge 

is  not  nil  performed  in  the  statement  and  applica- 
tion of  the  just  principles  "f  the  law:  these  can 
he  gathered,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  from  vast 
storehouses  of  jurisprudence,  to  which,  in  England 
and   America,  the   nenl    judges  and   lawyers 

have  contributed:    but    to   ascertain    the   truth,  to 

eliminate  error,  and  to  adjust  the  rights  of  parties, 

on  the  Tads  as  they  really  exist,  is  the  exercise  of 
a  faculty  that  cannot  he  directed  1  ,\  adjudged 
cases.  The  preservation  of  estates,  and  the  pro 
tection  ol'  infants  against  the  incompetency  or 
dishonesty  of  guardians,  and  the  rapacity  of  un 
scrupulous  speculators,  marked  one  of  his  peculiar 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


r  I 


traits  as  a  circuit  judge.  His  faithfulness  in  be- 
half  of  the  trust  estate  of  wants  may  have  been 
strengthened  by  his  own  experience,  the  estate 
inherited  from  his  father  having  been  squandered 
by  an  unscrupulous  and  irresponsible  guardian. 
He  had  great  faith  in  the  ultimate  value  of 
Illinois  land,  and  it  required  a  very  urgent  neces- 
sity to  justify  the  sale  of  an  infant's  real  estate. 
His  administration  of  the  law  in  the  circuit  court 
was  most  eminently  satisfactory  to  the  people  and 
the  bar.  But  few  appeals  were  taken  from  his 
decisions,  and  his  dispatch  of  the  public  business 
was  a  marvel  of  efficiency  and  industry.  He  was 
a  natural  born  judge,  and,  while  he  was  not 
tyrannical,  he  forcibly  exercised  power  to  accom- 
plish the  ends  of  justice.  After  his  election  as 
judge  in  1848,  he  ceased  any  active  agency  in 
politics,  but  continued  his  adhesion  to  the  Whig 
party  until  its  disruption  after  the  disastrous 
campaign  of  1852.  Although  anti-slavery  in  his 
thought  and  feeling,  he  disliked  the  radical 
tendency  of  the  Abolitionists.  In  the  campaign  of 
1858  he  took  a  great  interest,  being  opposed  to  the 
repeal  of  the1  Missouri  Compromise,  and  a  I  rated 
friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Judge 
Douglas  had  been  the  great  champions  of  the 
Whig  and  Democratic  parties,  and,  aside  from 
Judge  Davis'  personal  attachment  to  Mr.  Lincoln, 
he  was  interested  in  him  as  the  great  leader  of  the 
opposition  to  the  Democratic  party.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
though  defeated  for  Senator,  laid  the  foundation 
in  1858  for  his  election  to  the  Presidency.  Upon 
his  great  success  in  the  joint  debates  of  1858, 
Judge  Davis,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  personal  friends  in  Illinois,  enlarged  the 
boundaries  of  his  ambition,  and  from  that  time  he 
was  an  avowed  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  In 
that  candidacy  Judge  Davis  took  a  lively  interest 
and  bore  a  most  distinguished  part.  He  thought 
that  the1  aspirations  of  his  most  intimate  friend 
for  the  highest  office  in  the  land  justified  his  par- 
ticipation in  politics.  The  national  convention  of 
the  Republicans  met  in  Chicago  on  the  16th  day 
of  May,  I860,  and  to  that  convention  he  was  one 
of  th  delegates  at  large.  He  was  so  much  devoted 
to  the  interest  of  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  could  not 
absent  himself  from  the  convention,  and  besides, 
it  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  personal  desire  that  he  should 
attend.  This  was  the  first  great  convention  held 
bj  the  Republican  party,  and  had  before  it  as 
candidates  the  most  distinguished  statesmen  of 
that  party  and  of  its  delegates,  the  ablest  mem- 
bers and  the  must  accomplished  politicians, 
.ludge    Davis,   from   the    commencement    to   the 


dose,  was  recognized  as  the  leader  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's forces,  and  without  his  agency  in  that  con- 
vention it  maybe  doubted  whether  he  would  have 
received  the  nomination.  In  his  adhesion  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  he  was  not  actuated  by  his  personal 
friendship,  but  by  an  abiding  faith  in  the  ability 
and  integrity  of  the  man.  While  he  had  no  appre- 
hension that  the  election  of  a  Republican  as 
President  would  involve  the  country  in  a  war,  he 
thought  that  the  grave  responsibility  that  would 
fall  upon  the  choice  of  that  party  would  require 
ability  of  the  highest  order  and  patriotism  of  the 
most  heroic  mold.  He  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
campaign  which  followed  the  nomination,  but  did 
not  participate  m  it  as  an  active  politician  He 
continued  to  hold  the  circuit  court  uninterrupt- 
edly until  the  autumn  of  ISO:!.  During  the  first 
year  of  the  war  the  Department  of  the  Missouri, 
through  the  inefficient  administration  of  the 
quartermaster,  became  a  chaos  of  confusion,  with 
millions  of  money  contracted  and  claimed,  with 
honest  demands  delayed  and  dishonest  claims 
pressed  for  payment.  The  President,  to  relieve 
the  embarrassment  of  the  situation,  appointed  a 
commission  consisting  of  Judge  Davis.  (Jen.  Holt 
and  Mr.  Campbell,  of  St.  Louis,  to  investigate 
and  pass  judgment  upon  the  rights  of  the  parties. 
It  was  an  immense  work  of  investigation,  and  re- 
quired  the  highest  grade  of  talent  to  bring  order 
and  justice  out  of  the  confusion.  The  three  men 
as  a  combination  had  the  best  quality  of  ability 
for  the  task— Judge  Davis  and  Gen.  Holt  being 
eminent  lawyers,  and  Mr.  Campbell  being  one  of 
the  most  experienced  merchants  of  St.  Louis. 
The  findings  and  reports  of  that  commission  have 
been  quoted  by  the  highest  courts  of  the  land, 
and  the  result  accomplished  by  it  is  an  enduring 
compliment  to  the  integrity  and  capacity  of  the 
men  who  composed  it.  Duringthefourteen 
which  Judge  Davis  presided  in  the  Circuit  Court 
of  Illinois,  the  popular  estimate  which  the  bar 
and  the  people  had  made  of  his  ability  to  perform 
the  duties  was  justified  beyond  the  most  sanguine 
expectations  of  his  friends,  so  that  when  a  vacancy 
occurred  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  in  the  circuit  including  the  State  of 
Illinois,  he  was  recognized  by  the  bar  as  the  per- 
son to  be  appointed  to  that  responsible  position. 
The  President  had  an  acquaintance  with  all  the 
prominent  lawyers  of  the  circuit,  and  had  the 
most  intimate  knowledge  of  the  ability  of  Judge 
Davis,  and  into  his  hands,  by  the  Constitution, 
was  committed  the  power  and  duty  of  selecting 
from  those  lawyers  a   lit  justice  for  the  most  im- 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


portal 

quality  "f  V. 
a  pub 

•.■I   it 

_;ird  for  the 
lit  ion    of     the     country 
pron  :  °t   the  just: 

of   f  nit   bench  of  Illi- 

-   - 
to  the  higher  jurisdiction  of  the  National  Judi- 
ciary.   He  had  not 

.  of  judicial  thought  required  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  wi  "thoroughly 

studied  the  law  in  all 
features  of  it?  administration.     At  the  tii: 

le  ;i  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  it  was 
■  •.■mi  .f  the  ablest  judges  of  it?  • 

. .     The  promotion    was   well   calculate 
embarrass  him  with  grave  apprehensions  of  his 
— .  f'.r  while  he  was  brave  ami  f>-arl<-?s  when 
boldness  was  a  virtue,  he  had  a  modest  apprecia- 
tion of  hi?  own  ability.     His  opinions  when  delib- 
ugh  firm,  while  in  the  process 
of  development  were  susceptible  t"  everj 
mate  and  logical  influence.     At   the   time   hi 
came   a    member  of   the   Supreme   Court   many 
questions  of  importance  were  pending    questions 
I  property,  not  of  individual  reputation.  but 
great  questions  of   international   and   public  law. 
stions  of  civil  liberty— not  in  the  interpretation 
;  .11 1  in  the  construction  of  the  coi 
tion  of  the  United   States      H  -        inently 

rvative  in  the  tendency  of  his  mind  and 
judgment;  and  while  he  did  not  coincide  with 
many  of  tin-  the.  "utional    construc- 

tion in  favor  of  a   strong  g  ieved 

in  the  sovereignty  of  th»-   Federal   power,  in   the 
execution  of  such   laws   as   it    might 
•hiii  the  purview  of  the  consti- 
tution,    II    ■     ieved  in  that  theory  of  the  consti- 
tution which  recognized  the  Union,  not  as  a  mere 

inent 
formed    upon    tl  .  anil 

-If  and  the 
citizen.     In  the  discharge  of  his   new   dutj 
.Ju^ 

his  brethren  of  tin-  bench  with  his  superior 
judicial  qualifications,  and  he  wrote  but  few 
opinions  until  the  American  bar  was  satisfied  that 
the  President  made  no  mistake  in  his  selection  of 
ajudg  "1  of  the  war   was   remarkably 


prolific  in  forcing  upon    the  of   all 

departmi 

legal  inquiry.    The  financial    policy   of   0 

eminent,  I 

tl    liberty,   military 

--  of  fifty 
millions  of  people,  both  of  peace  and  war.  were 
the  subject  matter  of  jurisdiction   from 

the  most   important  case?  of  the 
I»-ri'«l  was 

great  public  interest  and  provoked  much  jnipular 
The  matter  at  isE  |ue«tion 

of  individual  liberty,  and  the    power   of   ' 
ernment  in  time  of  war.  made  it  ,,ne  of  tl 
historical    cases,    ranking     in     importance   with 
Marbury  vs.  Madison,  and  the  Dartmout: 

I    iigan.  and   an 
examination  of  it  will  justify  the  resolution  of  the 

1  '-junty  bar  "That  we  do  n 
appreciate,  as  fine  specimens  of  judicial  sr 
his  opinions  which  embrace  a  discussion  of  the 
genius  and  mold  of  the  American  government, 
rthy  of  a  place 
among  the  great  judicial  interpretations  of  the 
American  Constitution."  The  leading  thoughts 
of  the  decision  are:  "The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  is  a  law  for  rulers  and  people 
equally  in  war  and  in  peace,  and  covers  with  the 
shield  of  its  protection  all  classes  of  men.  and  at 

and  under  all  circumstai 
ernment    within    the   Constitution,   has    all   the 
.-anted  to  it.  which  are  necessary  to   pre- 
serve it-  ias  been  happily  proved  by 
rthrow  it."     It 
will  be  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  rej 
taining  his  opinions,  that   he   fearlessly   followed 
the  dictates  of  an  honest  judg 
what  might  be  the   prejudii  of   the 
hour,  and  whether  his  reason  was  i 

•  if  the  line  of  popular  clamor,  he  followed 
•f  his  com 
the  war  many  Supreme 

Court  involving  the  constitutionality  of 
tender  acts.     In  the  case  of  Hepburn  vs.1  I 
a  majority  of  the  Court  held  that  "There  is  in  the 
constituti  gislative  i»iwcr 

to  make  any  description  of  credit  currem 
tender  in  payment  of  debt."  I    of   this 

decision  was  to  invalidate   by   judicial   judgment 
oneof  tin-  most  important  ai  I  rnment. 

in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  and  to  disturb  the 
s  of  the  country,  by  making  nothing  but 
coin  applicable  to  the  payment  of  debts  contracted 
before  tl  grese  provid- 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLLN"Or>. 


T  3 


ins    for   the   issue   of  Treasury   i 

_      Davis   wit  _      -      yne  and 

Miller  dissented.     In  a  short  time,  after   the   pro- 
mulgation of  this   decision,   other   cases   reached 
■■me  Court,  involving  the  same   question, 
and  in  what  is  known  as  th-         _ 
the  Court  reversed  the  -  if   Hepburn    vs. 

i  by  holding  "The  acts  _    !ss  known 

as  the  L  s  Lets  -"itutional  when 

their    passage 
and  are  also  applicabl 
The  last  decision  was  mad- 

g  'vith  the  in; 
gress  had  the  power  to  pass  the  [eg 

vand   of 
is  has   marked   with   beautiful   accuracy 
the  perf'  _  -      .:  know  noth;    _ 

the  parties:  everything 

"hing   for   justice:  nothing  for    himself: 
nothing  for  his  patrons:  nothing  f<  "      -  - 

side  is  I  : ..  .wer  and   the 

legislature    and   the   people — the    soar 

honors.  I       \         -       his  daily  bread — and  on   the 

'•-an  individual,  nameless  and  odious,  his 

oor   small,   attending 

"Give." 

says  Mr.  Choate,  "to  the  community  such  a  juilge 
and  I  care  little  who  makes  the  rest  of  tl 
tution.  or  what  party  administers  it.     It 

high   though  it 
_     Davis  attained.     Although  he   had   not 
participated  in    politi   - 

I860,  in  January,  1872.  the  Labor  Reform  party 
nominated  him  for  the  Presidency.  Owi 
dissatisfaction  in  the  Republican  party  the  liberal 
movement  was  inaugurate!  in  the  early  part  of 
l*~i  which  culminated  in  a  convention  in  May: 
D  his  name  was  submitted 
as  a    candidate.     Illinois    was    divided 

S  nator  Trumbull,   which  de- 
stroyed   the   chances    of   both.     "1 

in   the   majority,   but 

rion  held   in   Illinois. 

-  'li  vision 

m.     The  result  of   the  convention 

was    the    nomination    of    Mr.    Greeley   and    the 

memorable  campaign  of  1S72.     In  the  elc 

1876,  in  Illinois  neitherof  the  great  parties 

a  majority  of  the  legislature,  and   the   balance  of 

Independent   party. 

which  nominated  Judge  Davis  as  its  candidate  for 

the  Unit-       3  -  ral   Logan   was 

the  nominee  for  the  Republican  party  and  various 

persons  were  supported  by  the  Democracy.    After 


test  lasting  -  January   until 

f  March,  the  Democracy  united  with 
the  Independents  and  elected  the  Judge  a  senator 
from  the  1th  of  '  1877      The  honor   was  un- 

solicited on  his  part,  and  no  effort  was  made  by 
him  to  influeni      I  the  legis    *ure.    He 

did  not  exchang  Senate   be- 

cause he  preferred  the  dignity  and  duty  of  the 
latter:  but  because  the  Legislature  tendered  him 
the  place,  and  under  all  the  circumstances  he 
did  not  r  ■         cline.     His  c-areer  as 

mmenced  in  1848 

twenty-nine 

at,  his  brethren 

of  the  bench  left  upon  the  records  of  the  court  an 

enduring  memorial  of  his  many  virtues  as  shown 

•  >n  the  5th  of  March.  1-77.  he 

his  brethren  of  the  court:  "My  official 

connection  with  the  Suprem 

States        -   -  .  1  all  the  years 

of  my  active  life  at  th  nch,  it  is 

not  without  serious  misg  ter  upon 

.ere  of  put  . 
felt  at   liberty  to   decline   a    seat   in  the  Senate, 
with  which  I  have   been   hoi  General 

Assembly  of  th     - 

the  relations  which   I  en  us  for 

so  many  years.  !  to  beat   my  testimony 

to   the  eminent    learning,   ability   and    integrity 
which  have   characterized    your  judicial   labors. 
From  the  organization  of  the  Governs 
Supreme  Court  has  i  able  and 

upright  judges.     In  my  jr.  [g  -   now  as 

worthy  of  the  confides  merican  people 

as  it  ever  has  been  at   any  period  of  its 
Since  I  was  it  President 

Lincoln,  six  of  een   numbered 

with  the  dead.     I   take  great  satisfaction  in  the 
,  that  my  relations  with  them,  and  all  my 
uniformly  kind  and  cordial. 
In  offering  you  my  parting  salutations.  I 
ssured   of   the   respect  and   sine, 
ith   which   I   remain    your    friend   and 
servant.'"     To  which  the  court    by  letter  replied: 
-We  have  received  with  sine-  _  ax  letter 

announcing  that  your  officia  with  us 

_  fifteen  years  in  which  you 

have  been  a  member  of  this  court,  questions  of  the 
iaracter  have  come  before  it  for  adjudi- 
cation,  and  you  have  borne  your  full  share  of  the 
labor  and  responsibility  which  their  decision  in- 
ference- 
room,  your  wise  judgment  and  your  just  a] 
tion  of  facts;  in  the  reception-room,  your  kind 


1 1 


i;iot;i;.\nn    OP    ILLINOIS. 


and  courteous  greetings.  With  the  li"i"'  that 
your  life  in  the  future  maj  I"-  as  useful  as  it  luis 
been  in  the  past,  and  that  the  ties  of  personal 
friendship  «  hich  now   bind  j  i"  you 

may  never  !»•  broken,  we  Bub 

your  friends."  While  he  had  but  little 
legislative  experience  when  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Senate,  he  at  i  position  among 

rs  of  that  distinguished  body,  Berving  on 
the  judiciary  committee  with  Edmunds,  Conkling, 
Thurman,  Garland,  Carpenter  and  other  great 
lawyers  of  the  American  Senate.  1"  November, 
1879,  less  than  two  years  after  his  election,  Mrs. 
Davis,  who  had  been  in  delicate  health  for  some 
time,  died  at  her  old  home  in  Massachusetts,  leaving 
after  her  the  memory  of  many  ;icis  of  kii 
alleviatin  ,  both  in  Wash- 

ington and  the  city  in  which  she  li 
half  a  century.  Judge  Davie  served  as  acting 
tor  nearly  two  years,  and  with  but 
little  experience  in  the  technical  knowledge  of 
parliamentary  law  he  decided  every  question  that 
came  before  the  Senate  without  submission,  and 
never  was  reversed  by  the  action  of  the  Senate.  In 
the  Senate,  as  in  everj  other  situation, 
manded  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  associates, 
and  retired  from  that  body  at  the  end  of  his  term 
comfort  of  private  life.  As  a 
member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  he  performed 
faithful  service  in  shaping  the  legislatioi 
gress  during  the  entire  term  of  Ins  office.  In 
March,  1883,  upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  as 
Senator,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Adeline  Burr,  of 
Payetteville,  N.  ('..  a  lady  of  man]   accomplish- 

:    '      "        EOl 

social  position  which  ;  as  the  wife  of 

Judge     Davis.      After     liis    retirement    from      the 

Senate  he  devoted  his  attention   to  private  busi- 
ness, which,  on  account  of  his  extensive  property, 
ixacting.    As   he  approached   the 

.   'Iltv  the  vigor  of    his    CO] 

the  vivacity  of  his  spirits  became  much  impaired 
:    i  if  disease,  and  on  the  26th 

L886,  after  an    illness  of   several    months. 

1  the  mysterious  change  of  death.  At 
the    time   of    his  decease,     i  red    from 

public  life,  men  of  all  creeds  and  of  all  parties 
anxiously  hoped  [or  his  restoration  to    health  and 

public  man  he  filled  no  ordinary  space 
in  the  affections  of  the  people,  and  in  the  appre 
ciation  of  personal  friendship  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  a   land   made   better  and 

happier  by   the  g Inesa   and  greatness  of  his 

character.     He    left     surviving    as   children.    Mr. 


;  D 

perpetuate  the  worth  of  a  life  rich  in  the  goodness 

of    duty    performed.     Nature   and   education    hail 
stamped  upon  him    every    lineament    of   gentility. 

wealthy,  fortune  making  was  not 

a  passion  of  his  life.     He    loved    thrift,    independ 

ence    and   possession;  hut    mere   wealth   had   no 

allurements  for  him.     He  served    thi    State  as  a 

judge  at  a  nominal  salary,  to  the  great  sacrilice  of 

'-.    and    his    whole    life    was 

public  service,  to  the  detriment  of 

his  private  fortune.     Mis  lite  was  a   success,   not 

i  ved.    He    approached    the 

i  fortune  and  fame,  and  placed  In 

every  round  on  which  he  stood  as  the   re 

his  own  labor  and  merit.    If  he   had  opportunity, 

he  created  it:  if  he  had  sue.-  .   .1  it:  if 

he  had  victory,  he  won  it.    He  produced  the  con 

if  his  own  advancement,     lie  filled   three 

d  ten  years  with   g Iness  and   crowned 

them  with  greatness.     He  commanded  thi 
of  his  fellow-citizens  of  all  sections   and  of  all 
parties,  and.   in   the   languai  Kelley, 

••11"  is  so  well  know  n  t ■  -  i  lie  country  by  his  career 
as  an  indi  |     adi  at  Senator  and  a  learned  and  con 

scientious  justi E  the   Supreme  Court  of  the 

United  stale-." 


MARSHALL    FIKLD. 
It  often  happens  thai  the  most  valuable  guides 

w  hich  example  furnishes  in  the  rush  of  Ni 

Centurj  life  arc  available  only  in  circles  limited 
bj  personal  association.  It  is  true,  furthermore, 
that  the  qualities  mostworthyof  emulation  are 
usually  combined,  in  a  successful  man.  with  a 
shrinking  from  personal  fame  or  notoriety,  which 
discourages  even  friendly  attempts  to  uncover  the 
1  success  in  an  honorable  career.    This  is 

one    of    the    marked    characti  Marshall 

Field.    The  career  ol  nogreal  leader  in  commer 
cial  affairs    furnishes   an    example  of  the  wise 
application  of  sound  principles  and  safe  consers 
itriking  as  does  that  of  Mr.  Field.    'The 

story  of  his  success  is  short  and  simple.  It  c..i: 
tains  no  exciting  chapters,  hut  in  its  very  dullness 
lies  one  of  the  most  valuable  secrets  of  the  almost 
boundless  prosperity  which  it  records.  But  the 
career  of  a  man  who,  starting  with  no  capital 
save  brains  and  energy,  accumulates  many  mil- 

i  builds  up  the  greatest    mercantile  house 

in  the  world,  is  pregnant  with  interest,  no  matter 


UNIVERSITY  of 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


15 


tow  lacking  it  may  be  in  dramatic  action.  Its 
most  encouraging  feature,  indeed,  is  the  fact  that 
it  contains  nothing  extraordinary,  that  there  is 
nothing  in  it  which  any  man  with  the  same 
natural  equipment  may  not  hope  to  accomplish. 
The  secret  of  Mr.  Field's  success  lies  partly  in  his 
business  methods  and  partly  in  his  environments. 
The  ordinary  biographical  features  of  his  career 
may  almost  be  described  in  a  paragraph.  Marshall 
Field  was  born  in  1835,  at  Conway,  in  western 
'msetts.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  the 
son's  early  experience  was  similar  to  that  of 
thousands  of  other  boys  born  on  Xew  England 
farms.  He  received  a  fair  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools,  and  afterwards  in  the  local  academj 
at  Conway,  but  as  his  tastes  tended  towards  a 
mercantile  calling,  he  made  no  particular  effort 
tosi  cure  a  collegiate  education.  He  went  to  Pitts- 
field.  Mass.,  when  se>  old,  and  began 
his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  a  general  country- 
store.  In  four  years  he  had  not  only  mastered 
the  details  of  the  business  so  far  as  it  was  to  be 
learned  in  that  town,  but  his  ambition  felt  the 
contraction  of  his  surroundings,  and  he  looked 
about  for  a  broader  field.  Chicago  was  at  that 
time  a  city  of  50,000  or  60,000  people,  and  was  just 
beginning  to  attract  attention  in  the  business 
world.  There  was  no  guarantee  that  it  v 
to  be  a  great  city;  in  fact;  St.  Louis  greatly  ex- 
celled it  not  only  in  material  prosperity,  but  in 
future  prospects.  But  there  was  an  energy  ami 
pluck  discernible  even  then  in  Chicago,  which,  to 
shrewd  men.  betokened  success,  and  in  : 
Field  became  one  of  the  residents  of  the  young 
city.  He  was  at  that  time  just  twenty-one  years 
old.  ami  full  of  desire  for  advancement.  His  hist 
employment  was  as  clerk  in  the  wholesale  dry  g  iods 
1  Cooley,  Wadswocth  A:  Co.,  soon  there- 
after known  as  Cooley,  Farwell  A-  Co.  His  only 
equipment  was  rugged  health,  untiring  energy. 
sound  business  principles  and  great  ability. 
Young  linn  of  this  character  were  no  more  plenti- 
ful in  those  days  than  they  are  now.  and  Mr. 
Field's  employers  were  not  long  in  finding 
worth.  He  served  as  a  clerk  only  Eour  yi  ars,  bi 
ing  taken  into  the  firm  as  a  partner  in  1800.  This 
house  was  even  then  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
West,  and  the  young  man  who  had  entered  it  in  a 
humble  capacity  in  1856  was  honored  a  few  years 
later  by  having  the  firm  name  changed  to  Farwell. 
Field  &  Co.  In  1865  the  firm  dissolved  partner- 
ship, Mr.  Field  and  Mr.L.  Z.  Leiter  associating 
themselves  with  Potter  Palmer  forming  the 
firm    of    Field.    Palmer  &    Leiter.   which  contin- 


ued until  1S67.  In  that  year  Potter  Palmer 
withdrew,  and  the  firm  became  Field.  Leiter 
A'  Co..  which  remained  until  1881,  when  Mr. 
Leiter  retired,  and  the  firm  became  Marshall 
Field  A:  Co..  which  is  the  present  title.  The  suc- 
his  great  mercantile  establishment  has 
been  phenomenal;  its  evolution  from  modest  pro- 
portions to  a  rivalr.  with  any  similar  house  in  the 
world  is  alike  the  wonder  and  pridi  of  business 
men  everywhere.  The  only  serious  setback  the 
firm  ever  received  was  in  the  great  fire  of  1871, 
when  its  entire  business  at  State  and  Washington 
Streets,  to  which  location  they  had  moved  in  1868, 
was  destroyed,  entailing  a  loss  of  13,500,000.  Of 
this,  82,500,000  was  eventually  n  covered  from  the 
insurance  companies,  but  it  was  only  after  a  great 
delay  and  much  annoyance.  With  a  dead  loss  of 
111  to  face,  however,  the  characteristic 
energy  of  the  firm  did  not  flag.  While  the  fire- 
men were  still  at  work  on  tin  ruins,  temporary 
quarters  were  taken  at  State  and  Twentieth 
Streets,  and  rebuilding  on  the  old  site  was  begun. 
The  business  was  divided  in  1872,  the  wholesale 
part  being  located  at  Madison  and  Market  Streets, 
while  the  retail  department  was  opened  in  the 
handsome  new  building  at  State  and  Washington 
where  it  is  still  conducted.  The  rapid 
growth  of  the  business  made  the  wholesale  quar- 
ters too  small  in  less  than  twelve  years,  and  in 
1885  the  foundations  were  laid  for  the  mammoth 
structure  which  occupies  the  entire  block  bounded 
by  Adams,  Franklin  and  Quincy  Streets  and 
Fifth  Avenue.  It  was  completed  in  1887,  and  is 
considered  the  most  complete  building  of  its 
kind  in  the  world.  The  business  thai  is  trans- 
acted  under   its   roof   is  enormous.     The    trade  of 

the  firm  reaches  to  the  Pacific  Coast  on  the  west 

and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south,  and  aggre- 
gates 835,000,000  a  year.  Twenty  years  ago  the 
members  of  the  firm  thought  themselves  prosper- 
ous on  a  yearly  trade  of  $8,000,000.  This  amazing 
growth  is.  to  a  huge  extent,  due  to  Mr.  Field's 
business  methods.  He  has  a  specific  course,  from 
which  he  never  deviates.  It  is  said  of  him  that 
lie  never  gives  a  note,  never  borrows  money,  does 
business  on  a  cash  basis,  buys  entirely  f< 
and  sells  on  shorter  time  than  any  of  his  coin 
petitors,  and  holds  all  his  customers  to  a  strict 
1.  nt  of  their  contracts.  In  the  latter 
rule  lie  is  unyielding  -many  claim  relentless— 
but  tin-  effect  is  salutary,  and  has  left  its  beneficial 
impress  on  the  trade  of  the  entire  West.  The 
customers  of  Marshall  Field  &  Co.  are  numbered 
by   thousands.     All   of   them  know    that    prompt 


i6 


BIOGRAPITi     OP    ILLINOIS. 


payment  of  their  thirty  or  aixt)  da)  bills  will  be 
insisted  upon,  and  the  result   ie  i akethemin 

i  ni  ;ii.,, Hi  running  bad  accounts  and  to 
keep  their  collections  up  close,  The  Bystera  tends 
to  prevent  the  embarrassment  and  failure  of 
Bmall  merchants,  and  also  gives  to  Marshall 
Field  &  Co.  the  best  class  or  trade.  Further 
than  this,  it  enables  the  Brm  to  bi  II  its  goods  on  a 
closer  margin  "f  profit,  for  no  bad  debts  arc  made, 
an, I  consequently ,  no  pai  >  can  affect  it.  Many 
merchants  of  less  resource  than  Mr.  Field  would 
find  it  impossible  to  do  businesson  this  basis,  but 
In-  has  made  a  success  of  it.  and  in  this  is  its  bi  -t 
endorsement.  Beyond  all  this,  there  is  another 
safeguard  in  the  ran  that  Mr.  Field  never  Bpecu 

tocks  or  securities.  He  is  among  the 
largest  individual  holders  in  the  West,  ol 

i  and  steel  and  iron  works  stock,  but  be 
ire  outright  and  changes  in 
their  market  value  do  not  affect  him.  He  follows 
the  same  principle  in  his  real  estate  transactions, 
and  is  now  the  owner  of  over  .sio.hiiii.ikhi  worth  of 
real  estate,  on  which  he  never  puts  a  mortgage. 
One  rare  trait  Mr.  Field  has,  which  has  enabled 
him  to  take  the  fullest  advantage  of  his  business 
opportunities.  Hi  has  an  almost  instinctive 
power  to  correctly  estimate  individual  capacity. 
He  is  quick  and  Bure  in  recognizing  business 
talent  among  his  employees.  His  selections  of 
men  always  prove  them  to  be  especially  adapted 
to  the  duties  assigned  them.  It  follows  that  in 
order  to  exercise  his  rare  judgment  of  men  to  the 
best  advantage,  Mr.  Field  must  be  closel)  associa 

ted  with  his  great  arm)  of  employers,  lie  has  no 
less  than    3,500    persons    upon    his    pa)     roll.     No 

empli  iyer  in  <  ihicago  commands  more  loyal  service 
or  inspires  a  stronger  personal  regard,  in  many 
eases  amounting  to  genuine  affection,  than  exists 
among  the  employees  of  Marshall  Field.  There 
cash  hoy  in  his  meat  store  who  cannot 
gain  Mr.  Field'  at  tention  at  any  time. 

He  is  on  all  occasions,  as  considerate  of  the  feel 
ates,  as  of  t  hose  of  bis  equals. 
While  his  great  corps  of  employees  is  thoroughl) 
disciplined,  they  are  t  real,,  I  as  men  and  women  of 
refinement.  In  fact,  Mr.  Field  is  regarded  b) 
them  as  an  ideal  employer,  and  there  are   few,  far 

too  few.  men  in  a  similar  situation,  who    can  com 

mand  such  voluntary  tribute  from  those  most 
likel)  to  know  their  i, on  I  lie   stranger  who 

meets  Mr.  Pit  hi  tor  the  first  lime,  is   instantly   at 

his  ease,  confident  that  he  is  in  the  prese oi    e 

man   w  b  him    honest    atti  nti 

whose  word  of  promise  needs  no  bond   to  insure 


its  fulfillment.    It    is  these   characteristics  that 

have  won  ami  held  for  him  the  honor    anil  esteem 

of  i  hoiisancls  of  people.  I  u  it  h  in  business  and  social 
life,  and  backed  b)  his  energ)  and  abilit)  made  it 
possible  for  him  to  win  fame  and  fortune  in  the 
marts  of  trade.  No  man  possesses  or  deserves  in 
higher  degree  the  honor  and  esteem  or  his  friends 
than  does  Marshall  Field.    No  active  figure  in  this 

busy  nineteenth  century  ci\  ili/.ation.  offers  a  truer 

type  of  maul <1   and   intelligent    successful   en 

deavor.  I  M  Mr.  Field's  social  life,  little  need  be 
said.  His  tastes  are  extremel)  modest.  He  lives 
in  quiet  luxury,  without  trace  of  ostentation  or 
display.  He  goes  little  into  societ)  and  has 
Di  ,.,.,  been  in  public  life.  Mr.  Field  has  givi  d 
large  sums  for  worthy  charitable  purposes,  but 
always  in  a  quiet  way.  He  will  not  allow  his 
name  to  he  used  in  a  promiscuous  manner,  but 
when  his  careful  investigat ■  havi  satisfied  him 

that  the  object  ism lonc.no    man    excels    him 

in  efforts  for  its  pri tion.     When   the   building 

tor  the  new  Baptist  University  became  an  assured 
fact  through  the  generous  benevolence  of  Mr. 
Rockefeller,  and  the  members  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  Mr.  Field  made  the  trustees  the  magnifi- 
cent donation  of  a  tract  of  valuable  land  in  one  of 
the  best  sections  of  the  city.  The  gift  was  espe- 
ciall)  liberal,  as  Mr.  Field  is  not  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  but  belongs  to  the    Presbyterian 

.leu ination.     There     is    no    man    who    takes    a 

warmer  interest  in  the  good  name  of  Chicago,  or 

who  strives  more  earnest  1\   to  secure  tor  the    city, 

a  clean  and  competent  government,  and  yet  be  is 
in  no  sense  a  politician.  While  he  is  a  leader  in 
ever)  movement  for  real  reform  in  political 
methods,  he  is  never  seen  at   political   gatherings, 

and  In-  will  not  even  allow  his  name  to  be  used  in 

connection  with  them.  But,  despite  this,  his 
heart)  support  is  always  enlisted  and  many  men 
who  get  credit  for  bright  ideas  and  liberal  dona 
tionsin  behalf  of  municipal  reform,  an-  indebted 

for    their    fame    to    Marshall     Field.      The    visitor 

calling  at  Mr.  Field's  unpretentious  office,  finds 
seated  at  the  desk,  a  man  of  rather  span-  figure 
ami  medium  height.  When  he  looks  up.  the  face 
iskimlly    anil    the    clear    gray    eyes    under  bushy 

brows,  while  keenly  observant,  invite  confidence. 
Thegray  hair  is  almost  white,  and  the  heav) 
moustache  has  also  lost  its  color.  He  is  a  man  or 
impressive  presence;  dignified,  but  not  severe; 
all  ii.  but  with  a  trace  of  Badness  about  him; 
.  i, ut  w  it  1 1  a  read)  Bympath)  :  considerate 
to  the  last  degree  of  another's  sensibilities.  He 
gets  at  the  meat  of  every  subject  brought    before 


/LAyLsks^s 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


i" 


him  with  two  or  three  incisive  questions,  studying 
the  while  the  visitor's  face,  if  he  be  a  stranger, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  he  is  ready  for  whatever 
decision  from  him  the  matter  may  e;ill  tor.  Then 
a  promise  from  him  in  a  matter,  however  trivial, 
is  eis  sure  of  fulfillment,  as  though  guaranteed 
with  all  manner  of  formality.  The  story  of  Mr. 
Field's  life  proves,  that  in  America,  it  is  not  nee- 
essarj  thai  a  man  should  be  born  rich,  or  gel 
wealth  through  speculation  or  trickery-  that  there 
is  a  sure  road  to  success  to  all  who  possess  ability, 
and  ambition. 


JOHN  CRERAR. 


JOHN  CRERAR,  late  senior  of  Crerar,  Adams 
4  Co.,  and  well-known  philanthropist,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1827.  He  came  of 
Scotch  parentage,  and  was  brought  up  under  a 
rigid  religious  discipline.  His  nature  was  strongly 
tempered  by  his  early  training,  and  his  whole  life 
showed  how  deeply  rooted  were  the  precepts  he 
then  imbibed.  They  made  him  a  man  of  princi- 
ple, and  principle  was  the  governing  power  of 
John  Crerar's  life.  He  never  had  a  doubt  as  to 
right  or  wrong,  and  he  acted  the  former  most 
religiously.  His  religion  contained  no  bigotry  of 
seet.  no  cant.  If  his  training  in  childhood  was 
severe,  it  had  no  effect  in  hardening  his  disposi 
tion,  for  he  had  no  faith  in  a  religion  that  was  not 
entirely  cheerful.  He  was  ready  on  the  instant 
to  defend  any  attack  made  upon  it.  and  he  felt 
an  unutterable  intolerance  of  infidelity  of  any 
sort.  He  has  been  heard  to  exclaim  in  a  tone  of 
impatient  disgust  at  hearing  someone  ask  if  he 
really  believed  that  Jonah  was  swallowed  by  a 
whale:  "Oh,  bosh;  what  has  that  to  do  with  reli- 
gion'/"' He  believed  in  organized  effort,  and  that 
church  societies  could  accomplish  more  than  in- 
dividual   effort.      He    was    a    meat    reader   of    the 

Bible,  and  knew  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans  by 

heart:  indeed,  it  was  the  text  found  in  tin-  chap 
ter  upon  which  he  based  his  religious  life.  With 
such  training,  with  such  a  character,  there  is 
little  wonder  that  John  Crerar  became  noted  as  a 
philanthropist.  As  stated,  his  parents  were 
Scotch.  His  father's  name  was.  like  Ins  own. 
John,  and  las  mother  was  Agin  s  Smeallie.  They 
were  still  y..ung  when  they  came  to  this  country. 
where  they  were  married.  The)  attended  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church.   Fourteenth  Street 


near  Sixth  Avenue.  New  Fork  City,  of  which  Rev. 
Dr.  McElroy  was  the  pastor.  Mr.  Crerar  died  when 
his  sun  John  was  an  infant,  and  some  years  later 
Mrs.  Crerar  married  a  Scotchman  named  George 
Boyd.  Mr.  Boyd  was  connected  with  the  Ameri- 
can branch  of  the  English  Bteel  house  of  William 
Jei — i  a  Sons.  Limited.  Young  John  received 
his  education  in  New  York  City,  attending  the 
common  schools  and  for  a  time  some  of  the  private 
institutions  of  learning.  He  sin. wed  great  apti- 
tude as  a  scholar,  and  greatly  enjoyed  literary 
work  of  all  kinds.  He  was  particularly  noted  for 
his  compositions.  When  eighteen  years  old  he  be- 
gan his  mercantile  career  by  entering  the  establish 
ment  of  which  his  step  father.  George  Boyd,  was 
at  the  head.  William  Jessop  .V  Sons.  This 
firm  had  another  branch  house  in  Boston,  and 
there,  after  several  years  service  in  the  NV«  York 
oung  Crerar  was  Bent.  He  only  remained 
about  a  year,  how  ever,  when  he  returned  to  his 
native  city  and  was  employed  in  the  iron  import- 
ing house  of  C.  B.  Raymond  &  Co.  Subsequently 
he  accepted  a  position  with  Morris  K.  Jesup  & 
Co..  with  which  house  and  its  successors  he  was 
connected  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  It 
was  not  long  before  his  position  was  changed 
from  employee  to  partner,  his  business  sagacit) 
being  readily  recognized  by  the  firm.  The  firm 
had  a  branch  house  in  Chicago,  under  the  man 
ageinent  of  J.  McGregor  Adams.  Mr.  Crerar 
went  to  Chicago  in  1862,  and  shortly  after,  the 
Chicago  branch  was  bought  out  by  Messrs. 
Crerar  and  Adams,  and  the  firm  of  Crerar,  Adams 
A-  Co.  was  established.  Both  gentlemen  were 
thorough  business  men.  and  the  new  firm  grew 
and  prospered,  becoming  one  of  the  heaviest 
mercantile  concerns  in  Chicago.  Mr.  Crerar  be- 
came connected  with  other  interests  in  the  city 
hi-  had  new  ly  adopted.  He  had  a  large  interest 
in  the  Adams  A-  Westlake  Company,  and  was  one 
of  the  original  incorporators  of  Pullman's  Palace 
( !ar  •  Jompany,  and  was  a  director  of  that  company, 
as  he  was  also  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad 
Company,  and  the  Illinois  Trust  ami  Savings 
Bank.  He  was  at  one  time  president  of  the  Chi 
cago  &  Joliet  Railroad.  He  had  a  wide  connection 
with  the  public,  religious  and  charitable  institu- 
tions of  the  city.  Upon  going  to  Chicago  he 
identified  himself  with  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  for  many  years  he  was  a  trustee, 
and  at  one  time,  when  that  society  was  in  need  of 
help,  gave  it  $10,000.  He  was  a  director  in  the 
Presbyterian  Hospital,  vice-president  of  the  Chi 
cago  Orphan   Asylum,  a  director   in   the  Chicago 


1 8 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


Relief  and  Aid  Society  and  ;t   number  of  other 
charities.     As  n   director  in  the  Chicago  Relief 
and    \i<l  Socii  tj .  he   wai    appointed   bj  the  New 
York  Chamber  of  Corameri 
the  funds  Bent  by  thai  bod)  for  relief  during  the 
Chicago  fire,  and  in  that  capacity  was  of  inestima 
timi    oi    torrow  and 
Buffering,     Mr.  Crerar  was  also  president  "f  the 
;               \    ociation  ol  New  Jfork,  and 
i  Chii  aj    i    bus  mem- 
bership '           I           <  Hub,  Union  League  and  Cen 
tury  Club  of  New  York.    Mr.  Crerar  was  socially 
and  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  children 
in   the  families  "f  the    friends  he  visited.    Mr. 
Crerar  never  married.     His  onlj    surviving    rela 
and  second  cousins.    Thoroughly 
interested    in   literary   matters   when    an   active 
member  of  the  Mercantile  Librarj  Association  of 
New  York,  it  was  largely  through  his  efforts  that 
William  M.  Thackeray,  the  noted   English  novel- 
brought   tn   iliis  country,  where   he  re- 
mained  tor  Beveral    iths  delivering   lectures. 

trictly   a  student,  Mr.  Crerar  gave 

evidence  of  having  been  a  great  reader  of  I ks. 

His  interest   in  literarj  people  and  literary  insti 

tulimis  was  a  prominent  feature  of  his  • 

inn!  his  will   indicates  that    this  fondness  never 

d,  .1  -  1 1 is  largest  bequest  which  will  proh 

ably  reach  something  over  $2,000,000,  was  for  the 

establishment  of  a  public  library  in  Chicago.     He 

r  much  "f  a  traveler.    He  went   abroad 

in   his  life.     He  liked  large  cities  as  a 

residence,  and  ii  was  ,,nU  within  the  five 

or  six   yi  i     death  that   he  ever 

went  into  the  country  for  a  slay. a'  anj  length. 

M  i    Cri  rar    had    one    peculiarity    of   whii  it    hi 

friends  were  more  or  less  aware.     He  was  a  per 

■    m  new    papers,  and  w  henever  he 

would  notice  some  little  item,  some  joke  or  ehar 

acteristic,  wherein  he  found    ome  resemblance  to 

Bomeone  he  knew,  he  would  cut  it  out  and  mail  it 

to  his  friend  with   or   without    comment    as   he 

might    feel.      The  evide of    this    habit    was 

found  to  be  very  strong,  as  a   large  box  of  these 
clippings  with  articles  on  numerous  literary  sujects 
d   bj    his  executors,  Norman    Wil 
Hams  and  Huntington  W.  Jackson,  after  h 

He   was  a   g I   letter  writer.    He  was  a  clear 

thinker,  and   could   i  thoughts   ti  ei  lj 

th  ii"  uncertainty.  He  arrived  at  conclu 
siuns  quickly,  and  was  usually  correct  in  his  judg- 
ment.  These  traits  were  observable  in  the  man 
agi  in.  Hi  of  his  business  affairs,  and  tho  immense 
fortune  he  built  up  is  ample  testimony  of  his  suc- 


cess.    Mr.  Crerar  had  the  same  idea  in  n 
business  that   he  bad  in   regard   to  religion;    he 
believed  in  organization,  and   it   is  probably  on 
this  account  that  I"'  became  a  i  lar| 

paniee,  and  I  hen  in  invested  hi 

rat  her  t  han  in  real  estate.     I  -  tten  been 

made  upon  the  f ai  I    "■'•  r.  Crerai    aftei   com 

ing  in  Chicago  to  live  and  becoming  so  attached 
in  the  place,  never  invested  to  an)  great  extent 
in  Chicago  realty.  This  is  explained  by  the  tart 
that  he  w  as  always  strictl)  a  commercial  man  ami 
not  a  speculator.  He  was  known  to  have  a  high 
estimate  of  <  !1  icago  propei  t)  a  medium  tor 
investment,  but  his  whole  instinct  was  ot 
mercial  nature,  and  he  invested  but  little.  There 
was  a  time  when  Mr.  Crerar  felt  that  New  Jfork 
was  his  home,  and  when  going  there  troi  Chi 
cago  he  was  wont  hi  speak  of  it  as  going  home. 
After  the  death  of  his  mother,  however,  t 
ing  seems  t.>  have  changed,  ami  he  never  alluded 
to  any  plan- as  home  but  Chicago,  and  he  often 
Baid  In  could  not  be  happy  in  any  other  place  as 
a  permanent  residence.  He  had  a  great  admira- 
tion tor  Chicago  business  men,  and  hi 
spoken  of  them  as  having  the  cleanest  and  I 
est  business  methods  of  any  set  of  men  he  ever 
knew  or  heard  of.  John  Crerar  was  bo  puj  e 
in  his  own  mind  that  he  could  hardl)  Bee  that 
evil  to  any  extent  existed  in  others.  Speaking 
once  I"  an  i  ii  I  i  mate  friend  he  said:  "No  shadowr) 
or  uncertain  lines  lie  between  respectability  and 
the  disreputable;  there  is  a  wide  gulf  between 
th.in,  ami  mi  man    ran    step   outside    the    line    of 

strict  respectability  and  still  be  rec d    in   good 

society."     Mr.  Crerar  lived  at    the  Grand    Pacific 
Hotel   tor  the  ten   years   previous  to  hit 
He  w  as  exceptionally  regular  in  his  habits,  always 
retiring  and  arising  at    th.'  Bame   hour  Summer 
and  Winti  r.    In  the  spring  "l'   1889,  however,  his 

health  began  to  fail,  ami  hi-  was  intending  t ake 

ther  trip  abroad,  but    upon   th.-  advice  of  his 

physician  he  gave  up  the  idea.    In   August,  ac- 

|  I   l.\    I  >r.    Frank    Billings,   he   wenl    to 

Atlantic  City.    On  September  '.'th    h.'  Buffi  red   a 

partial  stroke  of  paralysis  .hi  his  right  side.      I  >ur 

ing  the  following  week,  upon  the  advice  of  Dr. 
Billings  and  the  consulting  physicians,  he  was 
removed  by  friends  to  Chicago  and  taken  to  the 
residence  of  Norman  Williams.  There  were  strong 
hopes  thai  his  hard)  constitution  would  enable 
him  to  recover,  hut  .liseas.  had  taken  too  Btrong  a 

hold  upon  him  and  al    11:45,  on   the   rning  or 

Oct  ibei   19th,  he  quietlj  i ' 

of  John  Crerar  was  a  sad  loss  to  many  of  Chicago's 


BIOGRAPHY 


ILLINOIS. 


19 


charitable  institutions,  for  he  was  a  free  giver  and 
made  no  distinction  between  creeds.  He  gave 
where  the  need  was.  and  Jew  and  Gentile  were 
both  welcome  to  his  purse.  It  is  said  that  an  ex- 
amination of  his  check  book  shows  a  most  remark- 
able liberality  of  which  no  one  knew  aught  but 
himself  and  the  recipients.  His  partner,  J.  Mc- 
Gregor Adams,  in  speaking  of  him  at  the  time  of 
death,  said:  "I  have  been  a  partner  and  friend  of 
Mr.  Crerar  for  thirty-five  years,  and  his  loss  is  like 
that  of  a  brother,  rather  than  thai  of  amere  busi- 
ness associate.  He  was  a  big-souled,  generous 
man,  liberal  in  all  things  and  one  whose  friend 
ship  was  a  thing  to  be  prized  and  to  be  proud  of. 
He  was  a  philanthopist  of  the  noblest  type  and 
did  a  wonderful  amount  of  good  in  a  quiet   way." 

The  funeral  took  plaee  from  the  resideni f   Mr. 

Williams.  All  day  the  remains  lay  in  tie-  casket 
with  wreaths  of  flowers  and  roses  surrounding  it. 
The  services  were  of  the  simplest  character.  When 
thefriends  hail  gathered  in  the  drawing-room, 
Rev.Dr.  S.  J.  McPherson,  pastor  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church,  offered  an  affecting  prayer. 
At  its  conclusion  the  pall  1"  arers,  composed  of  the 
heads  of  the  departments  in  the  firm  of  Crerar, 
Adams  &  Co.,  and  the  Adams  A-  Westlake  Co., 
conveyed  tie-  casket  to  the  hearse  and  it  was  taken 
to  the  church  on  the  corner  of  Michigan  Avenue 
and  Twentieth  street.  The  av<  nues  leading  to  the 
church  were  crowded  with  carriages,  and  all  the 
seats  in  the  church  were  occupied.  On  the 
right  of  the  entrance  sat  two  hundred  pupils 
of  the  Chicago  Manual  Training  School,  to 
which  institution  Mr.  Crerar  had  been  a  generous 

hem  factor,  and  on  tl ther  side  were  delegations 

from  the  Commercial,  Chicago  and  other  clubs. 
Around  the  pulpit  was  a  mass  of  flowers,  among 
them  being  many  handsome  pieces,  the  gifts  of 
friends  of  the  deceased.  Drs.  Patterson  and  Mc- 
Pherson conducted  the  services  which  were  short 
and  simple.  At  the  close  tic  casket  was  taken  to 
the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  Railway 
depot,  and.  accompanied  by  friends,  home  to  New- 
York,  it  having  been  Mr.  Crerar's  request  tl 
he  buried  beside  his  mother  in  <  Greenwood  Ceme 
tery.  At  New  York  services  were  held  in  the 
Scotch  Presbyterian  Church.  Fourteenth  street, 
being  conducted  by  Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall  and  Ic\ 
Dr.  Saml.  M.  Hamilton.  The  church  was  tilled 
with  tin'  New  York  and  Chicago  friends  of  Mr. 
Crerar.  Prom  the  New  York  Mercantile  Library 
the  flag  was  displayed  at  half  mast.  Though  dur- 
ing his  lifetime  Mr.  Crerar  gave  away  thousands 
of  dollars,  it  was  not  in  large   sums.     His   gift    to 


the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  of  $10,000,  was 
perhaps  the  largest  at  any  one  time,  hut  the  will 
by  which  he  gave  away  millions  was  a  most  re- 
markable document,  ilis  estate  was  vahied  at 
something  near  §4,000,000.  He  desired  that  a 
colossal  statue,  to  cost  $100,000,  lie  erected  to  the 
memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  whom  he  was  a 
great  admirer.  Speaking  of  this  bequest  before 
the  members  of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club,  to 
which  association  Mr.  Crerar  left  $10,000,  Judge 
B.  1>.  Magruder  said:  "With  a  modesty  that  be- 
speaks the  great  in  ss  of  In-  soul  he  orders  a  simple 
headstone  to  be  placed  at  his  own  grave,  hut  that 
a  colossal  statue  be  raised  to  the  man  who  abol- 
ished slavery  in  the  United  States.  The  million- 
itent  to  lie  low,  but  he  insists  that  the 
great  Emancipator  shall  rise  high.  In  his  view. 
liberty  for  the  1  li  grander  achievement 

than  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  This  contrast 
between  the  headstone  and  the  stat  tie  indicates  as 
plainly  as  though  it  had  been  expressi  d  in  words 
Mr.  Crerar's  estimate  of  true  heroism.   Doe 

3  was  his  conception  of  greatness."  The 
will  gave  munificent  legacies  to]  is  relatives,  many 
of  whom  he  had  never  seen;  his  partners  and  many 
friends  also  received  large  bequests;  numerous 
institutions  of  a  charitable  or  of  a  religious  char- 
acter were  most  generously    remembered     ■ Qg 

the  gifts  weie  $100,000  p.  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Chicago;  $100,000  to  the  Mission 
Schools  of  that  church;  $25,000  to  the  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Church  of  New  York;  $50,000  to  the 
Chicago  I  irph.-in  Asylum;  $50,000  to  the  Chicago 
Nursery  and  Half  Orphan  Asylum:  $25,000  to  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society:  $25,000  to  the  Chicago 
Presbyterian  Hospital;  $25,000  to  St.  Luke's  Free 
Hospital,  Chicago;  $25,000  to  the  Chicago  Bible 
Society;  $50,000  to  th  American  Sunday  School 
Union;  $50,000  to  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid 
Society;  $10,000  to  the  St.   Andrews  Society  of 

New  York;  $10,000  to  the  St.  Andrews  Society  of 
Chicago;  $50,000  to  the  Illinois  Training  School 
for  Nursi  s;  •  »,00  I  to  the  Chicago  Manual  Train- 
tag  Scl I;  $50,000  to  the  Presbyterian  League  of 

.--,0.0111     to     the     Old     People's     Home     of 

;  SoO.ikhi  to  the  Chicago  Home  of  the 
Friendless,  ami  $50,000  to  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  The  crowning  gilt  of  all 
was  $2,000,000  or  more,  being  the  residue  of  the 
estate,  for  a  public  library  for  the  city  of  Chicago. 
For  the  first  board  of  directors  of  this  Library,  he 
named  Norman  Williams,  who  was  also  to  be  the 
president,  Huntington  W.Jackson,  Marshall  Field, 
E.  W.  Blatchford,   T.   B.   Blackstone,    Robt.  T. 


20 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


Lincoln,  Henry    W.   Bishop,    Edward   G.    Mason, 

Albert  K.v|,.  Edson  Keith,  Si n  J,  McPherson, 

John  M.  Clark  and  G 'go  A.  Armour.     In    mak 

ing  this  bequest,  Mr.  Crerar  said.  "  I  desire  that 
i  pei  iodicals  !"■  selected  with  a  \  lew  to 
create  and  Bustain  a  healthy  moral  and  christian 
sentiment.  ...  I  want  its  atmosphere  thai  of 
christian  refinement,  and  its  aim  and  object  the 
building  up  of  character."  Mr.  Crerar  was  ;i  true 
philanthropist,  and  his  friends,  remembering  the 
millions  he  gave  away  while  he  asked  merely  tor 
a  simple  headstone  to  mark  where  he  lay,  think 
that  it  might  bear  the  same  inscription  as  does 
the  doorway  to  St.  Paul's  Church  in  London,  to 
Sir  Christopher  Wren;  "Si  monumentum  re 
quiris  circumspice." 


GEORGE  M.    PULLMAN. 

GEORGE  M.  PULLMAN,  of  Chicago,  a  .lis 
tinguished  \ rican  manufacturer  and  philan- 
thropist, widely  known  in  both  hemispheres  as 
the  inventor  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car,  presidenl 
of  Pullman's  Palace  Car  Company,  and  founder 
of  the  industrial  town  of  Pullman,  was  born  in 
the  village  of  Brocton,  ( !hautauqua  ( lounty,  X.  Y.. 
March  :!.  1831.  Mis  father,  James  Lewis  I'm II man. 
a    native  of    Rhode    Island,  was  a   man  of  great 

originality  and  f<  >  11 t'  character,  of  keen  intel 

ligence,  devout  spirit  and  unbending  integrity. 
His  mother,  Emily  Caroline  Pullman,  daughter  of 
James  Minton,  of  Auburn,  X.  V..  has  been  affec 
tionately  described  as  "one  whose  gracious  house 
hold  ways  ran  best  be  summed  up  in  one  word, 

i  hi  i  liness.'"    I  If  t  he  ten  children   of  James 

ily  Pullman,  eight  reached  adult  life,  viz., 
the  Rev.  Royal  II.  Pullman,  now  pastor  of  the 
First  Universalis!  Church  of  Baltimore,  and  late 
Republican  candidate  tor  I  that  city; 

Albert  B.  Pullman,  of  Chicago,  connected  tor 
many  years  with  Pullman's  Palace  Car  Company, 
retired;  George  M.  Pullman,  the  subject 
,.r  this  sketch;  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  M.  Pullman, 
pastor  of  the  leading  Universalis!  church  of 
America,  at  Lynn.  Mass.;  Charles  L.  Pullman, 
now  contracting  agent  for  Pullman's  Palace  Car 
y;  Prank  W.  Pullman,  late  assistant 
United  States  district  attorney  in  New  York,  who 
died  in  1879;  Helen  A.,  who  is  the  wife  ol  George 

West. a  woolen  merchant  <>f  New  York;  and  E ta 

C.,  the  wife  of  Dr.  William  P.  Fluhrer,  a  leading 


surgeon  of  New  Yovk  City,  visiting  Burgeon  to 
Bellevue  Hospital,  and  prominently  connected 
with  other  important  medical  institutions. 
Brought  up  in  a  household  in  which  the  cardinal 
virtues  were  the  rule  of  conduct,  and  in  which 
industry,  Bteady  habits  and  honorable  aspirations 
were  inculcated  and  encouraged  by  the  teachings 
and  example  of  intelligent  and  religious  parents,  the 
third  son.  ( leorge  M.  Pullman,  the  subjec!  or  this 
Bketch,  early  developed  great  stability  of  character, 
and  as  a  hoy  was  noted  for  his  willingness  to  learn, 
his  persistence  in  carrying  oul  whatever  he  under 
took,  and  for  a  degree  of  manly  self-reliance 
which  gave  every  promise  ,,r  a  successful  future, 
lie  attended  the  local  schools  regularly, and  made 
the  besi  use  of  their  advantages;  in  this  manner 
easily  acquiring  a  sound  knowledge  of  the  usual 
branches  of  an  English  education.     At  the  age  of 

fourteen  he  was  sufficiently  equipped  t t  the 

ordinary  requirements  of  clerical  work,  and  with 

out  difficulty  he  obtained  a  minor  position  in  one 
of  the  stores  near  his  home,  his  services  being 
compensated  by  the  opportunities  there   afforded 

tor    learning    the    business,  ami   by  an    annual 

Stipend  of  540,  a  salary  not  uncommon  in  those 
days.  After  he  had  spent  one  year  in  store  work, 
he  took  a  step  which  was  to  exercise,  indirectly,  a 
most   important    influence   upon   his  subsequent 

career.  His  brother,  I,'.  11.  Pullman,  his  senior  in 
years,  was  then  in  the  cabinet  making  business  at 

Albion,  N.  Y.  There  was  a  place  in  his  modest 
establishment  for  a  likely  lad  who  might  wish  to 

master  the  trade,  and  I  I 'ge  was  invited  to  fill  it. 

It  being  in   a rdance  with   his  views  to  add  a 

useful  handicraft  to  his  know  ledge  of  business,  he 
embraced  the  opportunity  with  zeal.  Several 
years  before  he  was  of  age  he  became  the  partner 
of  his  brother,  and  together  they  were  conduct 
ing  a  fairly  prosperous  business,  when  the  death 
of  their  father,  which  occurred  on  November  1. 
1853,  caused  a  complete  change  in  their  plans. 
Upon  George,  who  was  unmarried,  now  fell  the 
care  and  support  of  his  mother  and  four  of  the 

\ ger   members    of    the    family.     His    income 

from  the  cabinet  making  business  was  not  equal 
to  this  draft  upon  it.  and  lie  decided  to  seek  some 
other  avenue  for  his  skill  and  energy.  The  Brie 
Canal,  begun  in  1  si 7  and  finished  according  to 
tl riginal  plans  in  1825,  had  b( me  inadequate 

to  the  demands  made  upon  it.  and  at  this  tune 

was  being  enlarged  by  the  state,  which  had  ad 

vertised  for  bids  for   contracts   to   raise    buildings 

along  the  line  of  the  improved  waterway.  The 
opportunity  was  not  lost  by  young  Pullman,  who 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


2  I 


secured  one  of  the  contracts  and  proceeded  to  put 
into   practical   execution    the   knowledge  of   the 
principles  "f  mechanics  and  engineering  which  he 
had  acquired  partly  from  his  father  and  parti} 
through   his  experience  at   AJbion.    He  bent  all 
hie  energies  to  his  new  task,  and  accomplished  it 
so  quickly  and  so  well  as  to  gain   at  once  a  stand 
ing    among    the    contractors   similarly   ei 
His  flrsl  success  brought  him  a  great  many  con- 
tracts of  tli is  kind,  and  his  prosperity  was 
X.i  one  visiting  Chicago   at    the   present  day  and 
viewing   the    magnificenl    avenue-,    streets    and 
boulevards  now  the  just  pride  of  its  citizi 
form   any  idea    of    the    condition   of  its  thorough 
fares   a   generation    ago.      Beginning   humbly   in 
1830    as    a    hamlet   on   a   lake  coast   of   sand  hills. 
morasses   ami   swamps.it    grew    with    surprising 
rapidity   from   the   first;  but    between    1850   and 
1860,  having  risen  to  the  position  of  twentieth  city 
in  tin-   Union   in   point   of  iiopulation.it   pressed 
forward  for  commercial  rank  with  such  e 
that  everything  not  directly  concerned  therewith. 
local  improvements  included,  was  utterly  n 
Nevertheless,  the  n Is  of  commerce  and  the  de- 
mands of  the  traveling  public  caused   tile  erection 

of  many  Hue  structures,  so  that  in  the  matter  of 
buildings,  simply,  the  city  was  not  so  very  far  lie 
hind  man}  of  the  older  cities  of  the  country.  Bui 
the  streets,  more  especially  in  the  "down  town  "  or 

business  sections,  were  graded  so  low  that   more 

than  half  the  time  they  wore  submi 
mud.  and  their  condition  became  a  municipal 
scam  la  1  and  a  national  by-word.  After  contemplat- 
ing remedial  measures  for  a  number  of  years,  the 
city  government  finally  decided  upon  raising  the 
grade  of  all  the  East  Side  streets,  and.  a  large 
appropriation  having  been  made,  work  w; 
in  ls.">;i.  A.S  it  progressed  it  gave  rise  to  the  most 
perplexing  complications  and  to  no  end  of  build- 
ing alteration  projects,  and  the  city  was  threat- 
ened with  a  long  era  of  confusion  and  serious 
interruption  to  its  local  trade.  The  street  im 
provements  raised  the  grade  of  the  thoroughfares 
about  six  feet,  on  an  average,  ami  the  owners  of 
houses  set  about  remodeling  them  interiorly  so  as 
to  get  the  street  floor  up  to  tlie  new  level.  By 
this  method  the  original  cellar  of  the  structure 
was  often  sacrificed;  the  old  ground  floor  became 
the  cellar,  and  every  structure  lost  a  story  in 
height.  The  situation  naturally  attracted  Mr. 
Pullman's  attention,  he  being  then,  at  twenty -eight 
years  of  age.  one  of  the  best  known  engim 

building  movers  in  th mntry.    With  a  capital  of 

16,000,  he   moved   to  Chicago   in   1859,  while  the 


city  was  in  the  throes  of  improvement.  He  was 
one  of  the  three  engineers  who  secured  contracts 
for  raising  the  greater  number  of  the  buildings  in 
the  section  of  the- city  most  largely  affected  bj  the 
elevation  of  grade.  Skillful  through  previous 
experience  in  this  kind  of  engineering  work,  he 
was  quick  to  appreciate  the  value  of  the  jack 
screw  and  other  ingenious  devices  then  brought 
forward  for  expediting  and  rendering  safe  the 
remarkable  tasks  undertaken;  and  employing 
them  to  an  extent  which  a  less  observing  and 
self-reliant. operator  would  have  deemed  imprac- 
ticable, he  achieved  distinguished  success  A 
feature    of    tile  work    most    surprising    under  the 

circumstances  was  the  apparent  ease  and 
with  which  it  v, a  m,  with  rare  exceptions 

the  occupants  of  the  buildings  remaining  in  them 
and  continuing  their  business  as  usual, 
of  the  structures  raised  were  imposing  piles  of 
masonry.  Among  the  subsequent  enterprises  of 
Mr.  Pullman,  the  manufacture  of  the  palace  cars 
which  appropriately  bear  his  name,  is  that  which 
has  given  him  his  widest  fame.  A  recent  writer 
upon  this  theme  prefixes  his  remarks  with  the 
following  eloquent  words: 

"The  nineteenth  century  is  marked  bj  a 
a]  revolt  against  limitations  of  Space  and 
Time  which  former  generations  had  deemed  in- 
surmountable. Steam  travel,  by  sea  and  land. 
has  made  the  globe  smaller,  life  longer  and  man- 
kind   more   homogei us.     Tic'    range,   intensity 

and  practically,  the  duration  of  human  life  are 
vastly  augmented  by  the  present  facilities  for  in- 
tercommunication. We  can  buy  space,  time  and 
personal  contact  with  our  distant  fellow-citizens 
of  earth  at  any  railway  ticket  office.  And.  thanks 
largely  to  tic-  work'  of  one  man.  we  can  buy  at  the 
same  time  rest,  comfort.*  luxury  and  immunity 
from  tlie  strain  of  travel.  We  can  sleep,  as  the 
albatross  was  fabled  to  do.  on  the  wing.  The 
nights  no  longer  interrupt  our  business;  they 
yield  us  both  rest  and  activity,  and  space  is  anni- 
hilated for  us  while  we  dream.  We  maj  cross  the 
continent  without  getting  out  from  under  one 
man's  roof.  We  buy  an  apartment  in  a  Hying 
house  and  maintain  the  accustomed  habits  of  our 
life  on  far  off  plains  and  mountains.  We  take 
with  us  our  dormitory,  lavatory  and  i 
our  drawing  room  and  our  library;  and  become 
literal  cosmopolites,  at  home  in  every  place.  The 
man  who  has  constrained  reluctant  nature  to  yield 
us  these  exceptional  privileges,  who  has  organized 
the  complex  forces  which  make  this  modern  magic 
possible,  and  who  has,  besides,  created  a  wholly 
unique  industrial  city  which  apparently  lacks  no 
external  element  for  the  comfort,  happini 
higher  development  of  its  inhabitants,  is  a  legiti- 
mate subject  of  public  interest.  The  Pullman  car 
is  known  to  all  traveler?-.  The  'City'  of  Pullman 
is  an  object  of  great  and  increasing  interest  to 
both  financiers   and    philanthropists,   who   begin 


22 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


dimly  to  suspect  thai  the  true  principles  or  busi 
aess  are  those  which  broaden  to  include  ever} 
form  of  human  welfari  enlighl 

ened  sdr  interest  maj  l"-  the  highest  form 
selfishness." 

While  many  of  the  greatest  improvements 
iiinl  inventions  undoubtedlj  owe  their  origin 
to  accidental  circumstance,  it  is  equall)  true 
that  othi  re  are  due  to  the  happy  elaboration  ol  ;i 
simple  idea.  The  plodder  having  given  prac 
tica!  embodiment  to  the  original  thought  rests 
satisfied  with  the  measure  of  success  attained  and 
the  resultant  gains.  But  genius  penetrates  to  the 
underlying  principle;  and  unfolding  its  latent 
possibilities,  frequently  astonishes  the  world  by 
their  extent  and  variety.  The  history  of  ;ill  ;irts 
affords  numerous  illustrations  of  this,  and  there 
fore  it  would  not  be  surprising  if.  ;is  has  been 
thought  by  some,  Mr.  Pullman  caught  liis  idea  of 
improving  railway  accommodation  from  having 
noticed  the  fact  that  a  number  of  the  passengers 
in  in  which  he  made  a  long  journey,  pur 
from  a  vendor  who  passed  through  the 
cars  a  simple  mechanical  contrivance  called  a 
"head-rest"  which,  when  affixed  to  the  back  of 
the  car  seat,  gave  ;i  much  needed  support  to  the 
head  and  contributed  greatly  to  the  user's  comfort. 
It  was  as  ir  he  realized  ;tt  a  glance  thai  the  travel- 
ing public  was  sadly  in  need  of  something  more 
than  was  provided  for  it,  and  was  willing  to  paj 
whoever  supplied  the  want.  But  be  thai  as  it 
may,  it  is  certain  that  he  was  in  the  field  with  the 
most  advanced  plans  for  the  purpose  as  early  us 
the  spring  of  1859.  A  foreign  writer,  evidently 
correctly  informed  as  to  the  farts  in  the  matter. 
Bays:  , 

••In  those  days  the  appliances  for  securing 
tin-  comfort  of  the  railway  traveller  on  long  jour- 
were  in  their  infancy,  ami  the  first  rude 
attempts  were  being  made  to  devise  a  slei 
coach.  Mr.  Pullman  on  one  occasion  went  into  a 
sleeping  coach  upon  a  night  train  ami  laid  down 
upon  the  berth,  but  ■  1  i<  1  not  sleep,  lie  was 
stretched  out  upon  the  vibrating  couch  for  about 

two  hours  with  eyes  wide  Open,  ami  in    that    time 

had  struck  upon  a  new  idea.  When  he  arose  and 
left  the  train  he  had  di  termined  t"  develop  from 
his  brief  experience  of  that  inchoate  sleeping  berth 
a  plan  t hat  I  to  expand  into  t he  com 

pl.  test  and  most  comfortable  coach  for  the  trav- 
eller, either  awake  Ol  home  upon 
wheels." 

At  this  period  what  little  hail  been  done  in 
this  direction  appears  t"  have  been  a  reluctant 
Concession  on  the  part  of  the  railway  companies 
t..  a  small  Imt  enlightened  ami  most  reasonable 
demand    for    a    greater    measure    "f   comfort 


especially  during  night  travel,  than  that  offered 
bj  the  common  car-seat;  ami  consisted  in  fitting 
up  a  limited  number  "f  ears  of  the  ordinary  Bize 
with   plain  berths  equipped  in  the  most  meagre 

manner  ami  utterly  devoid  "f  any  approximation 
to    home   comforts    or    luxury.      To    an    intensely 

practical,  quick  witted  man  like  Mr.  Pullman, 
familiar  through  experience  with  cabinet  making 
and  interior  furnishing,  very  little  in  the  way  of 
suggestion  was  necessary  t"  bring  forth  rich  fruit 
in  the  way  "f  elaborate  plans.  Ila\  ing  in  view  the 
extent  of  territory  to  he  traverse'*  it  is  therefore 
highly  probable  that  on  his  first  extended  trip  he 

foresaw  that  the  sleeping  ear.  in  order  to  serve  its 

highest  uses,  must  he  capable  of  being  adapted  i" 
tie  purposes  of  a  day  ear  as  well,  anil  that  in  its 
double  function  it  must  furnish  to  those  taking 
long  journeys  the  comforts  required  in  the  average 

home.      At  all  events,  shortly    after    he    settled    in 

Chicago,  he  seems  to  have  turned  his  attention  to 
planning  ami  building  a  railway  coach  containing 
sleeping  accommodations,  which  should  commend 
itself  to  evry  railway  company  in  the  country; 
his  theory  being  that  tin-  more  luxurious  the  ac 
commodation8  afforded,  the  more  effectively  the 
construction  would  appeal  to  the  traveling  public. 
To  think  was  to  act,  and  although  he  found  hut 
very  little  encouragement  at  the  start,  he  obtained 
permission  from  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad 
Company  to  carry  on  his  experiments  in  one  of 
their  repair  sheds,  situated  m-ar  the  Chicago 
station.  His  initial  experiments  were  made  upon 
two  old  cars  of  the  company,  which  he  fitted  up 
as  "sleepers"  with  such  ingenuity  and  taste  as  to 
create  a  decided  impression  in  their  favor.  Tiny 
made  several  trips  and  were  everywhere  well  re- 
ceived, giving  their  inventor  Btrong  hopes  "f 
eventuallj  seeing  his  anticipations  fully   realized. 

Just  at  this  time  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Colorado 

was  attracting  public  attention  throughout  the 
country,  and  large  numbers  of  people  were  Hock 
ing  to  that  territory.  Confident  that  his  engineer 
ing  skill  could  he  of  use  in  the  mining  region,  Mr. 
Pullman  went  thither  and  remained  three  years, 
returning  to  Chicago  in  L862  or  L863  somewhat 
richer  than  when  he  went  away  and  full  of  a  de 
termination  to  push  bJ3  sleeping  car  project  to  a 
point  of  success.  He  put  his  whole  time  and 
capital  into  the  enterprise  and  with  the  aid  of 
skilful  assistants  got  OUl  his  model  car.  at  a  cost 
to  him  of  one  year's  labor  and  eighteen  thousand 
dollars,  which  it  should  he  noted,  was  more  than 
four  times  the  amount  that  had  previously  been 
expended  on  any  Bleeping  car.     In    the"  construe- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


23 


tion  of  this  car  he  gave  full  expression  to  his  most 
advanced  ideas  at  that  time,  confidently  believing 
that  the  public  would  appreciate  his  efforts.  The 
body  of  the  car  was.  if  the  fines)  wi  irkmanship  and 
the  first  fresco  painter  in  the  land  was  employed 
to  lavish  the  utmost  resources  of  his  decorative 
art  in  enhancing  its  beauty.  Rich  upholsteries 
and  softest  carpets  were  supplied  in  profusion, 
and  everything  that  would  be  likely  to  give  the  car 
a  borne  like  aspect  was  generously  provided.  But 
although  perfect  in  its  construction  and  appoint- 
ment, "ii  account  of  its  size  it  could  not  be  moved 
upon  any  railroad  without  an  adjustment  of  the 
bridges  and  station  platforms.  Its  inventor  and 
builder  was  not  ignorant  of  this  fact,  yet  he  felt 
that  the  American  railway  companies  won 
find  it  for  their  interest  to  make  it  possible  to  run 
this  car  -which  he  called  the  "Pioneer"  and 
similar  cars,  over  their  lines.  "A  great  national 
event."  writes  one,  familiar  with  the  history  of  the 
enterprise  at  this  stage  of  its  development,  "fur- 
nished the  first  opportunity  of  demonstrating  the 
superiority  of  tin.'  model  car.  which  was  destined 
to  associate  Mr.  Pullman's  name  inseparably 
with  the  progress  of  railway  equipment.  The 
death  of  Abraham  Lincoln  made  it  available. 
The  railway  company  desired  it  to  make  part 
of  the  train  that  would  bring  the  body  .if 
the  President  to  Springfield  its  last  resting 
place.  'But  you  must  raise  your  bridges  that  it 
may  pass.'  said  Mr.  Pullman.  'We  will  do  it.' 
was  the  answer,  and  the  bridges  were  adjusted, 
and  one  railroad  was  thus  secured  for  the  'wonder 
car."  It  went  forth  on  its  honorable  errand,  and 
attracted  universal  admiration:  the  press  de- 
scribed it:  the  illustrators  pictured  it;  and  when 
its  precious  freightage  was  deposited,  the  Palace 
car  had  made  for  itself  a  place.  Not  Ling  after- 
ward General  Grant  came  to  his  old  Galena 
In  Hue.  He  was  in  the  first  flush  of  his  great  fame. 
and  the  nation  desired  to  bear  him  on  his  way  as 
kings  are  carried.  The  ear  was  again  wanted. 
And  sn  another  road  was  opened  for  it,  and  again 
over  the  wires  went  the  story  of  the  Palace  Car, 
with  its  wondrous  appliances  and  its  splendors  of 
luxury   and   taste."     It   was   soon    apparent  that 

the  traveling  public  desired  the  luxurious  ace 

moda tii  his  provided  by  Mr.  Pullman  in  his  splendid 
cars,  and  in  a  very  little  while  the  venture  that 
rmt  a  few  had  disparaged  as  a  most  foolish  and 
extravagant  one  was  found  to  be  both  wise  and 
profitable.  By  degrees  railway  companies  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  found  that  their  interests 
demanded   that   these   cars   should   be   added  to 


their  trains;  and  mad  after  mad  was  adjusted  to 
accommodate  them.  In  a  comparatively  short 
time,  from  being  '-teemed  and  patronized  as  a 
luxury,  they  came  to  be  regarded  as  an  actual 
necessity,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  they  were 
called  for  caused  the  erection  of  several  special 
factoriesfor  their  construction  at  widely  separated 
points,  and  in  the  end  gave  birth  to  thi 
corporation  known  as  Pullman's  Palace  Car  Com- 
pany, which,  to-day.  with  its  vast  capital,  its  ex 
tensive  works,  its  veritable  army  of  employees, 
and  its  almost  endless  complexities  of  administra- 
tion, constitutes  one  of  the  largest  and  also  one 
of  the  best  managed  and  mosl  bucc — ful  com- 
panies the  world  has  ever  known. 

■•The  Pulli :  I  simply  as  a  station- 

ary miniature  palace,  would  be  a  wonder  of  archi 
tectural  ami  artistic  beauty.  But  it  is  a  thine,, fa 
i  mechanical  devices:  a  vehicle  and  house: 
a  kitchen,  dining  room,  parlor,  office,  sleeping 
room  and  boudoir  all  in  one:  strong  enough  to  be 
moved  with  the  velocitj  of  steam,  adapted  to 
summer's  heats  and  winter's  frosts,  complete  in 
all  the  homely  comforts  of  common  life,  and  sup 
plied  with  all  the  luxuries  of  which  im,  ■. 
can  dream;  perfect  in  every  detail  of  workman 
ship  —  the  artisan's  triumph,  the  artist's  master- 
piece. The  vestibule  train  has  come  from  the 
single  car  by  a  process  of  natural  evolution.  By 
skillful  inventions,  any  number  of  cars  may  be 
linked  together,  so  that  a  person  can  pass  through 
an  entire  train  with  ease  and  safety.  The  peril 
ous  danger  of  'telescoping'  is  prevented,  and  a 
continuous  train  is  made,  which  can  follow  the 
angles  and  curvatures  of  every  line  with  all  the 
supple  turnings  of  a  serpent's  lithe  and  flexible 
form.  To  have  made  this  alone  would  have 
ranked  Mr.  Pullman  as  an  inventor  of  world-wide 
celebrity.  Hut  the  creation  of  the  Pullman  Com- 
pany shows  that  he  is  far  more  than  a  mere  in- 
ventor that  In-  lias  the  rare  executive  quality 
which  belongs  to  the  masters  of  industrial  and 
commercial  life." 

In  1880  the  business  of  Pullman's  Palace  Car 
Company  had  reached  such  an  extraordinary 
development  that  it  became  necessary  to  erect 
new  and  extensive  works.  Mr.  Pullman  now- 
found  the  opportunity  he  had  long  sought,  to 
test,  in  a  practical  way.  a  theory  which  he  had 
long  entertained.- viz..  that  a  mild,  semi-paternal 
care  for  the  moral  and  physical  well-being  of 
hi-  employees  could  be  properly  and  profitably 
combined  with  the  regular  prosecution  of  the 
company's  manufacturing  business.  The  first 
question  to  be  decided  was  as  to  tin-  location 
of  the  new  shops.  A  large  tract  of  land  was  re- 
quired,  and  to  secure  the  necessary  space  in  any 
portion  of  Chicago  would  have  called  for  the  ex- 
penditure of  a  very  great  sum  of  money.   Mi  ire  than 


-'4 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILIJMils. 


one  thousand  workmen  were  to  be  employed,  and 
if  the  shops  were  located  in  the  city  these  men, 

with  their  Families,  would  be  < polled  to  live  in 

crowded  and  unhealthj  in  miserable 

;  and   the)    and   their  chi    Irei     would  be 

Bubjecl    to  all   the  temptations  and  Bnares  of  a 

city.     Looking  at  the  matter  from  the  i I 

of  view  of  the  working  man  as  well  as  the  capital 
i  i.  Mr.  Pullman  fell  thai  it  would   be   better  tor 

mcerned  if  the  new  works  could  be  estab 
lished  in  the  country.  In  the  various  towns  to 
which  bis  attention  was  'Iran  n  there  we olj 

,,  and  shabby  houses  available  for  mechanics, 
drinking  saloons  flourished  in  all.  ami  the  asso 
ciations,  as  a  rule,  were  undesirable.  To  establish 
the  enterprise  in  one  of  these  would,  perhaps, 
answer  the  purpose  of  the  company,  bul  the  in 
terests  of  the  employees  would  have  to  be  losl 
,  ,f.  Belie:  ing  thai  their  interests  were  his 
own,  Mr.  Pullman  decided  nol  to  expose  them  to 
:  1 1 1  _\  .\  1 1-  or  corrupting  influences  over  «  hich  the) 
had  m>  control,  and  therefore  determined  to  build 
a  tow  n  to  order  a  stupendous  undertaking,  how 
looked  at,  bul  one  w  hich  had  a  charm  tor 
Mr.  Pullman  from  itsverj  novelty.bul  principally 
because  it  afforded  him  a  long  desired  opportunity 
to  test  the  influence  of  beautiful  and  wholesome 
surroundings  upon  his  workmen.  Asa  provision 
existed  in  the  charter  of  the  company  which  pre 
rented  it  from  owning  as  much  land  as  was  re 
quired  for  Mr.  Pullman's  project,  a  separate  cor 
poration  known  as  the  Pullman  Land  Association 
was  organized,  Mr.  Pullman  being  the  presidenl 
and    the    owner    of  most   of    the  stock.    Three 

il sand  acres  were  purchased  on   the  prairies. 

twelve  miles  Bouth  of  the  city  limits  at  thai  time, 

ig  and  near  Lake  Calumet,  a  navigable  body 
of  water  having  an  area  of  six  square  miles,  ami 
connected  with  Lake  Michigan,  about  five  miles 
to  the  east  by  Calumet  River,  also  navigable. 
The  land  was  prepared  by  a  costly  system  of 
scientific  drainage,  more  than  half  a  million  do! 
lars   being  thus  expended.     Ordinarj    sewi 

Li  il  cities  are  well  developed,  after 
the  soil  has  been  infiltrated  \\  ith  impurities.  Bul 
at  Pullman  the  virgin  sc.il  of  the  prairie  was  pre 

pared   before  the  foundation   stoi (  a   Bingle 

house  had   been   laid.    The   town   was  laid  out 

with   broad   1 levards,  the   road-beds  of  which 

were  constructed  with  scientific  thoroughness. 
Lawns  ami  flower  beds  of  artistic  design  were 
laid   out.  and   tie  re   li I  »  ith  elms 

i  other  trees.    The  Bite  of  t  he  tow  n  rise 
uall)  from  Lake  Calumet,  into  which  the  surface 


i|  the  place  goes.    The  housi    sewerage 

Hows  into   ;i    large  reservoir      | 

tor  the  purpose,  whence  il  is  distributed  b)  mean 

of  powerful  pumps  to  various    parts  of   the    model 

la  mi.  lying  three  miles  withoul  the  town's  limits, 
when-  it  is  used  as  a  fertilizing  agent.    The  en 

gi 'shaving  prepared  tin-  town,  the  architects 

followed  with  their  plans  all  on  the  most  com 
prehensive  and  liberal  scale.     I  hops  of 

i  he  com] j  5 n  cted  near  the  Illinois  ( Jen 

tr;il  Railroad,  which  runs  through  the  town,  and 
over  which  workmen  for  this  and  subsequent 
building  operations  were   brought    from  and  re- 

i id  to  Chicago  daily.    These  shops  are  built 

ol  pressed  brick  and  stone,  with  roofs  of  slate, 
ami  cover  an  area  of  nearlj  thirt)  acres.  The) 
ari  ol  graceful  architecture,  and  with  their  im- 
posing facades  and  towers  might  easily  be  mis 
taken  foi  the  buildings  of   a    modem  university. 

iceful  walls  of  st with  curving  lines, 

give  appropriate  settings   to   these  great  struct 

ures.     (i reel)  law  us  are  in  front    of    them    and  he 

I  ween  eaeh  series:  extending  backwards  are  wide 
passageways  or  streets,  through  which  the  fin- 
ished cars  are  moved  to  the  main  tracks.  South 
of  the  works,  and  separated  from  them    by  a  wide 

boulevard,  along  which  stand  some  of  the  hand 
somest houses  in  the  town,  lies  the  residential 
quarter.  It  is  regularly  laid  out.  with  wide 
streets  and  compact  and  solidly  built   houses,  all 

of  brick    and   stone,  with    handsome    ktw  ns.  shade 

trees      and      flower      beds.       These      house, 

seventeen  hundred  in  number,  and  vary  in  rent 
according  to  size,  location  and  conveniences,  [n 
r.,,,,1  0{  the  main  building  of  the  company's  works 
is  a  beautiful  park  with  a  miniature  lake,  man) 
handsome  flower  beds,  fountains,  shrubbery,  etc. 
The  depot,  an  attractive  structure  of  stone,  is  of 
Gothic  design.  South  of  it  is  the  Arcade,  a 
spaeious  and  elegant  building  which  contains  all 

the  -tores  of  the  tow  ii  and  the  post  olliee.  library. 
theater,  hank.  etc.  All  the  stores  and  offices  taco 
a  wide,  tile-laid,  interior  court,  with   galleries  on 

ml   floor   reach  d    b)    easy   stairs.    '1'his 

building  cost  $300,000.  At  night  its  interior  re 
sembles  a  great  bazaar  or  lair,  other  notable 
Structures  in  the  place  are  a  line  hotel,  a  market 
house  of  ample  proportions,  s<  vera!  beautiful 
churches,  and  school  houses  with  all  modern 
appliances,  a  commodious  livery  stable  ami  the 
building  occupied  by   the   tire  department.    Tin' 

t,,u  ii  is  lighted    b)    gas   :nlti    to  b i  extent    b) 

electricity;  and  the  electric  street  railroad  has 
recently  been  introduced,    [n  the  center  of  the  town 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


25 


is  a  huge  octagonal  tower,  not  less  imposing  than 
the  Baptistery  of  Florence,  which  it  much  re- 
Bembles.  This  is  the  center  of  the  matchless  water 
ami  sewerage  system  of  the  town,  which  has  been 
investigated  and  approved  by  engineers  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Stretching  across  the  town 
from  the  railroad  station  to  Lake  Calumet  is  a 
wide  boulevard,  shaded  by  rows  of  elm  trees — One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  street  in  continuation  of 
the  numerical  order  of  the  streets  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  and  this  divides  the  work-shops  from 
the  residential  portion.  Five  noble  avenues 
stretch  southward  from  it.  each  appropriately 
named  after  an  inventor  closely  identified  with 
tin-  varied  industries  of  the  place — Stephenson, 
Watt.  Fulton.  Morse  and  Pullman — and  upon 
these  tin-  cottages  of  those  employed  in  the  town 
an-  built.  On  the  2nd  of  April.  1881,  the  Pullman 
shops  were  started,  the  great  Corliss  engine. 
which  figured  so  conspicuously  at  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  furnishing  the  motive  power.  In 
Europe  there  are  a  few  industrial  cities  which 
have  come  by  chance  rather  than  design,  as  slow 
accretions  around  a  little  nucleus.  But  this 
town  was  created  as  a  building  is  made.  The 
inhabitants  to-day  ilS92)  number  about  twelve 
thousand,  and  over  seven  millions  of  dollars  have 
been  invested  in  bringing  tin-  place  to  its  presenl 
high  state  of  perfection.  Belated  industries  have 
already  found  a  place  there,  and  the  town,  no 
longer  an  experiment,  contains  a  population  which 
is  intellectually,  socially  and  morally  much  above 
that  of  other  manufacturing  centers  in  any 
country  in  the  world.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that 
the  wages  paid  to  its  army  of  employees,  exclusive 
of  the  higher  pay  of  the  general  management, 
averages  six  hundred  dollars  yearly— a  sum 
largely  in  excess  of  that  received  by  an  equal 
number  of  workers  in  any  city  in  the  world.  Mr. 
Pullman  is  unwearied  in  his  efforts  to  promote 
and  advance  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  Pullman. 
Instances  of  his  zeal  in  their  behalf  might  be 
multiplied.  One,  of  early  occurrence,  was  his 
noble  gift  of  five  thousand  volumes  to  the  public 
library.  However  viewed,  it  represents  "philan- 
thropy made  practical;  humanity  founded  on 
business  principles;  and  is  a  vindication  of  Mr. 
Pullman's  theory  that  there  is  an  economical 
value  iii  beauty,  and  of  his  belief  that  the  work- 
ing-man is  capable  of  appreciating  and  wisely 
using  the  highest  ministries  of  excellence  and 
art."  It  has  been  aptly  remarked  that  "the  'city' 
will  be  Mr.  Pullman's  monument:  not  a  city  cap 
tured  in  war.  despoiled  of  its  ancient  name,  and 


christened  by  that  of  itsconqueror,butone created 

by  his  genius,  sheltering  contented  industry,  sup- 
ported by  the  labor  he  has  furnished,  and  enjoy- 
ing privileges  which  his  brain  has  planned,  his 
enterprise  furnished  and  his  philanthropy  taught 
its  residents  how  to  use  and  administer."  The 
government  of  Pullman  has  always  been  a  most 
unobtrusive  factor.  Being  regarded  simply  as  a 
vast  estate,  the  town  is  conducted  on  business 
principles  and  no  other  government  seems  to  be 
required.  No  arrest  has  ever  been  made  within 
its  limits.  There  are  no  policemen  or  constables; 
no  justice's  court;  no  judiciary:  no  public  func- 
tionaries of  any  kind.  It  may  lie  said  without 
fear  of  contradiction,  that  the  elimination  of  the 
liquor  interest  has  greatly  simplified  tin-  problem 
of  management  and  has  conduced  wonderfully  to 
the  prosperity  and  contentment  of  the  people. 
Ever  since  it  was  founded  "thetownof  Pullman" 
has  been  an  object,  first  of  curiosity  then  of  wonder, 
not  only  to  the  residents  of  Chicago  but  also  to 
almost  every  intelligent  visitor  to  that  city.  So 
many  travelers  from  foreign  countries  have  visited 
it  that  it  is  now  known  in  every  civilized  land  and 
is  seldom  referred  to.  at  home  or  abroad,  except 
in  terms  of  lavish  praise.  By  the  Consolidation 
Act  of  1889.  which  enlarged  the  area  of  Chicago 
from  forty  three  and  a  half  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  and  a  half  square  miles,  and  increased 
its  population  from  eight  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  to  one  million,  one  hundred  and  four 
thousand,  making  it  the  largest  city  in  the  world 
in  point  of  size  i London  140  sq.m.)  andtl 
in  the  United  States  in  point  of  population,  Pull- 
man was  included  within  its  boundaries,  the 
annexation  materially  increasing  the  importance 
of  the  larger  city  as  a  manufacturing  center.  The 
Pullman  Land  Company  owns  extensive  tracts  of 
land  in  the  suburbs  of  "the  town  of  Pullman," 
which  it  has  judiciously  reserved  as  a  soil  of  pro- 
tective zone.  Several  manufacturing  plants  have 
been  established  at  Pullman,  and  tin-  founding  of 
others  is  contemplated.  The  Allen  Paper  Car 
Wheel  company  was  one  of  the  first  to  establish 
works  at  Pullman,  and  its  employees  constitute 
no  small  fraction  of  the  population.  It  is  said 
that  Mr.  Pullman  designs  establishing  industries 
there  which  will  furnish  employment  to  respecta 
ble,  --elf  supporting  women  and  girls,  who  will  be 
likely  to  appreciate  the  beauty  and  purity  of  the 
surroundings.  In  a  most  interesting  article  on 
"Tin-  City  of  Pullman."  written  by  Charles 
Dudley  Warner,  and  published  in  Harper's  Maga- 
zine for  .Tun.-.  1888,  that  accomplished  author  says: 


26 


BIOCiRAPm     i'l'    ILLINOIS. 


"When    I    contrast    the  dirt)    tenements   with 

a    !••    vice    and    idleness, 

in  some  parts  of  <  Ihicago,  with  the  homos  of  Pull- 
man, 1  am  glad  thai  this  experiment  ha  bei  n 
made,  li  ma}  be  worth  some  sacrifice  t"  teach 
people  that  it"  is  better  tor  them,  morally  and 
pecuniarily,  to  live  cleanly  and  under  educational 
influences    thai    increase   their  self-respect.     No 

doubt  it    is   beet    thai    i pie  Bhould  own    their 

homes,  and  thai  they  should  assume  all  the  re 
Bponsibilities  of  citizenship.  But  lei  us  wail  the 
full  evolution  i>f  the  Pullman  idea.  The  town 
could  imt  have-  been  buill  as  an  object  lesson  in 
anj  other  way  than  it  was  I  milt.  The  hope  is  that 
laboring  people  will  voluntarily  do  hereafter  w  hal 
they  have  here  been  induced  to  accept." 

Professor  David  Swing  once  remarked  thai 
•■tin-  moral  quality  or  liasis  of  Pullman  is  not 
abstract  philosophy  or  socialism  .  .  .  hut  it  is 
common  Bense  of  the  highest  and  besl  order.  In 
dustrj  and  economy,  sobriety  and  comfort,  are  iis 
foundation  stones.  Sere  exists  for  each  family  a 
visible  means  of  support."  This  same  distin 
guished  divine,  in  further  speaking  of  what  he 
most  happily  termed  "this  new  alliance  between 
capital  and  labor,"  said  of  "the  city  of   Pullman:" 

"A  sense  of  harmony  predominates.  Each  detail 
in  is  proper  place  and  proper  proportion.  The 
buildings  tor  labor  are  not  joined  to  the  fireside. 
1 1,  mil.  and  simp,  and  church,  and  opera  house, 
and  library,  and  railway  station,  are  where  each 
should  be,  and.  instead  of  making  a  discord,  they 
verify  to  the  full  the  definition  of  him  who  said 
that  'architecture  is  frozen  music'  Here  the 
st  i  ires  are  asnumi  rous  as  the  population  demands; 
the  churches  pay  some  regard  to  the  number 
of  souls  which  need  transportation  from  sin  to 
goodness;  the  theater  is  adapted  to  the  number 
of  those  who  need  hours  of  laughter  and  sentiment; 
the  library  lits  the  community  as  neatly  as 
the  glove  the  hand  of  the  lady;  even  thai  strange 

invention  of  man  in  his  estate  nf  sin  and  misery 

the  sal 1      issulijeete.lt..  the  eternal  fitness  of 

things,  and,  inasmuch  as  a  community,  however 
large,  needs  no  saloon  at  all.  that  is  the  number 
laid  out  bj  the  thoughtful  architect  and  buill  by 
the  founder.  It  receives  its  due  proportion  of 
time  and  money.  Bui  the  material  symmetry  of 
this  new  city  is  only  the  outward  emblem  of  a 
moral  unity  among  the  inhabitants.  It  has  been 
long  known  thai  unity  is  nol  an  endless  repetition 
nf  all  qualities,  not  a  perfect  sameness,  but  it  is  a 
resemblance  in  some  great  particulars.  I'nity  is 
a  common  bond  of  interest  and  feeling,  a  bond 
greal  enough  to  hold  men  together,  but  nol 
Btrong  enough  to  cramp  human  nature  in  any  of 
its  honorable  depart  a 

Of  late  years  thi  Pullman  Palace  Cars  have  come 
into  very  general  use  in  foreign  countries,  where 
the  excellence  of  their  construction  and  tl 
tion  .  .r  their  appointments  have  elicited  the  warm 
praise,  not  only  of  the  public  generally,  bul  also  of 
royalty.    This  successful  breaking  down  of  foreign 


opposition  t"  a  leading  American  product  ranks 
with  the  greatest  victories  that  have  been  achit  ved 
bj  the  enterprising  inventors  and  manufacturers  ol 
this  country.  The  Pullman  Palace  <  !ar  <  iompan} 
employs  a  capital  of  forty  millions  of    dollars,  and 

Its    assets    e\  Cecil    forty    the    millions.        According 

to  the  last  annual  report,  dated  October   15,  1891, 

the   number  of  cars  owned  or  controlled  in  the 

service  was  2,239,  and   the   total    mileage  ot    rail 

ered  bj   tracts  for   the  operation  "I 

the  cars  nf  this  company   was  about    124,557  miles. 

The  value  of  the   manufactured    product    of  the 

company  for  the  year  covered  bj  this  report  was 
nearly  twelve  millions  of  dollars,  and  of  other  in 
dustries.  including  rentals,  about  a  million  and  a 
half  more;  showing  it  to  be  the  largest  railroad 
manufacturing  interest  in  the  world.  Thirteen 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight]  five  perSOl 
were  carried  on  the  paj  roll,  about  half  ..f  whom 
are  employed  in  the    various  works.     The  amount 

of  wages  paid  for  the  fiscal  year  was  {3,331,527.41, 
making  an  average  for  each  person  employed  or 
$610.73.  The  number  of  passengers  carried  dur 
ing  the  year  covered  by  the  report  was  about  five 
and  a  half  millions,  and  the  aggregate  of  distance 
traversed  by  the  cars  made  the  astounding  total 
of  nearly  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  millions 
of  miles.  The  increase  on  the  preceding  year's 
business  was  a  little  over  eighteen  per  cent.,  both  in 

the  number  of  passengers  carried  and  miles  run. 
At  the  head  and  front  of  this  gigantic  corporation 
stands  Mr.  Pullman,  its  vivifying,  guiding  and 
controlling  power.  Numberless  lieutenants  arc 
required  to  aid  in  carrying  out  the  plans  of  the 
chief,  and  these  he  selects  with  what  has  been 
termed  "the  Napoleonic  instinct."  rarely  making 
a  mistake  in  the  man.  One  of  the  most  remark 
able  improvements  ever  made  in  railroad  cars. 
and  one  which  has  done  more,  probably,  than  all 
others  combined  to  insure  the  safety  of  railroad 
travelers,     is     that      known      as     the     ••  vestilmled 

train."  the  outcome  of   years  of  thought  and  ex 

p.  lament    on    the    part    of    Mr.    Pullman    and    his 

assistants.  But  .Mr.  Pullman's  activities  have 
not  I. een  restricted  t..  the  -reat  enterprises 
named.  He  has  been  concerned  in  several  others 
of  leading  importance,  one  being  the  ESagleton 
I ...  i,  \\"..rks.  of  New  York,  ranking  with  the  largesl 

of  its  class  ill  the  country,  in  which  he  was  for 
several  years  an  active  director  and  the  chief 
stockholder.     It    was   in    Mr.  Pullman's  offices  in 

New  York,  in  1ST  I  or  1875,  that    the  company   was 

formed  which  buill  the  Manhattan  Elevated 
Railroad  in  the  city  of   New   York.     Dr.  Gilbert, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


the  inventor  of  this   mode  of   municipal   rapid 

transit,  was  then  at  the  British  metropolis,  seek- 
ing  to  interest  capitalists;  and,  living  at  the  same 
hotel  as  Mr.  Pullman,  brought  the  scheme  to  his 

attention.       S i     afterwards     a     company     was 

formed,  consisting  of  Mr.  Jose  F.  de  Navarro, 
Commodore  Garrison  and  Mr.  Pullman,  each  of 
whom     subscribed    to    one-third    of    the    stuck. 

Although   backed  by   brains,  energy  and  ney, 

and  having  in  view  the  meeting  of  an  imperative 
local  demand  for  rapid  transit,  the  company  had 
great  difficulty  in  making  headway  against  the 
opposition  it  encountered.  All  the  street  rail- 
mads  of  the  city  of  New  York  were  banded  against 
it.  and  by  legal  process  it  was  enjoined  from  carry- 
ing on  its  work.  In  this  they  were  aided  and 
abetted  by  Commodore  Vanderbilt,  who  was 
always  strenuously  opposed  to  Mr.  Pullman,  and 
would  not  allow  a  Pullman  car  to  enter  New 
York  City.  Undaunted  by  this  opposition,  which 
was  tierce  and  unrelenting,  the  company  carried 
its  case  to  the  highest  legal  tribunals,  and,  after 
innumerable  delays,  was  upheld  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals  by  a  majority  of  one.  According  to  tin- 
terms  < .f  its  charter,  it  was  necessary  to  have  the 
road  finished  and  in  operation  at  a  certain  date. 
When  the  court  decided  in  its  favor,  the  company 
had  but  one  hundred  days  in  which  to  perform 
the  work.  By  less  experienced  and  determined 
men  the  task  would  have  been  deemed  an  impos- 
sibility, hut  these  knew  no  such  word  as  fail. 
Fortunately  for  their  success  the  winter  was  an 
open  one.  Calling  to  their  aid  all  the  available 
bridge  builders  of  the  country,  they  prosecuted 
their  task  without  the  loss  of  an  hour,  and  in  ex- 
actly ninety-six  days  from  the  time  they  were 
relieved  from  the  injunction  they  ran  a  train  over 
the  completed  road.  In  a  public-spirited  manner 
Mr.  Pullman  built,  in  1884,  the  imposing  nine- 
story  office  and  apartment  building  at  the  corner 
of  Adams  Street  and  Michigan  Avenue,  in  Chi- 
cago, which  is  one  of  the  chief  architectural 
ornaments  of  the  city.  This  structure  cost  up- 
wards of  a  million  dollars.  Tin-  Adams  Street 
entrance  to  the  building  is  especially  striking. 
being  an  enormous  arch  supported  by  huge 
granite  pillars.  This  arch  is  the  full  width  of  the 
open  court  within,  on  both  sides  of  which  marble 
stairways  give  access  to  the  second  floor.  In  this 
building  the  palatial  offices  of  Pullman's  Palace 
Car  Company  occupy  two  and  a  half  floors,  and 
the  United  States  Army  offices  a  floor  and  a 
half.  The  remainder  of  the  building  is  devoted 
to   general   business  offices.     Mr.  Pullman's   pri 


vate   residence   in    Chicago,   situated   on    Prairie 
Avenue,  and  remarkable  for  its  massive  elegance 
and   costliness,  ranks   with    the   foremost   in  the 
land,  and    in    its    beautiful    furnishings,  its  treas    . 
ures  of   art   and   literature,  indicates  the  refine- 
ment and  taste  of  its  occupants.     It  is  the  center 
of  a  generous  though   unostentatious  hospitality. 
With  a  tender  regard  for  his  aged  mother,  who  is 
still  living,  he  built  a  palatial  summer  residence 
fur  her  on  an   island   in   the  St.  Lawrence,  which 
heboughtfor  the  purpose.    It  is  called  " Castle 
Rest."  is  beautiful  in  its  architecture,  being  made 
of  the  native    rocks    and    finished    in    the   native 
woods,  and  contains   nearly   fifty   rooms.     In  the 
financial   circles    of   Chicago   Mr.    Pullman    is   a 
power  of  the  first   magnitude,  and   his   influence  is 
of  major  importance  in  every  money  center  in  the 
country.     He   has   been   described    us   "a    man  of 
forceful   yet    silent   energy,  moving   to  his  desired 
ends  with  prudent  yet  persistent  power,  having 
in  large  degree  the  ability  to  foresee  results,  and 
the  tenacity  of  purpose  which  makes  one  fearless 
in  the  pursuit  of  great  ends."     He  is  probably  the 
only  man    in    the  world  who    can    point  with    un- 
reserved  satisfaction    to   so   comprehensive  a  suc- 
cess  as   "the   citj    of    Pullman"—  an    enterprise 
which  it  is  no  flattery  to  say  has  done  more   for 
the  elevation  of  labor  than  the  most  pretentious 
industrial  philanthropies  ever  set  in   motion.     It 
can  be  said  of  him  with  truth  that  tin-  animating 
spirit  of  his  whole  life  has  been  to  do  the  work  at 
hand  in  the  best  manner  to  accomplish  the  high- 
est ends.     Then-  has   been    no   resort    to  deceit  or 
imitation,  no  attempt  to  impose   upon    the  public. 
Honest     endeavor,    consistent     purpose,    laudable 
achievement,  have  been  the  key  notes  of   his  suc- 
eess.      Permanent,    not    ephemeral,    results    have 
been  aimed  at  from  first  to  last,  and  the  splendid 
success  achieved  has  not  been  derived  from  the 
wreckage  of  corporations  or  individuals,  nor  from 
nefarious     inflations,     but     from     a     dealing    in 
actual     values,     which     has    been     the     honor 
able    role    of    his   life,    and    the    mainspring    of 
every  deed  and  effort.     From  first  to  last  his  ques- 
tion has  been  not  "How  much  money  is  there  in 
it?"  but  "How  can  it  be  made  more  perfect— more- 
suitable  to  the  requirements?"  This  policy  having 
ils  root  in  the  ambition  of  an    honorable    man    to 
excel  in  his  department  of  effort    rather   than   in 
an  overweening  hope  of   gain,   has   brought   him 
riches  and  honor,  and  he  stands  before    the  world 
as  one  of  tin-    few    makers   of   a   colossal   fortune 
against  whose  justice,  integrity  and  high    motives 
no  truthful  man  can  suggest  an  imputation.     Mr. 


28 


BIOGRAPH1     OP    ILLINOIS. 


Pullman  is  above   the  ordinary    height,   erect    in 
figure,  and  compact  in  build.     Base  and    firmi 

a   in   in-   movements.     His   bead   is 
large,  bis   brow    broad   and    thoughtful;   bis  eye, 
bazel  in  color,  calm  and   self-reliant    rather   than 
keen,  and  his  countenance  thorough  1)  under  con 
trol.     Everything  in  liis  movement,  demeanor  and 
speech,  indicates  one  who  is  absolutely   master  of 
ever}  power,  mental  and  physical.     In   the  s. >ci;il 
circle  be  shows  himself  to  be  the  ii.issfss.n-nr  i  bose 
kindly  and  gentle  feelings,  «  bich  i  licil  and  retain 
friendship  and  affection.    Among  liis  relatives  and 
intimate  associates  be  is  a  most  charming  conver 
sationalist,  "rich    with    reminiscence  and   '-ntir 
taining   with   anecdote  and  quainl    experience." 
Eehasnoneof  the  arrogance   which    too   often 
goes  with  large   wealth   and   worldly   success,   is 
considerate  to  every  claim  made  upon  him,  public 
or  private,  holds  friendship   in    nigh   esteem   and 
cherishes  a  tender  regard  for  his  family   and    the 
-of   his  earlier   life.     His   business  friends 
testify  to  the  tact  thai  be  is  destitute  of  the  most 
offensive  of  all  traits  in  the  rich.  Belf-made   man. 
namely,  pride  of  possessions;  but  no  stranger  could 
look    at    his  thoughtful    face  without    realizing 
thai    within    lies   consciousness    of     power    and 
an    extraordinary    ability  to  dare  and  do.      Mr. 
Pullman    is    endowed    in    a    high    degree    with 
what    ma)    be  called   the  sense    of  utility,   but 
though  intensel)  practical  in  his  mental  processes 
lie  has  ill.'  happy  faculty  of  blending  the  artistic 
wiili  the  practical  in  everything  that   liis  sugges 
tive  inin. I  has  evolved  and    his  enterprise 
shape.     He  is  thoroughly  American  and   as  such 
has  never  entertained   the   belief  common   with 
many    philanthropists,   that    liis    fellow-citizens 
of    sound    bodily    and    mental   health   need    as- 
sistance in   any   form    that    savors  of   charity    in 
the  usual  sense  in  which  thai   term    is  employed. 
Hut  while  taking  this  elevated  view  of  bis  country- 
men, be  claims  that  the  average  citizen  should  be 
placed  amid  favorable  surroundings  an. I   should 
be  enabled  t.>  prosecute  his  bread  winning   under 
favorable  conditions,  if  be  is  expected  to  rise  to  the 
full  stature  of  manhood  and  do  the  best  that  it  is 
possible  for    him    to    do.      His    aim    has    hern    to 
furnish  these  surroundings  ami  to  supply    these 
conditions  in  the  case  of  all  wh..  an-   in   his  cm 
ployment,  and  it  may  be  doubted  if  in   the  w  bole 
world  there  is  another  instance  of  tins  being  .lone 
in    su.-h    an    effective,    noble    ami   whole-souled 
manner.    As  a  fitting  close  to  this  biographical 

sketch,    tin-    remark    of    01 f    the    foremost 

railroad   men   in   the    countrj     may   be  quoted. 


Speaking  of  what  Mr.  Pullman  has  achieved 
by    his    inventivi     genius,     be    sai.l:      "An   ex 

perience     of     nearly   forty    years    has    taught     lie' 

that  the  quiet,  safe,  luxurious  accommodations  of 
railway  travel  originated  by  Mr.  Pullman,  have 
added  fifty /<•/  •■".'.  to  the  revenue  of  the  passen 
ger  departments  of  the  railroads;  social  intimacies 
have  I" 'en  foster.'. I.  political  an. I  business  ties 
formed,  great  financial  enterprises  created  bj 
these  comforts,  while  for  labor,  new  industries 
have  I  "'en  made  and  the  sum  of  human  happiness 

for  the  rich  ami  i r  has  been   immeasurably   in 

. -rease.!."  It  is  interesting  !••  note  that  Mr. 
Pullman  has   been  a   thorough    believer  in.  ami 

warm  friend  of.  the  Nicaragua  canal  project  tr 

its  inception.  11.-  has  recentlj  become  a  large 
stock  holder  in  that  enterprise,  and  his  influence 
added  to  that  of  the  practical  men  now  at  its  head, 

will  do  much  to  ensure  its    ultimate    success.      In 

March,  1867,  Mr.  Pullman  was  married  to  Mi66 
llattie  A.  Sanger,  the  young  and  accomplished 
daughter  of  James  Y.  Saucer,  a  prominent  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Chicago,  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  in  that  city  ami  during  his  active 
business  life  largely  interested  in  notable  public 
works,  including  the  Illinois  ami  Michigan  Canal, 

the  Ohio  A  Mississippi  Kail     Road,  and    others    of 

crcat  importance  at  that  .lay.  Pour  children  have 
been  born  of  this  marriage,  Florence  Sanger 
Pullman,  Harriet  Saucer  Pullman,  George  M 
Pullman,  Jr.,  and  Walter  Sanger  Pullman,  all  now 
living.  The  young  ladies  have  hut  recently  fin 
ishe.l  their  education.  The  boys,  who  are  twins, 
arc  still  tit  school.     Mrs.  Pullman  and  her  daugh 

ters  take  an  active  interest   in  religious    ami    phi) 

anthropic  work,  ami  their  many  acts  of  benevolence 
ami  charity,  performed  without  the  least  ostenta 

tion     ami     entirely     regardless      of     sectarian     or 

national  lines,  have  made  them  loved  an. I  honored 

in  many  circles. 


TIMOTHY    B.    BLACKSTONE. 

TIMOTHY  BEACH  BLACKSTONE,  presi 
dent  of  the  Chicago  A  Alton  system  of  West 
ern  railroads,  and  probably  the  oldest  railway 
chief  executive  in  America,  in  point  of  continuous 
service,  was  born  at  Branford,  Conn.,  March  28, 
1829.  He  is  a  typical  specimen  of  that  earlier 
wave  of  stur.U  ami  intelligent  manhood  which. 
Btartingfrom  the  land  of  the  Pilgrims  and  Puri 
tans,  gradually  rolled  towards  the  prairies,  carry- 


■ 


IUAH01S. 


BIOGRAPHY    OK    ILLINOIS. 


20 


ing  with  it  the  moral,  intellectual  and  physical 
stamina  derived  from  the  hardy  emigrants  who, 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  dared  the  perils  of 
the  sea  and  the  hardships  and  privations  of  life 
in  a  new  and  unexplored  country,  in  order  to 
secure  the  inestimable  privilege  of  worshiping 
God  according  to  the  dictatrs.it'  their  own  con 
science.  Reference  to  authentic  local  records 
shows  that  the  old  New  England  family  of  Black- 
stone  was  founded  by  William  Blackstone,  or 
Blaxton.  as  the  name  was  spelled  in  those  days  of 
unsettled  orthography,  who  was  a  resilient  of 
Boston  as  far  back  as  1623,  at  which  date  he 
owned  and  tilled  a  small  farm  partly  lying  within 
tin-  boundaries  of  what  is  now  known  as  "Boston 
Common."  This  William  Blaxton,  who  is  fre- 
quently designated  in  family  records  and  local 
annals  as  "William  the  Pilgrim."  was  horn  in 
England  in  1595.  He  appears  to  have  arrived  in 
New  England  about  KVJ'J.  and  there  is  ample  war- 
rant for  believing  that  he  was  no  other  than 
William  Blaxton,  of  Durham.  Eng.,  who.  in  that 
year,  disappeared  from  England  after  having  sold 
certain  lands  there  belonging  to  him.  which  had 
passed  from  father  to  son  in  the  family  for  at 
least  eleven  generations,  the  said  lands  being 
traced  back  to  the  possession  of  another  William 
Blaxton.  who  died  in  England  in  1349.  William 
Blaxton.  "the  Pilgrim."  was  married  at  Boston 
in  1659  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Stevenson,  widow  of  John 
Stevenson,  and  that  the  ceremony  was  an  event 
of  more  than  ordinary  importance  seems  to  be 
shown  by  the  fact  that  Governor  John  Endicott, 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  officiated  ;it  its 
solemnization.  William  Blaxton  died  in  167")  at  a 
place  near  Providence.  R.  I.,  now  called  Lonsdale, 
whither  he  had  removed  from  Boston  after  his 
marriage.  His  grave  there  was  unmarked  for 
two  centuries,  save  by  several  plain  white  stones. 
but  is  now  the  site  of  an  appropriate  monument 
elected  to  his  memory  by  some  of  his  descendants 
still  living.  His  only  son.  who  was  born  in  1GG0, 
removed  from  Rhode  Island  to  Connecticut  about 
the  year  1700,  and  purchased  a  tract  of  land  at 
Branford  in  that  colony,  upon  which  lie  resided 
until  his  death,  many  years  later.  His  descend 
ants  still  own  and  occupy  portions  of  this  tract, 
and  upon  a  part  of  it.  the  individual  possession  of 
his  father,  James  Blackstone.  who  was  a  farmer. 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born.  James 
Blackstone  married  Sarah  Beach,  daughter  of 
Asa  Beach,  of  Branford.  Timothy  was  their 
child.  The  early  years  of  his  life  were  devoid  of 
noteworthy     incident.     As    a    boy.  his    time    was 


about  evenly  divided  between  working  on  the 
farm  and  attending  school,  but.  as  he  was  a  lad 
of  quick  intelligence,  fond  of  reading,  and  likely 
to  make  good  use  of  book  learning,  his  parents 
counselled  him  to  persevere  in  his  studies;  and  sent 
him  in  his  youth  to  one  of  the  best  known 
academies  in  the  state.  Ill  health  interfered  with 
the  carrying  out  of  his  plans,  so  far  as  finishing 
an  academic  or  collegiate  course  was  concerned. 
Acting  under  medical  advice,  he  left  the  academy, 
and  soon  afterwards,  in  1848.  found  invigorating 
outdoor  employment  as  an  assistant  in  the  corps 
of  engineers  then  occupied  in  the  survey  and 
location  of  the  New  York  &  New  Haven  Railroad, 
under  the  late  Col.  Roswell  B.  Mason,  an  able 
civil  engineer,  who  subsequently  became  one  of 
the  most  widely  known  in  the  profession  in  the 
whole  Northwest  region.  In  this  new.  and  at 
times  somewhat  arduous,  employment  the  youth 
exhibited  remarkable  energy  and  perseverance. 
Although  at  first  lacking  the  physical  vigor  for  the 
task,  he  diligently  performed  the  duties  allotted 
to  him.  and  soon  found  that  he  had  entered  a 
most  congenial  field  of  labor,  and  was  rapidly  re- 
covering health  and  strength.  After  a  year's 
service  as  a  rodman.  during  which,  as  his  health 
improved,  he  applied  himself  earnestly  to  the 
study  of  civil  engineering,  he  left  this  corps  to 
assume  the  duties  of  assistant  engineer  of  the 
Stockbridge  &  Pittstield  Railway,  a  short  line, 
constructed  in  1849.  and  now  a  part  of  the  Housa- 
tonic  Railroad.  His  labors  here,  covering  but  a 
few  months,  were  successfully  completed,  and 
added  so  much  to  his  professional  reputation  that 
work  flowed  in  upon  him  from  all  quarters,  and 
for  the  next  two  years  he  was  constantly  em- 
ployed at  various  places  in  the  Eastern  States. 
In  1851.  accepting  a  position  offered  him  by 
Col.  R.  B.  Mason,  who  had  but  recently  assumed 
the  duties  of  chief  engineer  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  lie  removed  to  the  West,  and  was 
placed  in  charge  of  that  portion  of  the  projected 
line  lying  between  Bloomington  and  Dixon.  He 
established  his  headquarters  at  La  Salle.  111.,  be- 
came a  citizen  of  that  place  and  maintained  a 
residence  there  for  a  number  of  years.  Upon 
completing    the    necessary    surveys,    he    assumed 

supervision   of   tin nstruction  of  this  section. 

and  pushed  the  work  rapidly  to  completion.  In 
1856,  two  years  after  the  Juliet  &  Chicago  Bail 
road  Company  had  secured  a  charter  empowering 
it  to  construct  a  railroad  between  Chicago  and 
Joliet  via  Lockport,  Mr.  Blackstone.  who  had 
induced  his  friends  in   the  East  to  invest  in  this 


l;IiH,|;  \|MI\     ul      ILLINOIS. 


■  as  appointed  chief  i  ngineer  ol  the 
company,  and  as  Buch  personally  supervised  both 
the  location  and  construction  of  the  entire  line. 
Uthough  maintaining  its  separate  existence  as  a 
corporation,  the  Joliel  &  Chicago  Railroad  Com 
panj  entered  into  a  combination  which  made  its 

line,  when ipleted,  a  division  of  tne  new  ays 

tern  of  railroads  known  at  thai  time  as  the  St, 
Louis,  Alton  a  Chicago  Line,  which  \v;ts  rum 
posed  of  the  old  Alton  A  Sangamon  Railroad,  ex 
tending  from  Alton  n>  Springfield,  and  completed 
in  1853;  the  Chicago  A  Mississippi  Railroad,  ex 
t .-n.linLr  from  Springfield  to  Joliet,  and  completed 
in  1856;  and  of   the  Joliet   A   Chicago  Railroad, 

ipleted   in    L857.    The   many  evidences  of  ex 

ecutive  ability  shown  1>\  Mr.  Blackstone  while 
laying  nut  and  constructing  the  last  named  road 
convinced  its  stockholders  thai  the  managemenl 
..f  its  affairs  might  safely  1m-  placed  in  Iris  hands, 
L86]  he  was  chosen  president  of  tin-  road. 
Thai  the  estimate  of  Ins  ability  implied  by  this 
choice  was  a  Bound  one  is  attested  b)  Mr.  Black 
stone's  remarkable  surrrss  in  conducting  the 
affairs  of  the  road  during  tin-  three  years  he  re 
mained  ;ti  its  head.  While  other  divisions  of  the 
si.  Louis.  Alton  A  Chicago  were  passing  through 
bankruptcy  and  being  managed  by  receivers,  the 
Joliel  a  Chicago  Line  enjoyed  ;i  fair  degree  of 
prosperity.  The  necessity  for  a  reorganization  of 
the  St.  L.mis.  Alton  A  Chicago  became  apparent 
asearlyas   1861,  and   by  legislative  enactmenl   a 

e nission  was  created  for  this  purpose,  which, 

in  due  time,  purchased  the  bankrupt  portions  of 
the  line,  and  finally  perfected  a  new  organization 
for  their  operation,  which  was  Btyled  the  Chicago 
a  \l'..n  Railwaj  Company.  In  1864  thiscorpora 
tion  leased  the  Joliet  A  Chicago  Railroad,  and 
Mr.  Blackstone  became  a  member  of  the  director) 
..r  the  new  company.  He  had  sat  but  a  few  times 
in  the  board  when  he  was  elected  its  president, 
his  colleagues  by  this  act  testifj  ing  their  implicit 
confidence  in  his  judgment  ami  efficiency  as  an 

executive  officer.    At  the  ti he  became  vested 

with  the  management  or  the  Chicago  a  Alton 
RailwayCompany.il  controlled  and  operated  as 

owner  ami  lessee  aboul  250  miles  of  road.  <  >ne  of 
the   earliest    ami    most    important    ste|>s  taken  by 

the  company,  aftei  he  assumed  the  duties  of 
president,  was  the  leasing  of  the  newly  constructed 
line  between  Alton  ami  St.  Louis,  bj  means  of 
which  railway  connection  between  Chicago  ami  St. 
Louis  was  completed.  In  L867  the  compan;  ab 
sorbed  the  St.  Louis,  Jacksonville  A  Chicago  Kail 
road  as  a  part  of  it^  system  and  subsequently,  as 


occasion  or  opportunity  Beemed  to  justify  further 

extension,  other  lines  of  railroad  have  been  added. 
A  late  report  1 1891  ishowsthat  the  Chicago  4  Alton 
system  includes  fully  eight  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  ,,r  railroad,  si\  hundred  of  which  have  hen 

added  during  the  period  Mr.  Blacks! has  been 

in  executive  control.  This  report  shows  also  that 
the  financial  affairs  of  the  corporation  are  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  having  been  carefully  and 
skilfully  managed  during  this  same  period  now 
almost  twenty-eight  years.  Asa  matter  of  fact 
the  several  extensions,  numerous  improvements, 
ami  necessary  repairs  have  all  been  carefully 
planned,  wisely  considered  ami  economically 
carried  out;  and  by  the  judicious  policy  of  man 
agemenl  pursued  from  first  to  last  bj  Presidenl 
Blackstone,  ample  provision  for  future  require 
ments  has  hern  made  whenever  possible  and 
practicable.  A  gratif)  ing  evidenceof  the  wisdom 
of  his  line  of  policy  is  afforded  by  the  fact,  that 
while  earl)  in  the  -sixties"  tin-  several  roads 
making  up  the  original  company  were   bankrupt, 

the  same  roads  in  Hi  is.  together  with  t  he  add  it  ions. 

after  but  touryeareof  Mr.  Blackstone's  manage 
ment,  were  all  being  conducted  profitably.     In  tie 

year  just  mentioned  the  net  earnings  of  the.com 
pany  were  about   two  million  dollars.    Consider 

inf.'   the    earlier    circumstances    this    sneeess    was 

remarkable.  It  is  an  additional  proof  of  Mr. 
Blackstone's  exceptional  talent  for   management, 

that  this  sneeess  has  been  maintained  nninter 
ruptedly  down  to  the  present  day,  each  year,  as  a 
rule,  showing  an  increase  over  the  preceding  one 
in  the  business  of  the  company,  and  likewise  a 
satisfactory  return  to  the  stockholders  in  the  way 

of  protits.      In  one  of  the  series  of  articles  entitled 

••The  Railroad  Men  of  America,"  recently  pub 
lished,  the  author,  in  commenting  upon  Mr. 
Blackstone's  eminent  position  in  the  railroad 
world,  made  the  foil. .wine  forcible  assertion: 
"While  several  of  the  men  who  now  at  the  head 
..I  -real    railroad    systems    in    the    United    States 

have,  like  Mr.  Blackstone,  climbed  to  their  presenl 

positions  from  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder,  he 
has.  perhaps,  no  contemporary  who  has,  tors 

a  time,    had     so    nmeh    to    do    with     shaping    the 

policies  and  controlling  the  destinies  of  a  Bingle 
corporation,  or  who  has  retained  so  long,  the  im 
plieit  confidence  an. I  good  will  of  so  large  a  bodj 
of  share  holders,  in  any  similar  enterprise."  In  a 
country  where  the  mutations  of  fortune  are  so 
greal  and  unexpected  ami  in  a  section  particularly 
Bubjecl  to  them,  permanency  in  a  position  of  such 
and   responsibility    is   remarkable   to 


of  \LUH0r 


-  - 


BIOGRAPHY   OP    ILLINOIS. 


31 


say  the  least.  In  this  instance  it  has  been  secured 
by  merit  alone,  which  has  successfully  stood  every 
test  and  has  emerged  brighter  from  each.  It  is 
ncit  too  much  to  assert,  that  Mr.  Blackstone's 
business  qualities  would  have  earned  him  success 
in  any  undertaking,  and  prominence  in  any  com- 
munity. Like  many  another  who  has  risen  to 
eminence,  accidental  circumstances  seem  to  have 
guided  his  early  steps.  Yet,  by  adopting  the 
principle  of  doing  with  all  his  might  whatever  his 
hand  found  to  do,  he  progressed  steadily  upwards; 
and  at  length,  with  a  mind  trained  by  study,  ob- 
servation and  experience  for  greater  things,  he 
arrived  at  a  higher  goal  than  even  his  youthful 
ambition  dreamed  of,  and  one  more  replete  with 
responsibility  than  many  distinguished  political 
positions.  A  quality  possessed  by  many  of  the 
world's  most  successful  men  he  has  had  in  a 
marked  degree,  viz.,  that  of  quickly  judging  of  the 
merits  of  his  associates  and  assistants.  His  subor- 
dinates are  all  carefully  selected  as  being  the  very 
best,  each  in  his  respective  department.  Merit  is 
always  recognized  and  in  proper  time  receives  its 
due  reward.  The  most  humble  employee  of  the 
company  does  not  work  half  so  hard  as  its  honored 
President,  who  regards  himself  as  its  chief  servant 
as  well  as  its  chief  executive  officer,  and  labors 
assiduously  and  conscientiously  to  further  its  in- 
terests and  to  give  a  good  account  of  his  steward- 
ship. In  his  personal  characteristics  Mr.  Black 
stone  is  a  type  of  republican  simplicity.  The 
large  working  force  under  him — a  veritable  army 
in  size  and  discipline — recognizes  the  inherent 
force  of  his  character,  admits  his  masterful  grasp 
of  railroading  in  whole  and  in  detail,  and,  to  a 
man,  yields  respectful  obedience.  On  his  part  the 
President  returns  the  compliment.  Duty  well 
performed  is  a  sure  passport  to  his  esteem.  The 
humblest  workman  has  only  to  request  an  inter- 
view to  obtain  it,  and  is  sure  of  courteous  treat- 
ment. Directness  is  another  quality  of  Mr.  Black 
stone.  His  duties  make  heavy  demand  upon  his 
time  and  he  has  none  to  waste;  therefore  in  con- 
versations of  a  business  character  he  comes  at 
■once  to  the  point  and  expects  as  much  from  those 
who  seek  interviews  with  him.  Although  given 
to  brevity  in  this  regard  his  treatment  of  visitors 
is  invariably  cordial,  and  it  has  been  noted  that 
"they  usually  retire  from  his  office  with  the  im- 
pression firmly  fixed  in  their  minds  that  it  is  much 
easier  to  do  business  with  a  railroad  president 
than  with  the  average  station  agent."  In  his 
early  manhood,  while  a  resident  of  La  Salle,  Mr. 
Blackstone  was  looked  upon  as   one  of   the   most 


active  and  enterprising  young  men  in  the  town. 
His  interest  in  public  affairs  was  of  that  intelli- 
gent, sensible  kind  that  prompts  to  conscientious 
citizenship  and  loyal  effort  for  the  general  welfare. 
In  1854.  when  he  had  resided  among  them  only 
two  or  three  years,  the  citizens  of  La  Salle  elected 
him  Mayor  of  the  town,  and  he  served  his  term 
with  such  advantage  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
place,  that  he  retired  from  office  with  the  good- 
will and  thanks  of  all.  Had  he  shown  any  incli- 
nation for  further  political  honors  they  would 
have  come  to  him  without  doubt,  but  his  life  work 
led  him  in  another  direction  and  he  declined  to 
abandon  it.  In  the  city  of  Chicago,  where  he  has 
resided  so  many  years,  he  ranks  among  the  lead- 
ing citizens  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  for  those 
qualities  which  in  all  countries  and  in  every  age 
have  been  deemed  the  essentials  of  true  manhood. 
His  life  affords  a  telling  example  of  the  value  of 
persistent  and  well  directed  effort  in  achieving 
moral  and  material  success,  and  is  full  of  encour- 
agement to  the  youth  of  the  land  who  are  strug- 
gling upwards  from  small  and  obscure  beginnings. 
In  1868  Mr.  Blackstone  found  a  wife  among  the 
fair  daughters  of  his  native  State.  This  estimable 
lady,  whose  maiden  name  was  Isabella  Famsworth 
Norton,  is  a  native  of  Norwich  and  the  daughter 
of  Henry  B.  Norton,  one  of  the  most  reputable 
merchants  of  that    place. 


MARK  SKINNER. 

HON.  MARK  SKINNER,  one  of  Chicago's 
most  noted  jurists,  was  born  in  Manchester,  Vt., 
September  13,  1813.  From  his  parentage,  from 
his  early  training  and  associations,  it  was  not  at 
all  remarkable  that  he  became  famous  as  a  lawyer 
and  earned  the  enviable  reputation  he  did  as  a 
popular  citizen,  a  philanthropist,  and  a  noble, 
earnest  Christian  gentleman,  whose  death  was  a 
sad  loss  to  the  community  wherein  he  had  lived 
for  years,  and  where  the  influence  of  his  grand 
life,  the  result  of  his  labors  for  the  good  of  those 
around  him.  will  live  forever.  Judge  Mark 
Skinner's  father  was  Richard  Skinner,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  men  in  early  New  England  his- 
tory. He  was  born  at  Litchfield,  Conn.,  in  1778, 
and  became  celebrated  as  a  lawyer.  He  moved 
into  Vermont  in  1802,  and  located  at  Manchester. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1814.  Forfive years 
he  was  chief  justice,  and   from   1820   to   1824  was 


BIOGRAPEO    OP    lU.IXois. 


Governor  of   the  State.     He  died   Ma)   23,  L833. 

Judge    Skinner's    Hut.     Francos     Pierrepont 

Skinner,  was  also  ol  a  noted  New  England  family. 
She  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  in  1782,  and 
could  trace  her  ancestrj  back  to  Sir  Hugh  do 
Pierrepont,  ot  Picardy,  Prance.     A   near  relation 

was  John  Pierre] t,  the  first  of  the  name  in  this 

country,  who  settled  near  Boston  in  1640.  Mrs. 
Richard  Skinner  was  a  woman  of  rare  character 
She  was  a  devoted  mother,  an  earnest  Christian, 
and  to  her  influence  was  due  the  manly  Christian 

character    of    her    sun.    Mark,    while    his    natural 

legal  ability  was  largely  inherited  from  his  father, 
a  family  of  several  children,  Mark  was  the 
.mly  son  who  reached  maturity.  His  education 
was  thorough,  beginning  at  a  school  in  Benning 
ton,  Vt..  and  continued  at  one  in  Troy,  N.  Y.  He 
prepared  tor  college  at  the  Pittefield  Academy, 
Mass.,  and  graduated  in  Is:::;  from  Middleburg 
College,  Vt..  an  institution  which,  after  ^  ale  and 
Harvard,  is  the  equal  of  any  of  the  New  England 
colleges.  Nat  ii  rails  inclined  to  the  law,  he  entered 
upon  the  stud]  of  that  profession,  and  spent  two 
years  with  Judge  Ezek  Cowan,  at  Saratoga 
Springs.  His  Btudies  were  continued  under 
Nicholas  Hill,  of  Albany,  and  a  third  year  was 
Bpenl  at  the  New  Haven  Law  School.  Upon  the 
completion  of  his  legal  studies.  Mr.  Skinner  was 
urged  by  Mr.  Hill  to  join  him  in  a  partnership. 
Mr.  Skinner  had,  however,  recentl)  been  hearing 
ol'  ( Ihicago  from  a  friend  who  had  been  West,  and 
the  possibilities  of  that  city  for  a  young  man  of 
energy  were  too  enticing  to  he  resisted.  He  had 
partly  formed  the  resolution  to  unite  with  Mr. 
Hill,  hut  he  changed  his  plans,  and    in   .Inly.  L836, 

In-  found  himseir  in  the  growing  young  metropolis 
of  the  West,  where  he  was  almost  immediate]] 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  the  autumn  had  lieU ui i 
the  practice  ot  his  profession  in  connection  with 
George  Anson  Olliver  Beaumont.  Prom  that 
time  on.  his  career  was  one  of  continual  advance 
iMiiii  in  his  profession,  anil  in  is:;;*  in  he  was  city 
attorney.  He  was  Master  in  Chancery  for  many 
years  for  Cook  County,  and  under  T>  ler's  admin 
istration    was     appointed     Tinted    Staler    district 

attorney,  to  succeed  Mr,  Butterfield,  the  district 

then  embracing  the  entire  state.    Upon  the  elec 

tion  or  .lames  K.  Polk  as    President.  Mr.  Skinner's 

ppointment  was  opposed  b)    Isaac  N.Arnold. 

who  also  became  a  candidate  for  this   office.     The 

contest    between   tin-   two  applicants   became  so 
animated  and    protracted    that    it    tinally  resulted 

iua npromise,  and  the  appointment  of  a  third 

part]  to  the  position.    The  struggle  so  impressed 


Mr.  Skinner  with  tin-  descents  a  man  must  make 
to  obtain  Federal  patronage  that  he  then  resolved 
that  this  struggli   toi  Federal  office  should  be  his 

Mr.   Skinner    w  as.  however,  elected    in    1846 

to  the  Illinois  Legislature,  and  his  arduous, 
broad  and  enduring  work  accomplished  in  that 
bod)    has  since   been   of   priceless   value  to   the 

State.      He    was    made    chairman    of    the    finance 

committee,  and  he  drew  up  and  secured  the  pas 
sageot  the  hill   refunding   the  State  debt.    The 

six  different  forms  of  state  bonds  were  n-di d 

into  one  convenient  and  manageable  I  or  m.  which 
most  effectually  cut  off  an)  possibilities  of  fraud 
in  issuing  new  bonds.  It  was  during  this  session 
also  that  the  State  convention  was  called  which 
formed    the    second    State    constitution,   and    the 

me rable  fight,  based  upon  the  phraseologj  of 

the  old  constitution, occurred,  regarding  the  repre 
sentation  at   the   convention    from    the   northern 

and    southern    districts.       Tin-     championship    of 

the  northern  side  devolved  upon  Mr.  Skinner,  and 

his  energy   and    g 1    management   carried   the 

day.  Mr.  Skinner  was  also  instrumental  in  cans 
ing  the  passage  of  a    measure  to  recoi -nee  a 

partial  payment  of  the  interest  on  the  Slate  debt, 
a  matter  that  had  been  for  some  years  in  default 
and  which  there  was  a  disposition  to  repudiate. 
In  |s;,i  Mr.  skinner  was  elected  Judge  of  the 
Cook  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  now  the 
Superior  Court  of  Cook  County.  A  writer  famil- 
iar with  the  affairs  of  those  early  days  says  of 
Judge  Skinner:  -  He  declined  a  reflection  in  is.".:: 
on  account  ,,1'  ill  health.  The  labors  "f  the  bench 
at  that  time  were  almost  insupportable, especially 
w  Inn  one's  strength  was  limited.  Judge  Skinner 
was  the  sole  judge  of  the  court,  and  practically 
did    the    imsiness    appertaining    to    the    higher 

courts  of  the  county  at  that  time,  the  Circuit 
Court  holding  hut  two  short  terms  annually  and 
the  Recorder's  Court  not  yet  in  existence.  All 
the  commercial  ami  nine  tenths  ..f  the  civil  busi- 
ness in  the  county  was  transacted  in  this  court, 
and    imposed    an    enormous    burden   of  care    and 

responsibility."  In  1854  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Anti  Nebraska  party,  which  was  opposed  to  the 
course  taken  b)  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  was 
one  of  the  committee  appointed  to  agitate  the 
subject  of  its  support.    This  led  to  the  fusion  of 

senti ids  that  revolutionized  the  polities  of  tins 

entire  part  of  the  State  This  party  was  com 
posed  of  anti  slavery  people,  both  Democrats  and 
Whigs.  In  four  years  it  absorbed  theWhigand 
Pre.  Soil  parties  and  tatall)  weakened  the  Dem 

OCratic  party.      During  these  years  .Indue  Skinner 


BIOGRAPHV    OF    ILLINOIS. 


33 


had  been  associated  with  the  brightest  legal 
minds  that  had  been  attracted  to  Chicago,  and 
among  them  all  he  was  a  peer.  The  same  reasons 
which  led  him  to  refuse  a  re  election  to  the  bench 
operated  to  prevent  him  from  resuming  his  legal 
practice.  Besides  this,  he  had  become  the  finan- 
cial agent  of  certain  Eastern  capitalists  in  the 
investment  of  funds  in  Chicago  real  estate.  His 
knowledge  of  the  law  as  applied  to  realty,  and  his 
accurate  business  habits,  fitted  him  for  the  suc- 
cessful management  of  this  business,  and  no  one 
in  Chicago,  perhaps,  so  largely  represented  non- 
resident capitalists,  or  handled  larger  amounts  of 
the  borrowed  money  so  extensively  used  in  build- 
ing up  tlie  city.  His  long  and  honorable  connec- 
tion with  the  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company  was  especially  prominent,  and  in  a 
memorial  presented  to  the  board  of  directors  of 

the  company  on  th icasion  of  Judge  Skinner's 

death,   the   president,  Colonel  Ji b   L.Greene, 

took  occasion  to  pay  the  following  kindly  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  his  warm  personal  friend  as  well 
as  business  associate: 

"  The  directors  of  the  company  having  learned 
of  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Mark  Skinner,  wh 
more  than  thirty  years  its  financial  correspondent, 
and  their  own  trusted  confidential  adviser  at  Chi- 
cago, entered  upon  their  records  this  minute  desir- 
ing therebj  to  recall  and  to  mark  their  sense  of  the 
peculiar  importance  and  value  of  his  services  to  il 
in  that  relation,  involving  the  investment  of  over 
527,1  k  k  i.i  n  k  i.  the  acquisitii  in  1  >y  una  v.  lidal  >le  t<  irecl  >s- 
ure, and  the  subsequent  sale  of  large  amounts  of 
real  estate,  and  the  personal  oversight  and  handling 
of  those  great  interests  during  all  the  dangerous 
and  trying  vicissitudes  which  fell  upon  r 
try  at  large,  and  upon  his  own  city  in  particular, 
during  thai  most  eventful  period;  tin-  singular 
intelligence,  foresight,  sound  judgment,  delicacy, 
courage,  fidelity  and  single  heartedness  with 
which  he  treated  everj  question,  faced  every 
emergency  and  discharged  every  duty;  his  un- 
tiring watchfulness  of  every  interest  involved; 
his  equally  wise  and  kindly  zeal  forthe  welfare  of 
the  company's  debtors  in  tine'  of  financial  dis- 
tress; thai  unfailing  courtesy  which  made  a  long 
association  with  him  a  pleasure  as  well  as  high 
privilege;  and  their  deep  sense  of  loss  and  their 
sympathy  with  his  bereaved  family." 

Judge  Skinner  drew  up  the  will  i  if  the  late  Walter 

L us  Newberry,  and  was  the  principal  executor 

and  trustee.  It  may  never  be  known  how  much 
Chicago  is  indebted  to  Judge  Skinner  for  tin-  be- 
quesl  of  ill''  Newberry  Library,  but  from  his 
having  been  for  years  Mr.  Newberry's  intimate 
friend  and  confidential  adviser,  it  is  safe  to  pre- 
sume  he   had    much    influence  witli  him  in  that 

direction.    Judge  Skinner  could  not   have    I n 

called  a  politician.     The  held  was  open  to  him.  as 


was  that  of  authorship  and  journalism,  for  which 
he  was  so  ablj  fitted.  In  his  earlier  yeara  in 
Chicago  In'  was  a  I  temocrat,  but  at  a  later  date  lie 
became  warmly  allied  with  the  anti-slavery  senti- 
iin-iit  of  tie-  country,  and  through  that  was  led  to 
unite  with  the  Republican  party.  He  was  one 
who  pledged  himself  to  support  tic  An ti  Nebraska 
party.  Judge  Skinner  was  wont  to  consider  his 
services  in  connection  witli  the  United  States 
Sanitary  Commissions  as  the  most  valuable  of 
his  life.  Th.'  need  of  such  a  commission  was 
quickly  realized  when  the  war  had  reallj  begun, 
and  tin:  judge  gave  his  time,  energy  and  money 
to  aid  the  commission  in  every  way  possible,  lb- 
was  made  its  president,  and  continued  his 
patriotic  work  until  1864,  when  a  severe  and 
i-  attack  i  if  typhoid  fever  compelled  him 
to  resign  that  position,  although  not  abating  his 
interest  in  this  noble  work  and  the  blessings  of 
thousands  is  the  reward  for  his  self -denying  labor. 
i  tesl  gift  of  all  was  the  lib-  of  his  only  re- 

maining son.  Richard,  who  fell  after  a  brief  and 
honorable  service  in  the  trenches  before  Peters- 
burg, June  22, 1864.  During  all  Judge  Skinner's 
residence  in  Chicago  he  was  the  reliable  friend  of 
the  common  school.  He  naturally  took  a  deep 
interest  in  educational  matters,  and  for  this  in- 
terest his  name  shall  be  perpetuated,  as  the  city, 
in  recognition  of  it.  erected  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Aberdeen  and  West  Jackson  Stn-ets  the 
Skinner  School.  Judge  Skinner  was  instru- 
mental in  organizing  the  Young  Men's  Asso- 
ciation, afterward  changed  to  the  Chicago 
Library  Association,  and  the  nucleus  of  the 
library  was  furnished  on  April  24,  1841,  by  Walter 
L.  Newbi  rry.  Judge  Skinner  was  one  of  the 
charter  trustees  of  the  County  Hospital,  and  was 
one  of  the  early  presidents  of  the  Chicago  Home 
for  the  Friendless.  He  was  one  of  tin  incorpo- 
rators of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  and 
was  himself  indefatigable  in  his  labor  in  connec- 
tion with  that  society  following  the  great  fire.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Chicago  Reform 
School,  and  was  made  tin-  tirst  president  of  the 
board  of  directors,  a  position  for  which  he  was 
eminently  qualified  and  which  he  held  for  many 
years.  lb' was  activelj  identified  witli  the  rail- 
mad  interests  of  Chicago,  more  particularly  witli 

li Id  Galena   and   the   Chicago,  Burlington  & 

Quincy  Railroads,  in  each  of  which  he  was  a 
director.  He  was  also  a  director  in  the  Chicago 
Marine  and  Fire  Insurance  Company,  the  State 
Insurance  Company,  the  Chicago  (las  Light  and 
Coke   Company    and    a     trustee    of    the    Illinois 


$4 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


Charitable  Eye  and   Bat   Infirmary.     He  was  an 

elder,  first   in  the  Sei •!   Presbyterian   Church, 

and  afterwards  in  the  Fourth  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Chicago.  In  fact,  it  may  be  saiil  that 
mi  man  ol  his  time  was  at  heart  more  deeplj  in 
terested  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  material 
prosperity  or  the  moral  and  religious  advance- 
ment of  Chicago  than  was  Judge  Skinner.  The 
records  "f  the  Chicago  Historical  Society  show 
that  Judge  Skinner  had  an  intimate  connection 

with  tl ganization  of  that  institution.     Prom 

its  first  organization  to  the  day  of  his  death  Judge 
Skinner  was  not  only  officially  connected  with 
this  Bociety,  but  tor  its  advancement  he  con 
tributed  largely  of  both  his  time  and  means.  His 
love  of  books  naturally  led  him  to  take  great  in- 
terest in  such  work.  His  own  library  was  his 
favorite  retreat  from  the  ran-  and  worrj  ol  Ins 
business  life.     He  was  particularly   fond   <>r  his 

home,  and  the  year  L841  was  made  mei 'able  to 

lii in  in  his  truest  life  by  his  marriage,  on  Maj  21, 
t < >  Elizabeth  Magill  Williams.  He  retained  a 
great  devotion  to  his  native  State,  and  became 
one  of  the  founders  "f  the  New  England  Societj 
of  Chicago.  Hi-  love  of  bis  native  place  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  during  his  whole  life  he  was 
accustomed  to  return  each  year  to  Manchester. 
Vt.,  for  recreation  and  rest,  and  his  last  illness 
found  him  in  his  beloved  town.  His  illness  was 
!■  milt  an>l  painful,  but  he  never  complained.  His 
strong  Christian  character  upheld  him  through 
all  the  Buffering.  He  died  on  September  16,  1887. 
Judge  Skinner  was  as  much  beloved  in  his  old 
home  as  in  ( !hicago,  where  he  had  spent  his  active 
years.  His  funeral  was  a  large  one;  there  were 
hundreds  of  sad  hearts  in  that  Vermont  town  on 
that  beautiful   September  day,  who  followed  all 

that  was rtal  of  Mark  Skinner   to   the   resting 

place  he  had  himself  chosen  beside  his  parents. 
'There  were  many  sad  hearts  in  Chicago,  where  he 

had    li\e,l    ami  was    loved;   a    g 1    man.  a    meat. 

had  been  taken  from  their  midst. 


JOSEPH   MEDILL. 

Under  date  of  "Washington,  D.  C,  March  24, 
189]  "  a  ( Ihicago  gentleman  who  has  been  promi- 
nent   in   tin-   Diplomatic  Servi f  the   United 

state-,  an. I  whose  brilliant  record  as  a  represents 
live  "f  his  country  abroad  is  onlj  equalled  by  his 
high  standing  in  tin-   politics  al   life  of 

Chicago,  writes  as  follows  concerning  the  subject 


or  this  sketch:    "Hon.  Joseph  Medillisone  of  the 
headed    men.    one  or  the    most    public 

spirited  citizens,  ami ■  of  theablest  writers  ami 

thinkers  in  this  country.     He   is  an   ezceedingl) 

full  man.  ami  there  is  scarcely  any  subject   occu 

■  ■  ral  attention  in  this  country  or  Europe 

on  which  be  cannot  speak  and  write  instructively. 

I   the   .lay 

and  follows  w ith  keenness  the   polit i.--  . 
Britain  as  well  as  those  of  the  United  states.    As 
a  newspaper  man  it  is  conceded  by  all  ol  ins  eon 
freres  that  he  is  a  success.    The-' Chicago  Tribune' 

.-paper  is  one  of  the  most  important 
journals  in  this  country,  ami  its  influence  is  wide 
spread.     Joseph  Medill,  more  t  han  any  ot  her  man. 

is  its  architect.  He  is  a  man  of  the  highest  per 
sonal  character,  ami  his  private  life  might  he  well 
emulated  bj  anyone  who  desires  to  win  the  esteem 
or  his  fellows."  'The  writer  or  these  lines,  while  a 
personal  friend  of  .Mr.  Medill's,  holds  opposing 
political  views,  and  the  controversies  between 
them  on  these  lines  have  at  times  been  very 
spirited.  His  opinion  may.  therefore,  while 
thoroughly  intelligent,  be  taken  as  entirely  with 

out  pn  iudic :  favor.    Joseph  .Medill  is  remotelj 

of  Huguenot  descent.  Hi-  ancestors  were  es 
polled  from  France  for  adhering  to  their  religion 
at   the    time    of    the    revocation    of    the    Edict    of 

Mantes.    Medille  is  still  a    French    n; i,  and    it 

was  a  Joseph  Medille  who  first  demonstrated  to 
tic  French  Government  the  feasibility  or  the 
Mont  ( 'en  is  tunnel.  But  Mr.  Medill  is  immediately 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  and    he   inherits   all   the 

t  raits  ol'  character  which  have  made  this  admixture 

of  the  human  race  so  justly   celebrated.     He   was 

horn  April  t'..  ls-j:;.  near  the  city  of  St.  John,  New 
Brunswick.  His  parents  were  William  ami  Mar 
arc!  Medill.  His  father  was  a  farmer  on  the  St. 
Johns  River,  and  there  the  family  remained  until 
1832,  \\  hen  the>  moved  to  Massillon,  stark  County, 

Ohio,  taking    the    hoy.    who    was    then    hut     nine 

years  old,  with  them.  Work  on  a  rami  and  in- 
struction in  the  public   school  at    his   new    home 

occupied  Joseph  Medill's  time  until  he  was  six- 
teen years  old.      It    is    said    that    he    showed    his 

thirst  tor  knowledge  at  this  early  age  by   walking 

nine  miles  every  Saturday    to    get    instruction    in 

Latin,  logic  and  nat ural  philosophy  from  a  clergy- 
man in  Canton.  Ohio.  He  studied  li\.-  or  -i\ 
months  under    tin-   clergyman.       Later    In-    com 

pleted    hi  a    at    the    village    academy 

\l       illon,    :  raduat  ing    in    1843       Tl 
year  Mr.  Medill   marked  the  attainment   of  his 
majority  by  voting  for  Henrj  Clay,  ami   this  im 


CLX6^ 


"H^d^ejL 


«*» 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


35 


portant  duty  done,  he  began  the  study  of  law  with 
the  Hon.  Hiram  Griswold.  Alter  admission  to 
the  bar  in  November,  1846,  Mr.  Medill,  in  connec- 
tinn  with  George  W.  Melllvaine,  afterward  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State,  began 
to  practice  law  al  X<-\\  Philadelphia.  Mr.  MedilFs 
inclinations,  however,  were  for  the  life  of  a  journ- 
alist: and  in  1849,  having  dissolved  his  partner 
ship  with  Mr.  Melllvaine,  he  began  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Coshocton  (Ohio)  "Republican".  In 
1851  Mr.  Medill  sold  this  paper  and  started  the 
■■  I  >ailj  Forest  City."  at  Cleveland,  giving  <  leneral 
Scott  a- strong  support  in  the  Presidential  Cam 
paign  of  that  year.  The  overwhelming  defeat  of 
the  Wing  candidate,  who  ran  on  a  too  conserva- 
tive platform,  convinced  Mr.  Medill,  who  was  a 
radical,  that  it  was  time  to  organize-  ;i  new  part} 
to  occupy  more  advanced  grounds,  in  which  the 
doctrines  of  free  soil  and  anti-slavery  should  be 
the  prominent  feature.  From  this  conception 
grew  the  National  Republican  party,  despite  the 
opposition  of  many  wise  old  Whig  politicians  and 
statesmen,  who,  while  favoring  the  general  idea, 
thought  the  movement  far  ahead  of  time.  The 
following  year  Mr.  Medill  formed  a  business 
alliance  with  John  C.  Vaughan,  an  emancipation- 
ist from  South  Carolina,  who  was  publishing  the 
"True  Democrat"  a  free  soil  organ  in  Cleveland. 
The  two  papers  were  combined  in  1853  under  the 
name  of  the  "Cleveland  Leader,"  and  the  consoli- 
dated venture  was  highly  successful.  The  move 
ment  for  a  new  national  party  which  Mr.  .Medill 
started  in  Ohio  in  18.">:i  found  fruition  in  April. 
1S."i4.  when  in  company  with  eleven  other  gentle- 
men interested  in  the  matter,  who  were  radical 
Whigs,  anti-slavery  Democrats  and  Free  Soilers, 
he  assisted  in  organizing  the  nucleus  of  the 
Republican  party  in  Cleveland.  The  new  party 
radicals  cast  nearly  60,000  votes  for   Governor   at 

the  electi f   1853  in   Ohio:  the  conservative 

Whig  candidate  was  distanced  and  that  ended  tin- 
Whig  party  in  the  Buckeye  State.  Important 
events  in  the  country's  history  crowded  this 
closely,  and  the  growth  of  the  party  was  power 
fully  assisted  by  the  perfidious  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  the  passage  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Bill,  and  the  disgraceful  Dred  Scott 
Decision,  which  tended  to  disrupt  the  old  parties. 
Chicago  about  this  time  was  beginning  to  attract 
attention  as  a  commercial  and  a  political  center, 
and  in  January.  1855,  Mr.  Medill  sold  out  the 
■■  Leader."  and  in  company  with  his  old  partner, 
Mr.  Vaughan,  and  Dr.  Ray  of  Galena,  Illinois. 
bought  "The  Chicago  Tribune."  a  paper  which  up 


to  that  time  had  had  a  precarious  existence.  Mr. 
Medill  assumed  the  editorial  and  business  man- 
agement, and  made  the  venture  a  successful  one, 
from  the  very  start.  His  entrance  into  official 
political  life  in  Illinois  was  in  1869,  when  lie  was 
unanimously  elected  a  member  of  the  Constitu 
tional  Convention,  a  body  which  created  the 
reformed  constitution,  and  in  which  he  took  a 
conspicuous  part.  Mr.  Medill  framed  the  provis- 
ions which  secured  representations  to  minorities 
in  lie-  legislature  and  in  corporations,  and  was  a 
leader  in  the  general  work  of  revision.  In  1871, 
Mr.  Medill  was  appointed  by  President  Grant,  a 
member  of  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  and  in 
November  of  the  same  year  la-  was  elected  Mayor 
of  Chicago  by  a  three-fourths  majority.  When 
In-  assumed  charge  of  the  office  the  city  was  in 
ruins  from  the  great  tire,  and  disorder  anil  desti- 
tution   prevailed.    It    was  Mr.   Medill's    Bpecial 

Work  during  the  ensuing  two  years,  to  restore  Ordei 
and  put  municipal  affairs  in  a  normal  condition- 
a  task  which  In-  performed  in  a  highly  satisfactory 
ma  liner.  Tin-  intense  application  to  duty  required 
of  him  in  this  laudable  weak,  undermined  Mr. 
M.-dill's  health,  and  resigning  his  office  in  Septem- 
ber, 1873,  he  went  to  Europe  for  a  year's  recrea- 
tion. The  time  passed  abroad  was  almost  entirely 
spent  in  a  study  of  men  and  events,  and  in  writing 
a  series  of  letters  thereon  for  the  "Tribune," 
which  has  made  Mr.  Medill  an  authority  on- all 
public  affairs  in  the  Old  World,  and  especially  in 
Great  Britain.  Upon  his  return  to  Chicago  in 
November,  1874,  Mr.  Medill  bought  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  -Tribune"  and  took  active  charge 
of  the  editorial  department.  Under  his  influence 
the  paper  rapidly  regained  the  high  position  it 
had  lost  during  tin-  three  years  of  his  absence 
from  its  helm;  and  since  then  has  become  the 
recognized  journalistic  representative  of  the  Re- 
publican party  in  the  West.  Mr.  Medill's  influ- 
ence exercised  through  the  "Tribune"  did  much 
to  secure  recognition  for  Abraham  Lincoln  at  a 
time  when  the  politicians  and  people  of  the  country 
were  disposed  to  doubt  tin-  ability  of  the  untried 
champion  of  Universal  Liberty,  and  all  through 
tin- Civil  War,  the  "Tribune."  by  Mr.  Medill's 
direction,  was  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  Union 
cause.  By  its  influence  material  aid  was  given  to 
the  President  and  to  the  armies  in  the  held  at  the 
time  when  most  needed,  and  in  this  way,  and  by 
encouraging  a  public  opinion  in  tin-  same  direc- 
tion, Mr.  Medill  took  an  active  part  in  fighting 
the  battles  of  his  country.  At  his  suggestion  the 
soldiers  in  the  field  were  given  an    opportunity  to 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


vote,  and  it  \v;is  the  result  of  this  election  in  1864 
u  Inch  sustained  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  conduct  of  the 
n;n  and  made  success  possible.  The  scheme 
which  was  entirely  an  original  one,  was  conceived 
by  Mr.  Medill,  when  on  his  summer  vacation  in 
Minnesota  in  1862,  and  its  adoption bj  thevarious 
stall-  authorities  was  due  to  the  energetic  manner 
in  w  hich  he  announced  and  championed  it  in  the 
"Tribune."  As  a  journalist,  Mr.  Medill's  career 
lias  been  characterized  by  strong  convictions 
courageously  expressed,  by  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  public  affairs,  and  a  clear  recogni- 
tion of  public  sentiment;  by  keen  sympathy  with 
all  I',  inns  of  progress  in  the  various  departments  of 
the  world's  work;  by  originality  and  independence 
of  thought,  by  remarkable  powers  of  suggestions, 
and  by  an  industrj  and  capacity  for  work  which 
has  never  flagged  through  a  period  embracing 
ni-arlv  a  half-century  of  editorial  labor. 


ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD. 

EON.  ISAAC  NEWTON  ARNOLD  was  born  at 
Hartwick,  near  Cooperstown,  Otsego  County, 
New  York,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1813.  His 
father,  George  Washington  Arnold,  a  physician 
of  good  standing,  was  descended  from  a  family 
who  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  New  Eng- 
land, sunn-  of  its  members  having  been  associated 
with  Roger  Williams  and  others  in  founding  the 
colony  of  Rhode  Island-  that  glorious  little  repub- 
lic where  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  ..I'  the 
world  the  principle  that  tin-  civil  power  has  no 
right  to  interfere  with  religious  opinions  was  re- 
cognized, and  which  can  boast  of  possessing  in  its 
organic  law  the  first  legal  declaration  of  liberty 
i.f  conscience  ever  adopted  either  in  the  Old  World 
in-  in  the  New.  The  picturesque  scenery  of 
Otsego  county,  its  beautiful  lakes  and  extensive 
forests,  formed  an  environment  in  the  midst  of 
which  theboy  drankin  pure  and  high  inspirations, 
and  earl;  learned  to  love  the  beautiful,  both  in 
nature  and  in  human  character.  His  circum- 
stances and  surroundings  in  youth  wen-  alike 
favorable  to  the  development  of  a  strong  and  noble 

manh 1.     While  yet  a  boy  he  was  thrown   upon 

his  own  resources,  and  obliged  to  earn  by  his  own 
industry  the  means  of  supporting  himself  and 
acquiring  the  education  which  was  to  h't  him  for 
tin-  walk  in  life  which  he  had  chosen.  Like  so 
many  who  have  risen  to  eminence    in    the    United 


States,  he  was  in  every  sense  of  the  word  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune,  winning  through  a 
life  of  diligence  and  usefulness  the  crown  of  for- 
tune and  honor.  After  passing  through  the 
primary  stages  of  his  education  at  the  country 
schools  and  the  village  academy,  he  employed  his 

time  from  seventeen    to    twenty    years    of    age    in 

teaching  half  the  year  and  attending  school  the 

other  half,  and   then,    having    resolved    to    devote 

himself  to  the  prof ession  of  the  law.  entered  the 
offices  of  Richard  Cooper  and  Judge  Morehouse, 
of  Cooperstown,  for  the  purpose  of  study.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in    1835,  practised   for  a 

short  lime  as  a  partner  of  Judge  Morehouse,  and 
in  L836  removed  to  ChicagOj  when  he  at  once  be 
gan  that  career  which  was' to  rank  him  before  its 
close  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  jurists  of 
this  country.  He  was  enrolled  at  the  bar  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Illinois.  December  9th,  18-11. 
In  the  State  of  his  adoption  he  soon  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  show  his  professional  ability.  Illinois 
was  a  young  state  and  men  were  chosen  as  mem- 
hers  of  its  (  leneral  Assembly  in  those  early  days 
whose  sense  of  public  faith  and  honor  was  not  of 
the  highest.  Such  a  legislature  had  just  passed 
an  act  of  repudiation  of  public  debts,  in  which  it 
was  provided,  among  other  things,  that  unless  the 
propertj  of  a  judgment  debtor  should  realize 
two  thirds  of  its  appraised  value,  it  .should  not  be 
sold  under  execution.  Mr.  Arnold  was  known  to 
be  the  determined  opponent  of  the  policy  so  dis- 
honoring to  the  State.  His  services  were  secured 
by  a  New  York  judgment  creditor  to  enforce  his 
claim  against  a  debtor,  and  he  vigorously  attacked 
the  constitutionality  of  this  act  of  the  Illinois 
legislature.  The  case  was  carried  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  where  it  came  on  for 
hearing  in  January,  1843.  Mr.  Arnold  submitted 
an  able  and  convincing  w  ritten  argument  in  sup- 
port of  his  position,  which  was  sustained  by  Chief 
Justice  Taney  in  one  of  the  most  elaborate  opin- 
ions e\cr  delivered  in  that  Court.  Mr.  Arnold 
was  elected  in  l>4-_!  and  again  in  lSli  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  Illinois  (ieneral  Assembly.  Men  of 
distinction  and  ability  were  members  of  that  body, 
but  aiuone-  them  Mr.  Arnold  soon  took  a  promi- 
nent place  by  the  force,  not  only  of  his  legal 
ability,  but  of  his  recognized  worth  and  high 
character.    Retiring  from  public  life  in  1846,  at 

the  close  of  his  second  legislative  session,  he  di- 
vot, id  himself  assiduously  for  the  next  ten  years 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  had  now 
established  his  reputation  as  one  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Chicago  bar.     Always  painstaking 


%CLCcL   JC  ^Un^^u) 


BIOGRAPHY   OP   ILLINOIS. 


37 


in  the  preparation  of  his  cases,  and  thoroughly 
well  informed  by  diligent  and  unintermitting 
study,  he  was  a  powerful  advocate  both  before 
the  court  and  before  a  jury.  Indeed,  it  is  said  of 
him  that  in  that  persuasive  style  of  address  which 
tells  most  effectively  upon  the  average  juror,  he 
had  no  superior.  As  one  of  his  associates  at  the 
bar  has  put  it,  "He  was  a  learned  lawyer — a  jurist 
in  the  just  sense  of  the  term  —and  for  more  than 
thirtj  y.ars  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Chic 
In  politics  Mr.  Arnold  had  been  a  Democrat,  and 
in  lsJl  was  a  presidential  elector  on  the  Polk 
tieket.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
in  1854,  however,  was  as  abhorrent  to  his  fi 
of  public  honor  as  the  repudiation  act  of  the 
Illinois  legislature  had  been.  It  aroused  in  him  a 
sentiment  of  just  indignation,  and  he  at  once 
j. lined  the  ranks  of  those  who  became  thereafter 
known  as  the  anti-Nebraska  Democrats,  who 
eventually  on  the  out-break  of  the  rebellion  were 
merged  into  the  Republican  party.  In  L856,  al 
the  urgent  solicitation  of  the  anti -.\ 
Democrats  and  Republicans  of  Cook  county,  he 
again  consented  to  become  a  candidate  for  tie- 
House  of  Representatives  in  the  State  Legislature. 
This  was  at  the  time  that  Bissell  was  elected 
Governor  and  the  Democrats  contested  his  right 
to  take  the  seat  on  the  ground  that  be  once 
accepted  a  challenge  to  fight  a  duel.  Mr.  Arnold 
championed  the  Governor's  cause,  and  Ids  speech 
in  his  defense  settled  the  question  and  placed  its 
author  in  the  view  of  the  whole  state  as  one  of  its 
ablest  public  men.  The  election  of  I860,  which 
resulted  in  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States,  also  gave  Mr. 
Arnold  a  place  in  the  National  Congress,  he  being 
representative  from  the  Chicago  district. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  long  known  Mr.  Arnold,  and 
each  entertained  for  the  other  a  warm  personal 
friendship.  There  was  probably  no  member  of 
that  memorable  extra  session  which  assembled 
July  4, 1861,  to  whom  the  President  looked  with 
greater  confidence  than  to  Mr.  Arnold.  In  this,  his 
tii>t  session  of  Congress,  Mr.  Arnold  was  selected 
to  pronounce  the  eulogy  on  the  death  of  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  a  fact  which  of  itself  indicates  the 
filiation  in  which  his  abilities  were  held 
throughout  the  country.  The  rebellion  of  the 
Southern  States,  for  the  suppression  of  which  the 
extra  session  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  was 
called,  occupied  almost  the  exclusive  attention  of 
that  body  when  it  met  in  regular  session  on  the 
2nd  of  December,  1861.  In  its  proceedings  Mr. 
Arnold  took    an   active  part,  and  publicly  ranged 


himself  among  the  antagonists  of  slavery  by  his 
vote  to  abolish  the  hated  institution  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  He  also  introduced  a  bill, 
and  succeeded,  notwithstanding  the  most  deter- 
mined opposition,  in  having  it  made  a  law, 
to  prohibit  slavery  in  every  place  subject  to  the 
national  jurisdiction.  Throughout  his  Congres- 
sional career  he  dealt  unceasing  blows  against  the 
institution  of  slavery,  acting  steadily  upon  his 
own  declaration:  "Whenever  we  can  give  slavery 
a  constitutional  blow,  let  us  do  it."  On  the  2nd  of 
May.  L862,  he  delivered  what  has  been  regarded  by 
some  as  the  ablest  and  most  notable  speech  which 
he  made  in  Congress,  in  support  of  the  bill  to 
confiscate  rebel  property.  As  an  exposition  of 
constitutional  law.  this  speech  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  legal  members  of  the  House.  On  the 
loth  of  February,  Did.  lie  introduced  a  resolution 
declaring  that  the  constitution  should  lie  so 
amended  as  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  United 
States.  The  resolution  was  adopted,  and  this  was 
the  first  step  ever  taken  in  Congress  in  favor  of 
the  abolition  and  prevention  of  slavery  in  this 
country.  Mr.  Arnold  advocated  it  in  a  vigorous 
and  eloquent  speech  hi  the  course  of  which  he 
said:  "In  view  ol"  the  long  catalogue  of  wrongs 
that  slavery  lias  inflicted  upon  the  country.  I  de- 
mand to-day  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
the  death  of  slavery.  We  can  have  no  permanent 
peace  while  slavery  lives.  It  now  reels  and 
staggers  in  the  last  death  struggle.  Lei  us  strike 
the  monster  this  last  decisive  blow.  Pass  this 
joint  resolution,  and  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress 
will  live  in  history  as  that  which  consummated 
the  great  work  of  freeing  a  continent  from  the 
curse  of  human  bondage.  The  great  spectacle  of 
this  vote  which  knocks  off  the  fetters  of  a  whole 
race  will  make  this  scene  immortal."  Further  on 
he  said:  "I  mean  to  tight  this  cause  of  the  war  - 
this  cause  of  the  expenditure  of  all  the  blood  and 
treasure  from  which  my  country  is  now  suffer- 
ing— this  institution  which  has  filled  our  whole 
land  with  sorrow,  desolation  and  anguish — I 
mean  to  tight  it  until  neither  on  the  statute 
books  nor  in  the  constitution  shall  there  be  left  a 
single  sentence  or  word  which  can  be  construed 
to  sustain  the  stupendous  wrong.  Let  us  now.  in 
the  name  of  Liberty,  of  justice,  and  of  God,  con- 
summate this  grand  resolution.  Let  us  now 
make  our  country  the  home  of  the  free."  Taking 
his  place  in  Congress  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war,  Mr.  Arnold  quitted  it  just  before  its  close. 
at  the  adjournment  of  the  Thirty-Eighth  Congress 
on  the  3rd  of  March.  1865.     He  had  won  for   him- 


BIOGRAPm    OF    ILLINOIS. 


Belf  such  honorable  fame,  had  bo  loyally  and  effl 
cientl)  supported  the  administration,  and  rendered 
such  valuable  service  t"  his  country  in  its  hour  of 
need,  thai  his  determination  to  return  to  private 
life  was  received  with  universal  regret.  Be  had 
sometime  before  commenced  the  preparation  of  a 
work  entitled,  "History  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
throw  of  Slaver)  in  the  United  States," 
to  which  he  devoted  all  his  leisure,  and  as  his 
in  Wm  hington  afforded  him  more  read) 
access  to  documents  which  it  was  necessary  for 
aim  to  '■•insult  tor  its  completion,  he  accepted  the 
appointment  from  President  Johnson,  of  Auditor 
of  the  Treasury  for  the  Post  Office  department, 
which  he  resigned  in  1si;t.  Returning  to  Chicago 
he  completed  this  work,  which  holds  a  high  place 
among  the  man)  which  bave  been  written  on  the 
Bame  eventful  period  of  our  history.  Mr.  Arnold 
bad  a  great  love  for  historical  research,  and  was 
the  author  of  a  number  of  interesting  and  valuable 
al  Bketch.es.  He  took  an  active  interest  in 
the  formation  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society. 
On  the  H'tli  day  of  December,  L876,  he  waselected 
president,  and  held  the  position  uninterruptedly 
until  the  day  of  his  death  a  period  of  about  seven 
and  one  halt'  wars.  In  L868  be  delivered  an 
address  on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  its  new 
ball,  in  which  he  briefl)  recited  the  birth  and 
growth  of  the  society  up  to  that  time.  Among  its 
treasures  was  the  original  manuscript  of  Presi 
ilint  Lincoln's  proclamation  of  emancipation, 
which  was  given  b)  its  illustrious  author  to  Mr. 
Arnold,  and  by  him  deposited  with  the  Historical 
Society,  [t  was  destroyed  by  the  great  fire  of 
1871.  In  1872  Mr.  Arnold  resumed  his  practice  al 
the  Chicago  bar,  but  was  compelled  by  failing 
health  to  relinquish  it  two  or  three  years  later. 
The  closing  years  of  his  I  i IV  were  spent  in  scholarly 
retirement.  He  bad  long  been  convince. 1  that  the 
verdict  of  history,  as  popularly  written,  did  great 
injustice  to  the  name  of  Benedict  Arnold  and  that 
the  traditional  prejudice  against  that  unfortunate 
led  upon  a  one-sided  \  iew  of  the 
facts.  Writers  of  note  have  endeavored  with  more 
or  less  success  to  obtain  a  reversal  of  the  tradi 
tionan  estimate  of  great  historic  personages; 
even  Richard  111.  Henrj  VIII,  and  Lucretia 
Borgia  have  had  their  defenders  in  recent  times. 
But  in  the  case  of  these  individuals  there  was  no 
vivid  popular  sentimen!  to  offend  bj  such  exerci- 
tations;  it  required  the  courage  of  a   strong  and 

earnest  man  to  plead  for  one  whom    the    majority 
Of     the     Americans     have    I. ramie. 1    as    a    traitor. 

to  allow  bi in  an)  virtues  or  to  admit  an) 


palliation  for  his  crime.  Mr.  Arnold  bail  the 
courage  of  Lis  convictions,  and  embodied  them  in 

a  1 1<  which  he  published  in  1880,  under  the  title 

..I  -[ale  of  Benedict  Arnold  His  Patriotism  and 
bis  Treason."  In  this  work  he  state. 1  that  his 
object  was  "to  make  known  the  patriotic  services 
Benedict  Arnold,  the  sufferings,  heroism  and 
the  wrongs  which  drove  bim  to  a  desperate  action, 
and  induced  one  of  the  most  heroic  men  of  an 
le  I. lie  age  t„  perpetrate  an  unpardonable  crime." 

'The  I k  is  certainly  a  valuable  historical    mono 

Lira  ph.  and  whatever  impression  it  may  have  made 
on  popular  opinion,  it  must  be  admitted  that  Mr. 
Arnold  states  his  case  with  great  candor  and 
ability.  The  wmk  on  Lincoln  and  the  extinction 
of  slavery  was  never  quite  satisfactory  to  him.  and 
about  two  years   before   his  death   he   bi  to 

write  the  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  his   latest 

work,  and  tl ne  upon  which  his  reputation  as  a 

biographer  and  historian  will  mainly  rest.  In 
this,  as  in  all  his  literary  work.  Mr.  Arnold  well 
merited  the  eulogy  of  an  admiring  friend,  who  said 

that     "to     whatever     he    undertook.    Mr.    Arnold 

brought  the  qualities  of  a  ripe  intelligence,  great 
vigor,  and  a  sound  judgment."  Altera  lone;  life 
honorably  spent  in  professional  duty  and  public 
scrvicc.it  is  pleasant  to  contemplate  the  calm 
evening  of  Mr.  Arnold's  days,  in  his  charming 
home,  among  his  family  and  hooks,  occupying  his 

leisure  in  those  pursuits  which  were  dear  to    him, 

and  in  the  societ)    of  sympathetic   friends,  who 

were  the  sharers  of    his    cordial    hospitality.     On 

the  streets  he  was  a  notable   figure;  the  delicate 

I.  at  iires  of  his  tine  intellectual  face,  and   his  erect 

ami  graceful  bearing,  are  still  well  remembered. 
Quiet  and  courteous  in  his  manners,  he  was  a  man 
who  everywhere  attracted  attention.  Firm  in  his 
religious  faith,  his  manly.  Christian  character 
shone  through  all  his  acts  and  .1. -alines    with    the 

world,  and  was  exemplified  in  i ntry  which   he 

w  rot. his  Tilth  birthday,  not  many   months  be 

fore  he  .lied:  "Three  score  and  ten!  Death  must 
be  at  no  great  distance.  I  wish  to  live  only  bo 
long  as  I  may  be  to  some  extent  useful,  and  no1 
when  I  shall  be  a  burden.  Ma)  m;  remaining 
days  be  useful  and  innocent."  He  was  a  commu 
nicant  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and 
for  many  years  a  vestryman  of  St.  James'  Church 
in    Chicago.     Mr.     Arnold   was  a   great    lover  of 

children  and  devotedly  tender  in  his  own  home; 
lovable  and  fascinating  as  a  friend,  there  were 
many  outside  of  that  home  who  mourned  his 
death  as  a  personal  loss.  Mr.  Arnold  was  twice 
married.    His  first   wife  was  Catherine   I-'..   Dor 


(fan  v&>  ^  /u 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


39 


ranee,  of  Pittsfield,  Mass..  who  died  October  20th, 
1830,  leaving  one  son.  Edward  Mason,  who  died  in 
1844.  He  again  married,  August 4th,  1841,  Harriet 
Augusta  Dorrance,  a  sister  of  his  former  wife. 
Nine  children  were  born  of  this  marriage.  Mr. 
Arnold  died  at  his  residence  in  Chicago,  April 
24th,  1884.  His  death  was  mourned  not  onlj  bj 
the  city  in  which  he  lived,  but  throughout  the 
nation.  The  tributes  that  wen-  paid  to  him  were 
numerous  and  eloquent,  and  no  citizen  of  Chicago 
was  ever  honored  by  such  a  gathering  of  distin- 
guished people  to  evince  their  sorrow  at  his  pass 
ing  away  as  assembled  to  honor  Mr.  Arnold's 
memory.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  have  a  more 
graphic  and  faithful  picture  of  a  life  than  was 
drawn  by  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne  in  his  feeling 
tribute  to  Mr.  Arnold  before  the  Historical 
Society:  "During  all  the  active  years  of  a  long 
and  well  spent  lif<'.  Mr.  Arnold  has  Keen  a  citizen 
■  if  Chicago,  contributing  by  his  indefatigable  in 
dustry,  his  patriotism,  his  public  spirit,  his  rare 
abilities,  his  great  acquirements,  his  spotless 
moral  character,  his  high  social  qualifications  and 
instincts  as  a  thorough  gentleman,  to  give  lustre 
to  the  city  of  his  residence, and  to  the  generation 
to  which  le-  belonged;  a  successful  lawyer  that 
stood  in  the  front  ranks  of  his  profession:  a 
cautious,  far  seeing  and  wise  legislator,  distin- 
guishing himself  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  national 
as  well  as  state;  a  successful  public  speaker  ami 
a  writer  of  great  power  and  wide  spread  popular- 
ity, he  has  left  to  the  generations  that  succeed 
him  the  legacy  of  a  noble  example  and  a  noble 
name." 


LAMBERT  TREE. 

HON.  LAMBERT  TREE  was  horn  at  Washing 
ton.  D.  C.  on  the  29th  of  November,  1832.  He 
comes  of  colonial  and  revolutionary  stock,  both  on 
the  father's  and  mother's  side,  his  great  grand- 
fathers having  been  officers  of  the  American  army 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  one  of  them  being 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Trenton  while  in  command 
of  an  artillery  company.  He  received  a  classical 
education,  and  read  law  for  two  years  in  the  office 
of  James  Mandeville  Carlisle,  who  was  at  that 
time  the  leader  of  the  Washington  bar.  Having 
completed  his  law  studies  at  the  University  of 
Virginia,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Washing 
ton  citj   in  October.  Is.Vj.      A  few  months  later,  he 


settled  in  Chicago,  ami  pursued  the  practice  ol 
law  vigorously  in  the  rising  city  of  the  West. 
Almost  from  the  first.  Judge  Tree  held  an  honor- 
able place  in  the  ranks  of  his  profession,  which 
was  due  not  only  to  the  thoroughness  of  his 
scholarship,  and  the  fulness  of  his  legal  knowl- 
edge, but  also  to  the  tact  and  address  which  he 
exhibited  in  his  intercourse  with  business  men 
who  sought  his  counsel.  A  gentleman  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  his  sterling  probity  of  character 
and  courteous  manners  soon  gained  for  him  the 
respect  of  all  who  met  him  in  society  and  business 
affairs.  The  high  estimate  which  was  formed  if 
him  by  his  brethren  of  the  bar  was  shown  by  his 
election  in  1804.  to  the  honorable  position  of  Presi- 
dent of  the  Chicago  Law  Institute.  In  1870  he 
was  elected  one  of  the  Circuit  Judges  of  Cook 
County,  to  till  the  unexpired  term  of  tin-  late 
William  K.  M'Allister,  who  had  been  elevated  to 
the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois.  His 
personal  popularity  as  a  citizen,  and  the  respect 
in  which  he  was  held  by  men  of  all  political 
parties,  were  so  great  that  at  the  next  election  of 
judges  for  the  full  term,  he  was  re-elected  with- 
out opposition.  At  the  commencement  of  Judge 
Tree's  official  career,  Chicago  was  full  of  rumors 
of  the  existence  of  the  most  shocking  corrupt  ion 
in  the  Common  Council  of  the  city.  One  of  his 
first  official  acts  was  to  deliver  a  vigorous  charge 
to  the  grand  jury  of  the  county,  instructing  that 
body  to  investigate  these  rumors  carefully,  and 
if  trustworthy  evidence  was  laid  before  them  that 
any  of  the  members  of  the  Council  had  been  guilty 
of  conduct  in  their  official  capacity  which  rendered 
them  amenable  to  criminal  prosecution,  to  indict 
them  so  that  they  might  lie  brought  to  tie-  bar  of 
the  court,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law.  The 
result  was  numerous  indictments  and  the  convic- 
tion and  punishment  of  a  score  or  more  of  alder- 
men for  the  offense  of  accepting  bribes.  The 
trials  produced  the  greatest  excitement  in  the 
community,  and  for  a  time  had  a  wholesome  effect 
on  those  who  thereafter  had  charge  and  control  of 
municipal  affairs.  Much  to  the  regret  of  the 
Chicago  people  at  large.  Judge  Tree  resigned  his 
place  .,n  the  circuit  bench  in  1875.  while  still 
having  four  years  of  his  second  term  to  serve. 
But  he  felt  that  after  many  years  of  extremely 
active  and  arduous  work  he  required  rest:  and 
after  quitting  the  bench  he  passed  several  years 
in  European  travel.  In  1878  he  returned  home. 
and  occupied  himself  with  law,  literature,  and  the 
management  of  his  private  affairs.  During  that 
y  iar,  and  while  still  in  Europe,  he  was  nominated 


40 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


tor  Congress  in  the  Fourth  [Uinois  District  by  the 
Democrats,  but  declined.  His  party,  however, 
retained  his  name  upon  the  ticket,  and  an  immense 
vote  was  casl  tor  him,  though  aol  sufflcienl  to 
elect  him,  as  the  district  had  always  been  one  of 
the  Republican  strongholds  of  the  State.  In  1882 
he  was  again  unanimously  Dominated  in  the  same 
district  by  his  party,  against  Hon.  Georgi  B 
Adams,  and  again  failed  o(  an  election.  In  1884 
Judge  Tree  was  chosen  a  delegate  at  large  from 
I  oisto  the  Democratic  National  Convention, 
which  met  in  Chicago  and  nominated  Cleve 
land.  At  the  session  of  L884  L885  of  the  Illinois 
General  Assembly,  there  was  a  spirited  con 
trst  for  the  election  of  a  United  States  Senator 
from  this  State,  the  Republican  candidate  being 
General  John  A.  Logan,  who  had  just  been  disap 
pointed  by  the  defeat  of  his  party  at  the  presiden 
tial  election,  and  "f  his  own  aspirations  t"  the 
position  of  Vice-President.  The  contest  was  one 
of  the  most  memorable  that  has  ever  taken  place 
in  Illinois,  and  attracted  general  attention 
throughout  the  country.  Col.  William  K.  Morrison 
had  pretensions  to  till  the  senatorial  chair  as  the 
Democratic  candidate,  but  after  a  long,  protracted 
struggle  in  which  his  inability  to  wrest  the  seat 
from  General  Logan  was  demonstrated,  he  with- 
drew.   The    Den rats,   thereupon,  unanimously 

nominated  Judge  Tree  as  their  candidate,  and  the 
contest  was  waged  with  renewed  vigor  for  a  time. 
Eventually,  General  Logan  was  elected,  Judge 
Ti  ee  failing  of  Buccess  by  -  >te.     I"  July, 

1885,  President  Cleveland  appointed  him  United 
Minister  to  Belgium.  In  the  course  of  his  official 
duty  hi  Belgium,  Judge  Tree  represented  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States,  in  several  interna 
tional  conferences,  which  were  held  at  Brussels, 
and  participated  in  the  formation  and  execution 
of  several  treaties  of  much  public  importance; 
amongst  others,  one  providing  tor  the  exchange 
of  parliamentary  and  other  public  documents  l>e 
tween  the  principal  nations  of  Europe  and  the 
United  States;  and  another  tor  the  establishment 
of  tin  international  bureau  for  the  translation  and 
publication  of  customs' tariffs  of  the  nations  of 
the  world.  He  also  represented  tie 
of  the  United  States  in  the  International  Congress 
for  the  reform  of  commercial  ami  maritime  law. 
which  was  held  at  Brussels  in  L888, and  which  was 
a  notable  assemblage  of  representatives  of  all  the 
civilized  nations  of  the  world.  During  his  resi 
dence  in  Brussels,  Judge  Tree  look  occasion  to 
prove  his  deep  interest   in  the   prosperity  of   the 

citj  "I"  <  IhicagO,  of  which  he  had  for  so  mans  wars 


been  an  honored  citizen,   by   a    hands public 

tribute  which  will  always  be  a  mom -nt   of  his 

Bcence  and  public  spirit,  no  less  than   of    his 

i]  the  city  of  his  adoption.     Hecoi issioned 

the  Count  de  Lalaing,  an  eminent  Belgian  sculp 
tor,  to    e\,-ciite    for    him    in    bronze,    a    statue    of 

Robert  Cavelier  de  LaSalle,  the  great  explorer  or 

the  Illinois  territory,  and  presented  it    to    Lii In 

Park,  which  it  now  adorns.     It  is  pronounced   by 

competent  judges  to  1 »  of   the   most    spirited 

raceful  specimens  of  the  plastic  art   on   this 

continent.  In  September,  L888,  Judge  Tree  was 
promoted  to  the  post  of  Minister  to  Russia,  which 
he  resigned  on  the  3rd  of Jlf arch,  1889,  and  returned 

home  with  the  intention    i>r   giving    his    attention 

chiefly  to  the  management  of  his  private  affairs. 

Further  honors,  however,  awaited  him  in  his 
native  land,  and  it  is  a  signal  proof  of  the  high 
respect  in  which  In-  is  held  by  men    of   all    shades 

of  political  opinion,  that  the  latest  honor  bestowed 
upon  him  came  from  the  hands  of  a  Republican 
administration,  [n  1890  the  city  or  Washington 
was  the  theater  of  a  great  assemblage  "I  repre 
sentativesof  all  the  South   American   republics, 

as  well  as  of  Mexico  and  the  United  States,  which 

was  called  together  by  invitation  or  our  Govern- 
ment through  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  Secretary  of 
State,  ami  was  known  as  the  "Pan  American  ('on 
ference."  One  of  the  objects  or  the  conference 
was  the  furtherance  or  commercial  reciprocity 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Southern 
republics,  and  among  other  suggestions  thrown 
out  during  its  discussions  was  a  project,  tor  the 

establishment  of  an  international  coin  or  coins, 
which    should    have    circulation    for  all  purposes 

throughout  South   and  Central    America,    Hayti, 

the  Sandwich  Islands.  Mexico  and  the  United 
Slates,  to  be  taken  at  the  custom  houses  and  pub 

lie  treasuries  of  the  respective  countries  ami  re 
ceived  in  payment  of  public  and  private  debts, 
on  equal  terms  with  the  money  of  the  nation 
where  offered.  The  Tan  American  conference 
finally  requested  our  Government  to  call  a  mone 
tary  conference  to  consider  the  subject,  and  in 
pursuance  or  its  recommendations,  Congress  in 
July,  1890,  passed  an  act  instructing  tin-  President 

to     invite     the    assemblage    Of     an      International 

Monetary  Commission  at  Washington  in  January, 
L891,  and  to  appoint    three   members   thereto,  by 

and  wiili  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senati  to 
represent  the  United  States,  only  two  of  whom 
should  belong  to  the  same  political  party.  Under 
this  law,  President  Harrison  did  Judge  Tree  the 
honor  to  tender  to  him  the  membership  which  had 


ff.f.Cf&cj^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


41 


been  reserved  by  the  law  to  the  Democratic  party. 
The  other  two  American  commissioners  appointed 
were  Ex-United  States  Senator,  Xathaniel  P. 
Hill  of  Colorado,  and  the  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Russell  of 
Massachusetts,  former  member  of  Congress,  and 
an  eminent  citizen  of  his  state.  The  commission 
met  in  January  at  Washington  in  accordance  with 
the  law  and  continued  its  deliberations  from  time 
to  time  until  the  following  May.  The  records  of 
the  commission  show  that  Judge  Tree  took  a 
leading  part  in  all  of  the  debates,  which  involved 
the  whole  field  of  the  Silver  question  as  well  as 
other  interesting  and  important  questions  of  an 
economic  and  financial  character.  He  was  ch<  isen 
by  his  colleagues  to  formulate  and  present  to  the 
commission,  the  propositions  of  the  American 
commissioners,  which  in  dning.  he  supported  by 
a  speech  of  marked  ability.  These  propositions 
and  the  speech  of  Judge  Tree  were  made  the  basis 
of  all  future  discussions  in  the  commission,  and 
the  propositions  were  finally  adopted  as  the  ex- 
pression of  the  views  of  the  commission,  and  as 
recommendations  to  be  made  to  the  governments 
represented  therein.  Judge  Tree  though  not  a 
member,  took  a  warm  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
International  conference  held  at  Brussels  in  1889, 
for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  treaty  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  African  slave  trade,  still  prevailing 
as  is  well  known,  to  a  frightful  extent,  and  it  is 
believed  he  had  much  influence  in  rescuing  from 
defeat  the  treaty  which  the  conference  framed. 
Numerous  contributions  from  his  pen  explained 
its  provisions  and  urged  its  adoption  on  the  ground 
of  common  humanity  and  justice.  To  tl. 
of  our  country,  be  it  said,  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  finally  ratified  it.  without  which  it  could 
not  have  gone  into  operation.  Judge  Tree,  in  the 
course  of  his  active  life,  has  found  time  to  do  his 
share  towards  the  advancement  of  the  material 
interests  of  Chicago,  by  the  erection  of  a  number 
of  the  handsome  buildings  which  adorn  its  streets, 
and  by  participation  in  the  management  of  some 
of  its  most  noted  financial  and  industrial  institu- 
tions, while  his  interest  in  public  affairs  is  una- 
bated. Since  the  commencement  of  operations 
for  the  World's  Fair  of  1893.  he  has  taken  a  lively 
interest  in  the  progress  of  that  enterprise  and  has 
been  active  in  securing,  through  correspondence 
with  his  friends  in  Belgium,  a  proper  representa- 
tion of  the  products  of  that  country  in  arts  and 
manufactures  at  the  great  Exposition.  Belgium 
has  honored  Judge  Tree  by  conferring  upon  him 
the  appointment  of  Councillor  of  Honor  of  its 
commission. 


EICHARD  J.  OGLESBY. 

GEN.  RICHARD  JAMES  OGLESBY.  so  dis- 
tinguished in  Illinois,  and  the  whole  country 
as  a  soldier  and  statesman,  was  horn  in  Oldham 
County.  Kentucky,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1824.  He 
is  of  Scottish  extraction,  and  bears  in  many  traits 
of  his  character,  the  impress  of  the  sterling  virtues 
of  that  race.  His  parents  Jacob  Oglesby  and  Isa- 
bella Watson  were  of  the  sturdy  stock  of  pioneers, 
who  though  not  rich,  had  the  comforts  of  life;  and 
were  not  tie-  victims  of  that  want  often  incident 
to  a  new  country.  The  resources  of  his  father's 
farm  enabled  the  family  to  live  in  comparative 
ease  and  comfort,  until  183.3.  when  by  a  visitation 
of  lie  cholera,  father  and  mother,  with  a  brother 
and  sister,  fell  victims  to  that  dreadful  scourge. 
At  the  time  of  the  death  of  his  parents  he  was 
nine  years  old.  and  one  of  a  family  of  six  children, 
two  sons  and  four  daughters,  left  without  a  home, 
ami  dependent  upon  the  kindness  of  relatives  and 
friends  for  protection  and  care.  Richard  was 
taken  by  his  uncle,  Mr.  Willis  Oglesby.  who  in 
1836  moved  to  Decatur.  Illinois;  but  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  his  uncle  sent  him  to  live  with 
his  two  sisters.  Mrs.  Prather  ami  Mrs.  Peddi- 
cord,  in  Decatur.  Illinois;  and  in  that  village, 
town,  and  city,  with  its  growth  and  development. 
he  steadihj  advai d  from  the  obscurity  of  child- 
hood, to  a  distinction  of  manhood,  worthy  of 
the  ambition  of  the  greatest  and  best.  A  man 
with  such  marked  characteristics  as  Governor 
Oglesby,  must  have  shown  the  cardinal  traits  of 
his  being,  in  the  tender  years  of  his  life.  Great 
men  are  an  evolution;  they  do  not  Hash  upon  the 
world  as  a  meteor;  but  develop  and  grow  like 
other  substantial  creations.  The  crash  of  1837 
left  every  business  interest  in  ruin,  commercial 
disaster  and  bankruptcy  every  where,  especially  in 
Illinois,  which  was  then  struggling  from  the  bar- 
barism  of  wild  woods,  and  unbroken  prairies,  to 
cultivated  field  and  work-shops.  Farming  was  the 
only  resource  for  the  needy  and  industrious:  and 
into  that  vocation  he  entered  with  zeal  and  alacrity. 
He  hail  the  virtue  of  industry,  and  nothing  was 
too  hard  or  laborious  for  his  hands  to  do.  Three 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  the  promiscuous 
business  of  farming,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
he  concluded  to  return  to  his  "native  heath  "  and 
learn  the  trade  of  carpenter.  For  that  purpose 
he  staid  in  Kentucky  more  than  a  year,  and  re- 
turned for  the  third  time  to  the  home  of  his 
choice.  Before  going  to  Kentucky  for  the  pur- 
pose of  learning  a  trade,  he  had  attended  school 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


it'   Decatui    I   availed   himself  o(  the   limited 

means  then  within  reach  of  obtaining  an  educa 
tion  in  a  new  country.  Although  Governor  Oglesby 

blessed  with  the  Facilities  of  acquiring 
classical  and  exact  learning,  he  haseducated  him- 
self in  tin  higl  ei  and  better  functions  "f  mental 
equipment.     He  has  disciplined  his   mind   in    the 

power  "f  investigation  and  i tinued  and  trained 

thought;  and,  after  all,  those  are  the  ends  of  edu 

mental  discipline.     Knowledge  is  not  nn 
e8sarily  education.    Some  men  of  the  widest  range 
of  information  are  the  most  helpless  in  the  strug 

gle  of  thought.    At  the  age  of   nineteen   I i 

eluded  that  Illinois  was  the  place  I"  farm,  and  not 
i"  build  houses,  bo  he  in  company  with  Mi 
Lemuel  Allen  rented  a  farm,  and  among  other 
crops  raised  a  lot  of  hemp,  which  proved  the  ever 
lasting  ruin  of  the  firm  of  Oglesby  >V  Allen.  In 
the  preparation  of  their  hemp  for  market  it  was 
necessary  that  1 1 1  >  ■  \  should  rol  the  stalk,  and  to 
that  end  they  built  a  dam  across  a  small  branch 
thai  flowed  through  the  village,  for  the  purpose  of 
makings  pond.  The  pond  subserved  the  pur- 
pose of  preparing  the  hemp,  but  the  overflow 
killed  several  horses  in  the  neighborhood,  for 
which  the  firm  had  to  pay.  This  was  the  last 
effort  of  the  I  iovernor  at  farming  until  at  the  end 
< »r  his  long  public  life  he  retired  to  his  farm  near 
Elkhart.  The  campaign  of  1840  was  the  first 
political  contest  which  seriously  attracted  his 
>n,  having  heard  Lincoln  and  Douglas  in 
joint  debate  in  that  year.  Being  of  a  Whig  family 
he  naturally  coincided  with  Mr.  Lincoln.    At  the 

tin t  their  first  acquaintance,   the  disparity    in 

in  their  years  prevented  a  verj  intimate  associa- 
tion; Imt  as  Mr.  Oglesbj  matured  t"  manhood, 
the  influence  of  that  difference  disappeared, 
until  he  and  Mr.  Lincoln  became,  in  public  and 
private  life,  as  cordial  and  confidential  as  p.>s 
sible.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death 
the  Governor  was  at  the  city  of  Washington, 
and  was  among  the  lirst  who  stood  at  the  bed 
side  of  the  distinguished  martyr.  He  who  as 
boy,  listened   with    rapt    attention    t"   his  argu 

quarti  i  ol  a  cent  urj  befi  ti  e,  n<  >\\  held  his 
hand  as  he  unsuccessfully  struggled  with  that 
enemy  whose  inevitable  victory  terminated  the 
must   illustrious  careei    ol    thi    century.     It   Mr. 

Lii In    had   ai  ness  after   I  he   fatal 

shot.it  isprobable  that  his  famil}  and  Gover 
nor  '  Iglesb}  were  I  he  tat  t  «  ho  faded  from  his 
vision.  Prom  Govi  rnor  Oglesby's  boyhood  he  was 
remarkable  in  powers  of  conversat  ion  and  public 
Bpeaking,  and  .is  a  result  of  that  facult}  hi 


tii m  anil  taste  were  very  earl}  directed  to  the  bai 
as  the  vocation  of  his  life.     In  pursuance  of  a  plan 

matured  Bometime previous,  in  lsi  I  he  con need 

the  stud}  of  the  law  with  Mr.  Silas  W.  Robbing, 
of  Springfield,  Sir  Robbins  had  a  fine  Btanding 
at  the  bar,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  at 
the  capital.     U though  Mr.  Oglesby's  intellect  had 

not  been  directed  b)  the  disciplii f  hard  study 

in  the  Bchools,  he  had  a  Btudious  and  thoughtful 
mind,  which  being  influenced  bj  his  desire  for 
success,  enabled  him  to  acquire  the  usual  range 
of  information,  before  his  admission  to  practice. 
Upon  his  admission  he  located  in  Moultrie  Count} 
where  he  practised  with  success  until  the  break 
ing  out  of   the   Mexican   war   in    isir,.     He  was 

i ag    the   lirst    in    volunteer    in    the  defense 

of  his  country.  Governor  Oglesby,  although  not 
educated  as  such,  is  a  soldier  of  rare  qualifications. 
He  combines  the  ardent  loveof  country,  which  in 
him  is  an  absolute  enthusiasm,  with  calm  cool 
courage,  and  a  wise  and  discreet  judgment.  Yet 
with- all  these,  like  General  Grant,  he  hates  war. 
It  has  no  allurements  for  him,  beyond  the  sue 
cessful  maintenance  of  the  honor  of  his  country. 
He  is  brave  but  not  fearless,  and  in  replj  to  an 
oflcer  of  the  late  war,  who  said  to  him:  "General, 
there  is  always  a  supre moment  of  jo}  in  a  fight 

ami  that  is  when  it  is  at  its    full    height."     "  Nn." 

answered  Oglesby,  "that  is  not  the  supreme 
moment  of  joy  with  me;  it  is  whin  the  battle  is 
over  and  \\f  have  whipped  them.  1  was  never  in 
a  batt  le  that  I  was  not  at  some  time  badh 
ened,  but  I  was  impelled  by  the  necessity  of  a 
victory  and  my  sense  of  honor  t"  overcome  and 
i  ubdue  in.v  fear."  \t  the  time  he  volunteered  he 
was  twent}  one  years  old,  and  was  elected  lirst 
lieutenant  of  Company  ('.  Fourth  Illinois,  com 
manded  l>\  Col.  E.  D.Baker.  Lieutenant  Oglesby 
was  a  great  favorite  of  Col.  Baker,  as  he  was  of 
ever}  one  who  appreciated  the  highest  and  best 
qualities  of  true  manhood.  The  regiment  marched 
more  than  seven  hundred  miles  through  the  in 
terior  ol  Mexico,  participating  in  the  battles  of 
Vera  Cruz  and  Cerro  Gordo.  In  the  latter  battle 
he  commanded  the  Company,  Captain  Pugh 
having  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  i1"-  left 
wing  of  the  regiment.  Col.  Baker  was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant,  ambitious  and  brave  men  of  the 
American  Army,  and  appreciated  the  position  "f 
danger,  as  the  pnst  "f  bonor  in  a  great  battle.  In 
ordei  to  be  just  i"  his  feeling  of  friendship  for 
Lieutenant  Oglesby  he  assigned  his  Compan}  to 
the  position  of  dangi  r,  and  was  particular  in  com- 
municating to  the  object  "I  his  affections  the  fart 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


43 


that  he  had  been  favored  with  the  position,  where 
the  battle  would  be  the  "hottest"  and  where  he 
would  have  the  opportunity  of  shedding  additional 
glory  on  the  profession  of  arms.  The  brave  lieu- 
tenant thanked  the  chivalric  colonel,  thinking  no 
doubt,  ";i  few  more  such  friends,  and  my  chances 
for  being  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  war  would  l>e 
the  forlorn  hope  of  destiny."  In  this  battle 
General  Shields  was  wounded,  and  was  guarded 
after  the  battle  by  Company  C,  as  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction to  it.  for  the  gallant  services  it  had  ren- 
dered. On  his  return  he  settled  at  Decatur,  and 
Commenced  what  he  supposed  would  be  an  unin- 
terrupted career  of  professional  labor;  but  be  was 
again  induced  to  quit  the  practice,  by  the  glowing 
accounts  of  gold  mining  in  California.  In  the 
summer  of  1849  a  company  of  nine  was  formed  in 
Macon  County  (of  which  Oglesby  formed  a  part), 
for  the  purpose  of  gold  mining.  They  went  by 
the  overland  route  from  St.  Joseph.  Missouri,  to 
Sacramento  ( 'ity  in  ninety-five  days.  The  Gover- 
nor performed  the  important  function  of  driving 
a  six-mule  team  the  entire  distance,  nineteen 
hundred  miles.  During  his  stay  in  California  he 
worked  hard  and  diligently,  and  at  the  end  of  two 
years  returned  home  with  a  considerable  sum  of 
money.  He  again  sought  the  peaceful  ways  of  a 
country  lawyer.  On  coming  to  the  bar  he  com 
menced  the  cultivation  of  public  speaking,  of 
which  he  had  the  natural  elements  in  the  highest 
degree.  In  the  campaings  of  1848  and  1852  he  ex- 
cited the  admiration  of  the  Whig  party  by  his 
ability  as  a  stump  orator,  and  no  young  man  of 
his  age  in  the  State  had  such  a  promise.  The 
spirit  of  travel  and  adventure  which  led  him  in 
defence  of  his  country  across  the  sterile  plains  of 
Mexico  and  later  through  the  gorges  of  the  Rock} 
Mountains  in  quest  of  gold,  had  simply  slumbered 
during  the  years  ..f  his  practice  from  1851  to  L856. 
He  had  long  dreamed  and  talked  of  a  trip  to 
Europe,  Asia  and  Africa.  He  was  particularly 
fascinated  with  the  idea  of  for<  ign  travel  from  a 
conversation  which  he  had  with  Senator  Douglas 
in  the  fall  of  1855,  who  had  just  returned  from  an 
extended  trip  through  Europe  and  a  part  of  Asia. 
He  was  thirty-two  years  old,  with  a  reasonable 
competency  for  expenses,  with  an  insatiable  taste 
and  desire  for  new  scenes  and  adventures,  so  in 
April,  185G,  he  left  this  country  for  a  journey  to 
Europe.  Egypt.  Arabia.  Palestine  and  other  points 
in  the  East.  Mr.  Oglesby  went  in  tin- spirit  of  a 
true  traveller,  determined  to  study,  examine  and 
explore  all  matters  and  places  of  interest  coming 
within  reach  of  his  route.     He    first    devoted    his 


attention  to  England.  Ireland  and  Scotland;  and 
being  of  a  political  turn  of  mind  he  paid  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  Parliament  of  England,  mark- 
ing with  acute  observation  the  distinguished  men 
then  members  of  either  House.  He  went  to  Paris. 
Berlin,  St.  Petersburg.  Moscow.  Warsaw  Dresden, 
Vienna  and  Trieste.  From  the  last  place  he  sailed 
to  Alexandria  to  indulge  in  the  mystery  of  an 
ancient  but  wonderful  civilization.  Late  in 
January.  1857,  Mr.  Oglesbj  arrived  in  Cairo. 
After  a  short  stay.  he.  in  company  with  another, 
chartered  a  boat  to  make  a  trip  up  the  Nile  to 
Thebes.  The  ancient  temples  and  tombs  of  upper 
Egypt,  still,  as  for  centuries,  the  marvel  of  the 
World,  the  great  pyramids  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Nile  near  Cairo,  one  of  tin-  "seven  wonders  of  the 
world,"  were  all  in  succession  visited,  studied  and 
examined  with  the  greatest  possible  interest. 
Two  weeks  after  their  return  to  Cairo.  Mr.  ( Iglesbj 
joined  a  caravan  to  cross  the  desert,  consisting  of 
ten  travellers,  two  dragomen,  eleven  Bedouins  and 
thirty  two  camels.  The  30th of  March.  1S.".T.  they 
left  Cairo  for  the  Holy  Land.  The  journey  across 
Hie  Desert  of  Arabia,  was  full  of  eventful  and 
startling  adventures,  camel  riding,  tracing  the 
scenes  of  Scriptural  History  on  the  vast  sandy 
plains,  and  along  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea.  the 
halt  at  the  foot  of  and  the  ascent  of  Mount  Sinai 
where  during  the  night  Mr.  Oglesby  read  the 
Ten  Commandments,  and  with  a  companion  re- 
peated them  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  as  the 
sun  was  rising  over  the  mountains  of  Arabia 
and  the  wilderness  where  the  children  of  Israel 
wandered  for  forty  years.  His  journal  describes 
the  scene  as  the  light  burst  upon  the  barren 
plains  and  rock-riven  peaks  of  the  terrible  des- 
ert as  one  of  surpassing  splendor.  During  his 
stay  in  Jerusalem  Mr.  Oglesby  visited  all  places 
ami  villages  of  scriptural  interest  near  the  city, 
and  studied  with  care  and  reverence  the  history 
of  these  holy  places.  He  traveled  through  Pal 
estine  and  Syria  from  Jerusalem  to  Damascus. 
From  Damascus  they  set  out  for  Beyrout,  halting 
on  tin-  way  between  Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon 
to  see  the  wonderful  temple  of  Baalbek.  Arriv- 
ing in  Beyrout  three  days  later,  Mr.  Oglesby  set 
sail  for  Constantinople.  After  live  days  spent  in 
Constantinople  he  sailed  lor  Athens.  Two  weeks 
were  spent  in  this  classic  city  when  he  took-  ship 
on  his  last  voyage  on  the  Mediterranean  for  Naples: 
from  there  he  visited  Rome,  Florence,  Milan. 
Venice  and  other  Italian  cities.  In  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  travels  as  indicated  by  the  foregoing 
route,  he  was  most  diligent  in  study  and  observa- 


44 


llloiiKAl'in     OF    ILLINOIS. 


lion;  and  when  he  returned  I"  this  country  he 
was  one  of  the  best  informed  travelers  of  the 
places  he  saw,  of  any  of  the  Americans  who  had 
then  visited  the  Bast.  The  Governor  has  eminent 
qualifications  ;is  a  traveler,  observation  of  the 
iikisi  thorough  and  exhaustive  kind,  and  great 
ability  to  describe  and  interesting^  portray  the 
scenes  and  incidents  of  a  tour.    After  his  return 

h in  December,  1857,  al  the   requesl   of  local 

committees,  he  delivered  several  lectures  on  bis 
observation  abroad  which  were  highly  entertain 
ing  and  instructive.  The  winter  of  1858  was  the 
formative  period  of  the  elements,  which  marked 
with  such  peculiar  significance,  the  campaign  of 
1858,  in  which  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Senator  Douglas 
discussed  with  such  marked  ability,  the  political 
issues    centering    in,    and  dependent    upon,  the 

question  of  slavery.    Thai  i Bid   had   been    in 

tensified  and  embittered  beyond  the  fears  of  con 
servatives,  and  the  hopes  of  the  Radicals,  bj  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which  public 
opinion  had  been  taughl  to  regard  as  one  of  the 
safeguards  of  domestic  peace,  Although  1 1"\ 
ernor  Oglesby  was  anti-slaverj  in  sentiment  he 
was  conservatively  so,  being  a  "  Henry  Clay  Whig." 
\i  the  time  he  went  abroad  in  April,  1856,  the 
Republican  party  as  a  distinct  political  party  had 
not  been  formally  organized  in  Illinois.  Ii  was 
tin  policy  lit'  the  Republican  partj  to  strengthen 
itself  in  those  Idealities  where  in  the  previous 
election  it  had  been  weak.  In  the  Congressional 
district  running  from  Logan  and  Macon  counties 
on  the  northwest  to  Clark  on   the  southeast    the 

De cracj  waslargelj  in  the  majority,  and  this 

district  the  Republicans  sought  to  carry  by  i 

nating  Governor  Oglesbj  against  Mr.  James  C. 
Robinson,  who  was  then,  as  he  always  was.  one  ol 
the  most  popular  men  of  the  Slate.  The  district 
was  made  strongl}  Democratic  ami  the  infusion 
of  a  large  pro-slaverj  element  from  the  Whig 
party  increased  the  ascendency  of  Democratic 
sentiment,  The  ( lovernor  was  at  that  time  thirl  \ 
four  years  old,  with  the  culture  of  some  years 
practice  at  the  bar,  an  active  participation  in  two 
national  canvasses  and  the  thought  and  reflection 
incident  to  nearlj  two  years  of  study  and  travel 
abroad.  In  his  boyhood  he  had  Bhown  indications 
that  in  his  latent  and  undeveloped  resources, 
there  slumbered  the  abilit)  of  achieving  greal 
success  in  the  field  '>f  popular  oratory.  Hii 
speeches  in  campaigns  in  which  he  had  participa 
ted  captivated  the  attention  of  the  crowd  and  ex 
cited  their  admiration  tor  the  man  if  no!  tor  the 
principles  which  he  advocated,    Those  elements 


combining  made  hii ost  formidable  as  a  political 

antagonist;  and  although  he  largelj  diminished 
the  majority,  he  was  by  the  result  of  the  election, 
permitted  i"  pursue  the  even  tenor  of  his  waj    in 

the  practice  of  the  law.    Mr.  Lii In  share, 1   the 

same  fate  as  his  friend  Oglesby,  and  they  both 
hail  in  wait  until  I860  tor  a  personal  triumph. 
The  canvass  which  Governor  Oglesbj  made 
against  Mr.  Robinson,  both  in  iis  results  and  in 
the  effective  mode  in  which  the  <  lovernor  prose- 

cuted  it,  made  him  o t  the   most    popular   Re 

publicans  of  the  state,  bo  that  in  I860  he  was 
placed  in  nomination  bj  the  Republicans  tor  the 
State    Senate   in    a   district   composed   "f  eight 

counties.    This,  too,   was  a    De cratie  district, 

and  it  was  the  forlorn  hope  which  the  Republican 
candidate  was  expected  to  carry.    This  campaign 

in  its  results  showed  that  the  Governor  ( ibined 

in  an  eminent  degree  the  elements  of  a  popular 
leader,  as.  not  only  was  he  elected  bul  he  received 
more  votes  in  the  district  than  Mr.  Lincoln.  This 
was  the  lirst  political  office  ever  held  by  him;  and 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  brought  its  incum 
bency  to  a  sudden  termination.  The  legislature 
to  which  he  was  elected  convened  on  the  7th 
nf  January,  ami  terminated  on  the  'Jlst  of  Fell 
ruary.  After  the  bombardment  of  Port  Sumter 
the  legislature  was  called  in  extra  session  by  <  lov 
ernor  fates,  and  met  on  the  -1st  of  April, 
1861,     After    a    brief    session  of    B    few    days  the 

legislation  incident  to  the  war  was  completed  and 
the  <  ieneral  Assembly  adjourned.  Under  the  call 
of  the  President,  made  on  the  15th  of  April. 
Illinois  was  required  to  furnish  six  regiments. 
The  troops  were  rendezvoused  at  Springfield  and 
were  formed  in  regiments  during  the  brief  session 
of  the  legislature,  <  >n  the  last  day  of  the  session. 
the  Eighth  Regiment  held  an  election  and  unani- 
mously chose  him  for  colonel.  The  fact  was  im- 
mediately communicated  to  him  as  he  sat  in  the 
Slatehouse.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he 
repaired  to  Camp  fates,  and,  amid  the  wildest 
shouts  of  exultation  and  joy  on  the  part  of  the 
soldiers,  he  rode  in  front  of   thai    thousand    men. 

bowing  his  acknowledgments  of  gratitude  for  the 
compliment  of  his  election.    His  emotions  were 

not    without    conflict    and    struggle.      He   had    no 

laste  for  war  beyond  the  requirements  of  patriotic 

duty,  but  to  that  duly  with  all  the  determination 

of  his  soul  he  exchanged  his  seal    in   the  Senate 

for  tlo- camp  of  the  soldier.  In  the  fall  of  1861, 
he  was  placed  in  command  of  Cairo  and  Birds- 
Point,  then  the  most  southern  positions  occupied 

by  the  Federal  Army.    Governor  Oglesby  was  in 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


45 


command  at  Cairo  when  General  Grant  was 
ordered  to  Cairo  to  take  command  at  that  point. 
General  Grant,  and  Colonel  Oglesby  had  never 
seen  each  other,  and  their  meeting  at  Cairo,  as 
told  by  them  both,  was  laughable  in  the  extreme. 
They  Boon  became  great  friends,  which  lasted 
with  increased  fondness  until  the  death  of  the 
General.  Governor  Oglesby  served  about  a  year 
as  colonel,  and  led  the  right  of  General  Grant's 
army  in  his  advance  upon  Fort  Donelson,  upon 
the  field  of  battle  for  three  days  in  attacking  that 
Rebel  stronghold,  which  finally  yielded  with  its 
fourteen  thousand  prisoners,  after  a  severe  strug- 
gle, on  the  11th  of  February,  1862.  This  was  the 
first  substantial  Union  victory  up  to  that  time 
In  1862  Colonel  Oglesby  was  appointed  Brigadier- 
General  by  President  Lincoln,  for  gallantry  at  the 
battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  taking  rank  as  such 
Erom  April  1st.  1862.  In  the  autumn  of  lsc-j,  the 
great  battle  of  Corinth  was  fought  on  the  .'lid  and 
1th  of  October.  General  Oglesby  commanded  a 
brigade  in  that  fight,  and  on  the  afternoon  (if  tin- 
first  day  fell  upon  the  Held,  as  was  then  thought, 
mortally  wounded,  the  bull  having  passed  under 
the  left  arm  through  the  lungs  and  lodged  near 
the  spine.  He  passed  six  months  of  intense  suf- 
fering and  danger  before  he  was  able  to  leave  his 
home,  and  still  carries  in  his  body  the  enemy's 
ball  which  brought  him  so  near  the  gates  of  death. 
His  recovery  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  those  in- 
scrutable laws  which  govern  the  issues  of  life  and 
death.  At  the  time  he  was  wounded  every  sur- 
geon who  saw  him,  except  his  own,  Dr.  Troubridge, 
said  he  would  die;  that  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  survive  such  a  wound:  so  it  seemed  for  a  long 
time,  and  during  that  time,  there  never  was  Buch 
physical  agony  endured  by  mortal  man.  His 
strong  stalwart  form  wasted  to  a  skeleton,  ami  for 
nearly  six  months  his  days  and  nights  were  a 
ceaseless  siege  of  suffering.  But  all  at  one  there 
came  a  change  for  the  better;  and  those  who  be 
held  him,  as  they  supposed,  for  the  last  time,  saw 
him  in  a  comparatively  short  space  of  time  de- 
livering at  the  capital  one  of  the  most  thrilling 
war  speeches  of  the  era.  In  consideration  of  his 
meritorious  services,  in  1863  he  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Major-General  of  Volunteers  by 
appointment  of  President  Lincoln,  to  rank  as  such 
from  the  29th  of  November,  1862.  Though  still 
suffering  from  his  wound,  he  returned  to  active 
duty  in  April,  but  was  compelled  because  of  his 
physical  condition  to  tender  his  resignation  in 
July.  lsC:;,  which  was  not  accepted;  but  he  was 
granted  a  leave  of  absence    and    returned   home. 


Alter  a  short  time  he  was  detailed  as  President 
of  a  General  Court-Martial.  which  sat  in  Wash- 
ington from  December.  1863,  to  May,  1864,  trying 
some  of  the  most  important  cases  then  pending  in 
the  military  service.  In  the  early  spring  of  1861, 
the  question  of  who  should  be  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Governor  became  the  absorbing 
topic  of  conversation,  thought  and  publication. 
Some  of  the  papers  had  made  favorable  mention 
of  his  name,  but  no  decisive  indication  could  be 
discerned,  as  tin-re  were  several  candidates  of 
reputation,  standing,  and  ability.  As  the  time  of 
the  convention  approached,  the  signs  became 
much  more  favorable,  and  when  on  the  25th  of 
May,  the  convention  met  he  was  nominated  on 
the  first  ballot  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The 
Democrats  nominated  his  old  competitor,  Mr. 
Robinson,  and  it  became  the  contest  of  1858  over 
again,  so  far  as  the  men  were  concerned,  but  not 
as  to  the  issues  and  results.  Ho  made  a  most 
vigorous  and  effective  campaign,  speaking  in  every 
county  in  the  state.     Although  the  state  had  gone 

I  >ei iratic  in  ]K6'J.  he  was  elected  by  a   majority 

of    i e    than    thirty  thousand.     He    succeeded 

Governor  Yates  in  January  1865.  to  perform  the 
responsible  duties  of  Governor  at  the  most  critical 
period  in  the  history  of  the  state  and  nation. 

Governor  Oglesby  is  spoken  of  by  the  journals 
of  that  time  as  -a  liberal  hearted  administrate  ir  of 
the  high  ami  sacred  trust  imposed  upon  him  as 
the  official  head  of  a  great  commonwealth,  show- 
ing himself  eminently  faithful,  competent  and 
able,  combining  in  an  admirable  degree  the  quali- 
ties of  a  very  man  among  men.  The  Chicago 
Tribune  of  January  18th,  1865,  says  of  his  inaug- 
ural: 'The  address  is  a  manly,  straightforward 
document,  devoid  of  pretense,  replete  with  com- 
mon sense  and  admirably  written.  It  clearly  pro- 
claims that  the  same  nerve,  the  same  intelligence 
and  patriotism  which  marked  General  Oglesby's 
conduct  at  Ft.  Donelson  and  Corinth,  will  dis- 
tinguish his  administration  as  ( lovernor.'  " 

( rovernor  Oglesby  performed  the  duties  of  Gov- 
ernor from  January,  1865,  to  January,  1869,  with 
the  most  admirable  skill  and  ability.  He  has 
rare  qualities  of  executive  function,  coolness, 
courage,  and  an  underlying  foundation  of  common 
~(iis.-  and  devotion  to  what  he  believes  to  be  right 
and  just,  that  never  fails  or  falters  in  its  directing 
power.  At  the  end  of  his  term,  those  who  elected 
him,  with  those  who  voted  against  him,  united  in 
I !  e  general  eulogium  that  he  had  given  the  state 
a  wise,  just  and  honest  administration  of  its  exe- 
cutive branch  of  the  government.     He  was    made 

President    of   the   National   Lincoln    Mo: lenl 

Association,    organized   May   11th.    1865,    which 


r6 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


labored  assiduousl)  until  it  obtained  the  means 
to  the  martyred  President,  an  enduring 
memorial  worth)  to  mark  his  last  restin 
and  to  hold  the  ashes  of  the  illustrious  dead. 
This  Btatelj  monument  was  so  tar  completed  thai 
it  was  formall)  dedicated,  and  the  beautiful 
statue  ot   Lincoln   unveiled   October    L5th,   L874, 

the  Gover 'delivering  the  dedicatory   address. 

The  Springfield  Journal  said:  "There  seems  a 
propriety  that  Lincoln's  ardent  friend 
and  admirer,  the  eloquenl  and  sympathetic 
Oglesby,  should  deliver  the  oration  and  that  the 
President  and  Cabinet  should  lend  dignity  by 
their  presence  to  an  occasion  which  will  soon  be 
come  historic."  A.t  the  end  of  his  first  term  he 
retired  to  private  life,  but  the  disturbed  condi 
tion  of  politics  incident  to  the  "Liberal  move 
incut"  required  that  the  Republican  part)  should 

put  at  the  head  of  its  column,  a  man    W  ho    would 

pot  onl)  command  the  respect  and  confidence  o) 

the    1 pie    but   excite  the  enthusiasm  of   the 

masses;  so  in  1872  he  was  nominated  for   Govei 

nor  the  so 1  time.    He  again  made  a  thorough 

canvass  of  the  state,  an. 1   was  again   elected   b) 

rt)    thousand   majority.    At    the   ensuing 

meeting  of  the  legislature  he  was  the  unanimous 

choice  of  the  Republican  members,  and  was  elected 

to  the  Senate  of  the  Tinted  States  for  a  full  term 

of  six  years.    He  served  in  the  Senate   until   the 

1th  of  March.  L879,  and  in  that  position,  as    in    all 

others  in  which  he  has  been  called  upon  to  dis 
charge  the  duty  and  perform  the  trust  of  office, 
he  was  faithful  and  earnest.  He  was  on  several 
important  Committees  of  the  Senate,  and  partici 
pated  in  the  general  business  of  <  kmgress,  voting 
on  all  and  discussing  such  measures  as  required 
his  immediate  attention.  His  retirement  to 
private  liTc  was  not  of  long  duration.  In  1884  an 
election  for  Governor  was  to  he  held  in  Illinois, 
and  lor  the  third  time  the   public  eye  was   set    in 

the  direction  or  Governor  <  >glesb) .    To  be  a  can 
didate  three  times  was  something    phenomenal 

in  the  politics  of  a   state    where    the    term    lasted 

four  years;  and  somi mplaint  was  made  against 

:i  "third  term  ;"  hut  tl instituency  in  the  rural 

precincts  which  had  listened  with    admiration    to 

his  matchless  orator]  on  the  stump  came   to   his 

ue,  and  for  the  third  time  he  was  unanimously 

nominated  tor  Governor.     For  the   third  time   he 

took    the  stump  as  a   candidate  for  Go> 

traveling  again  into  near!)  all.  if  not  ever)  count) 
of  the  State,  discussing  the  questions  of  the  cam 

paign  in  a  style  that  . manded  the  attention  of 

every  audience,  whether  in  tic  cosmopolitan  cit) 


ol     Chicag a g     tin-      rural     auditors     ol 

Southern  Illinois.     He  wa    B  d(  lovemor, 

and  i  utered  upon  his  third  term  in  January,  1885. 

Th nditii I'  things   had   changed   Bince   his 

i, ,i.N.  i  terms  of  Governor.  The  city  of  Chicago 
bad  grown  from  a  cit)  of  three  hundred  thou 

t..  a  lit  \  of  nearl)  a  million,  ami  as: nsequence 

of    that    extraordinary    growth    it     had    gathi 
some    of    the    worst    elements  of    Bociety.    The 
civilized  world  hassought  it  with   its  variegated 

shades  of  political  thought,  from  the  man  who 
Bingswith  the  "list.,  of  his  native  land.  "God 
gave  the  Queen,"  to  the  man  w  ho  shout-  in  the 
wildncss  of   the    mob,    "  Down    with    the    police 

This  is  the  exotic  thought  of  Chicago;  and  be 
i,.,,  en  those  two  extremes  there  is  every  tendenc) 
of  political  opinion,  some  of  which  is  not  distinctly 
American.  For  years  under  a  lax  and  reckless 
administration  of  the  city  government,  the  anar 
chical  tendenc)  of  a  portion  of  the  population  had 
not  onl)    not   been     restrained.    Imt    it    had    taken 

encouragement,  until  under  the  guise  of  freedom 

Of  speech  and  the  liberty  of  the  Press,  insuhordi 
nation  to  the  law.  and  the  constituted  authorities. 

wereopenly  proclaimed  and  advocated  in  public 
meetings,  [n  May,  1886,  a  collision  between  the 
police  and  one  of  those  disorderly  crowds  occurred 

in  which  several  of  the  police  were  killed.  1  lor 

that  killing  eight  of  the  leaders  of  the  mob  were 
indicted.     In  the  summer  ..l    L886,   alter  a   trial 

lastine-  months,  they  were  convicted  and  sentenced 

t,,   he   hanged   in    November,  L886.     During  the 

excitement  incident  to  the  killing,  trial    and    cxe 

cution,  a  very  dangerous  condition  of  Bociet) 
existed  in  Chicago,   which    under   the  executive 

supervision  of  the  I  iovemor  was  most  judiciously 

managed  by  the  municipal  authorities  of  the  city. 
After  the  conviction  the  whole  responsibility 
devolved  upon  the  Executive.  The  situation 
demanded  the  highest  type  of  sagacious  judgment 
to  temper  the  administration  of  justice  with  the 
spirit  of  mercy.  The  Governor  was  beset  with 
innumerable  petitions,  nearly  all  on  the  side  of 
Executive  clemency.  The  cases  of  the  defend 
ants,  although  the  same  in  technical  and  legal 
guilt,  differed  in  some  particulars  in  moral  turpi 
tu.le.    The  matterfrom  itsinception  hadattracted 

lie  intention  of  the  civilized  world,  and  after  the 
conviction  the  interest   had  became  more  intense. 

The  anxiety  of  the  public  as  to  what    would   be 

done    b)     the     Governor    increased     as    the    time 

approached.  The  sentiment  which  regarded  the 
Con\  iction  as  just,  and  the  execution  as  necessary 
to  a  vindication  of  the  power  and  authorit)  of  the 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


i: 


state,  to  deal  with  lawlessness  was  apprehensive 
that  the  sentence  would  be  mitigated  to  impris- 
onment for  life:  while  those  who  were  actuated 
bj  sentiments  of  mercy  were  afraid  it  would  be 
executed  on  all  the  prisoners.  The  situation  was 
'  ial  and  responsibility  and  never  before  in 
the  history  of  an  American  state  was  there  such 
a  ease.  The  Governor  heard  with  greal  patience 
both  sides  of  the  question  in  connection  with  a 
full  and  complete  i-xaminati.m  of  all  the  ti  stimonj 
which  had  been  heard,  extending  through  many 
weeks  of  the  protracted  trial.  After  a  mature 
investigation  ami  study  of  the  case,    he    remitted 

.nee  of  t\\<>.  to  imprisonment  for  life,  and 
permitted  the  law  to  take  its  course  with  the  five 
others.  This  decision  was  regarded  |)V  the  best 
element  of  society,  not  only  in  Illinois  but 
throughout  the  country,  as  wise  and  just.  His 
third  term  of  service  as  Governor  closed  in  Jan- 
uary. 1889,  Governor  Pifer  ha\  ing  been  elected  his 

ir.  He  now  determined  to  quit  public  life 
forever,  and  to  that  end  removed  to  a  beautiful 
farm  near  Elkhart.  Logan  County.  In  the  elec- 
tion of  1888  he  was  again  mosl  efficient  ot  thi 
stump,  making  speeches  during  the  entire  cam- 
paign in  the  principal  cities  and.  towns  of  the 
state.  At  the  election  which  was  held  in  Illinois 
in  the  fall  of  1S!H>.  a  legislature  was  elected  whose 
duty  it  w-as  to  elect  a  United  States  Senator  for 
the  term  commencing  on  the  4th  of  March.  L891. 
Neither  of  the  great  political  parties  had  a 
majority,  and  thi' result  was  a  protracted  strug- 
gle extending  to  near  the  close  of  the  session. 
Governor  Oglesbj  n iwd  the  Republican  nomi- 
nation and  was  supported  most  cordially  by  every 
member  of  the  party  as  long  as  there  was  any 
hope  of  his  election.  It  was  a  distinguished  com 
pliment  to  a  long  life  of  honest,  patient  and  effi- 
cient discharge  of  public  duty.  Upon  his  retire- 
ment at  the  end  of  his  third  term  as  Governor  he 
had  no  desire  or  purpose  to  again  enter  public 
life;  and  the  fact  that  he  was  nominated  and  sup- 
ported by  the  Republicans  of  the  Legislature 
without  his  solicitation  makes  the  compliment 
the  more  gratifying.  Although  he  has  Bpei  I 
much  of  his  time  in  official  duty,  the  hearthstone 
and  home  of  private  life  is  to  him  the  cherished 
spot  of  human  existence.  Be  w-as  married  in 
1859,  to  .Miss  Anna  E..  daughter  of  Joseph  White, 
"I  Decatur.  After  his  marriage  his  wife  shared 
with  enthusiasm  in  all  the  ambitions  and  purposes 
of  his  life;  and  was  to  him  during  the  affliction 
incident  to  his  terrible  wound  an  inspiration  of 
hope  and  life.     On  receiving  the  news  of  his  con- 


dition in  the  battle  of  Corinth,  she  started  to  the 
scene  of  suffering,  and  by  the  assistance  of 
I  >•  ict  ir  Troubridge  she  succeeded  in  bringing  him 
to  Decatur,  when  everybody  except  her  and  the 
doctor  thought  every  moment  would  be  his  last. 
Mrs.  Oglesby  was  of  feeble  constitution,  and  in 
Ma;  1868,  while  the  Governor  was  serving  his 
first  term,  she  died,  leaving  tw-o  children,  Rob- 
ert Oglesby.  of  Decatur,  and  Olive,  now  Mrs. 
Snyder,  of  Kansas  City.  In  1873,  after  his  elec- 
tion to  the  Senate,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Keyes. 
eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Mr.  John  I).  Gillett, 
of  Elkhart.  Mr.  Gillett  had  accumulated  a  large 
fortune,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  his  farm  in 
magnitude,  fertility  and  improvement  was  the 
finest  and  best  in  the  state.  The  cattle  in  its 
hundred  fields  were  celebrated  for  their  fine 
quality  in  the  markets  of  Chicago.  New  York,  and 
!  Upon    the   death   of   her   father    Mrs. 

Oglesby  inherited  a  portion  of  this  estate,  and  in 
connection  with  the  lands  owned  by  the  Gover- 
nor, they  now  have  "Oglehurst"  which  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  and  delightful  possessions  of 
central  Illinois.  She  is  a  lady  of  rare  quali- 
fications,  and  is  well  worthy  to  be  the  wife  of 
her  distinguished  husband.  They  have  an  in- 
g  family  of  children,  one  daughter.  Miss 
Emma  Louise,  and  three  sons,  Richard.  John 
and  Jasper.  The  foregoing  sketch  presents  the 
leading  incidents  in  the  career  of  a  man  who 
is  better  known  to  the  people  of  Illinois  than 
perhaps  any  public  man  who  has  appeared  in 
its  history.  Mr.  Lincoln,  though  his  fame  is 
as  broad  as  the  domain  of  civilization,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  citizens  of  Illinois  as  a  mass 
knew  as  much  of  him  as  of  Governor  Oglesby. 
Commencing  in  1852,  he  has  been  one  of  the 
active  men  in  polities  for  forty  years.  He  lias 
been  honored  bj  public  and  official  confidence 
beyond  the  measure  of  any  public  man  in  the 
State.  In  1846  he  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army; 
in  1860  he  was  a  senator  in  the  legislature;  in  1861 
he  was  appointed  colonel;  in  1862  he  was  made  a 
brigadier  general;  in  180:1  he  was  made  a  major 
general:  in  1804  he  was  elected  governor.  Inl872 
he  was  again  elected  governor;  in  1ST:;  he  was 
elected  United  States  senator;  in  1881  he  was  for 
the  third  time  elected  governor;  and  in  1891  re. 
ceived  the  unanimous  nomination  of  his  party  as 
its  candidate  for  the  United  State  Senate.  In  all 
of  these  positions  he  has  been  faithful  and  effi- 
cient, bringing  to  the  discharge  of  his  duty  the 
highest  and  best  qualities  of  his  nature.  He  is 
now  and  always  has  been  most    popular   with   the 


48 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


I pie;  and,  like  Mr.  Lincoln,  loves  to  appeal   to 

their  broad  sense  of  justice  and  right.  He 
despises  the  intrigues  of  party  manipulation. 
He  was  the  trusted  and  faithful  friend  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  General  Grant  and  Judge  Davis.  They 
had  in  him  the  most  implicit  confidence  for  all 
the  obligations  of  pence  and  war;  and  while  he  is 
a  strong  partisan,  his  political  opponents  give  him 
the  credit  (if  having  in  the  highest  decree,  the  two 
cardinal  virtues  of  a  public  servant — honest  \  and 
capability.  He  is  among  the  last  of  a  race  of 
public  men,  who  have  given  glory  to  the  state  and 
grandeur  to  the  nation.  With  him  closes  an  era 
in  polities,  which  for  importance  in  the  history  of 
nations,  in  the  development  of  liberty,  in  the 
achievements  of  men,  has  no  parallel  in  the  annals 
of  time.  The  dedication  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  monu- 
ment bj  Governor  Oglesby  was  well  worthy  of 
the  living  and  the  dead.  No  man  had  a  higher 
appreciation  of  the  virtues  of  the  distinguished 
dead  than  the  orator  of  the  occasion.  They  had 
been  personal  and  political  friends  for  more  than 
a  third  of  a  century,  in  peace  and  in  war.  They 
had  shared  the  mutual  confidence  of  the  highest 
inspirations  of  duty  and  patriotism,  and  it  was 
fittingly  reserved  to  Governor  Oglesby,  as  he  stood 
in  the  shadow  of  a  monument  that  marks  the  grave 
of  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  the  world,  to  say. 

"The  living  assign  him  his  proper  place  in 
the  affections  of  all  men.     Posterity,  profoundly 

moved  by  the  simplicity  of  his  private  life,  elevated 
and  enlightened  by  the  purity  and  splendor  of  his 
administration  and  public  services,  cannot  fail  to 
lix  his  place  amongst  those  who  shall  rank  highest 
in  their  veneration.  He  has  gone  to  the  firma- 
ment of  Washington  and  a  new  light  shines  down 
upon  his  beloved  countrymen  from  the  American 
Constellation." 

The  orator  himself  has  builded  a  monument  of 
duty  performed  and  of  greatness  achieved.  The 
people  of  Illinois  are  to  be  congratulated  upon  a 
character  of  such  splendor  of  development,  such 
elevation  and  purity  of  purpose,  and  such  devo- 
tion to  the  highest  ami  best  interests  of  the  state, 
as  are  exhibited  in  the  private  and  public  life  of 
Richard  James  Oglesby. 


LYMAN  J.  GAGE. 

LYMAN  JUDSON  GAGE,  one  of  the  best 
known  and  most  distinguished  bankers  and  finan- 
ciers in  the  United  States,  was  born  at  I  )e  Kuyter. 
Madison  County.  New  York,  June  28,  1836.  His 
parents.  Eli  A.  and  Mary  Judson  Gage,  were  both  of 


English  descent,  their  immediate  ancestors  having 
been  among  the  early  settlers  of  New  England. 
They  also  were  natives  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
When  Lyman  was  ten  years  old,  the  family 
removed  to  Koine,  New  York,  where  he  entered 
the  Rome  Academy,  which  was  established  about 
that  time.  Leaving  school  four  years  later,  he 
entered  actively  upon  a  life  of  industry  and  enter 
prise  which  has  been  characterized  by  an  indomi- 
table will,  a  high  standard  of  integrity  and  a  tire 
less  perseverence,  which  could  scarcely  fail  to 
result  in  the  splendid  success  which  he  has 
achieved.  His  first  employment  was  as  clerk  in 
the  Rome  postoflice.  When  he  was  fifteen  years 
old  he  was  detailed  by  the  postmaster  as  mail 
route  agent  on  the  Rome  &  Watertown  railroad, 
ami  served  in  that  capacity  until  the  Postmaster 
General  appointed  regular  agents  for  the  route, 
[n  1854,  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  Oneida  Central  Bank,  at  Rome, 
as  junior  clerk,  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  dollars 
a  year,  and  faithfully  discharged  all  the  duties  of 
tin'  position,  from  counting  the  cash  to  sweeping 
out  the  bank.  His  employers  being  unable  to 
meet  his  request  for  an  advance  of  his  modest 
salary  at  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half's  service, 
Mr.  Gage  determined  to  seek  a  wider  field  of  use- 
fulness. He  saw  that  the  great  new  West  was 
then  offering  much  better  opportunities  for  a 
young  man  of  energy  and  abilities  than  were 
readily  obtainable  in  the  conservative  East,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1855  he  set  out  for  Chicago— a  city 
that  has  been  made  great  and  magnificent  by  the 
lives  and  influence  of  just  such  men.     He  arrived 

hen the  3rd  of  October,  1855;  and  soon  found 

employment  in  Nathan  Cobb's  lumber  yard  and 
planing  mill  at  the  corner  of  Canal  and  Adams 
streets.  His  duties  here  were  of  a  varied  char- 
acter, ranging  from  book-keeping  to  driving  a 
team  and  loading  lumber.  In  this  employment  he 
remained  nearly  three  years.  In  1858,  a  time  ..I 
great  business  depression,  a  change  in  the  man 
agement  of  this  establishment  resulted  in  his 
leaving  its  service.  Owing  to  the  general  stagna 
tion  of  business  he  was  unable  to  find  such 
employment  as  his  abilities  warranted  him  in 
seeking;  but  he  had  no  inclination  to  spend  a 
single  day  in  idleness,  and  with  the  same  cheerful 
ness  with  which  he  had  accepted  his  first  engage- 
ment on  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  he  became  a  night 
watchman  in  the  same  establishment.  This 
period  of  probation  did  not  last  long.  Such 
abilit  ies,  industry,  and  application  as  characterized 
the  young  man  had  not  failed  to  attract  attention, 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


49 


mill  the  way  was  soon  opened  for  their  full  exer- 
cise. He  had  only  held  the  humble  post  of  nighl 
watchman  at  Cobb's  for  about   six   weeks,   when 

the  opportunity  offered  for  him  to  start  upon 
the  splendid  career  which  has  made  him  famous 
in  the  world  of  finance.  He  was  then  offered  and 
accepted  the  position  of  book-keeper  in  the  Mer- 
chants'Savings,  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  at  a 
salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Entering 
upon  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  this  position 
in  August.  1858,  tie  had  only  to  wait  until  the  he- 
ginning  of  the  following  year  for  advancement. 
.  being  at  that  time  made  paying  teller  at  a  salary 
of  twelve  hundred  dollars.  In  the  spring  of  1860, 
he  was  appointed  assistani  cashier  with  a  salary 
of  two  thousand  dollars,  and  a  year  later  he  be- 
came the  cashier  .if  the  bank,  which  office  In-  held 
until  August.  1868,  when  In-  was  offered  a  similar 
position  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago. 
He  accepted  this  offer,  and  has  been  identified 
with  this  great  financial  institution  ever  since. 
During  the  period  of  his  connection  with  the 
Merchants' Savings,  Loan  and  Trust  Company, 
Mr.  Gage  proved  himself  a  master  of  all  the  intri- 
cate problems  of  finance,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  that  brilliant  career  which  lias  culminated  in 
placing  him  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  greatest  and 
best  known  banks  in  the  world.  His  abilities 
were  at  once  recognized,  and  his  promotion  was 
rapid;  but  since  he  transferred  his  services  to  the 
larger  interests  of  the  First  National  Bank,  his 
onward  and  upward  progress  has  been,  so  to  speak, 
by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  he  is  now  universal!] 
acknowledged  to  hold  a  position  of  preeminence 
among  the  foremost  financiers  of  this  country. 
The  old  charter  of  the  First  National  Bank  ex- 
pired in  1882,  when  the  institution  was  reorganized. 
Mr.  ( iage  being  chosen  as  vice  president  and  gen- 
eral manager.  His  high  standing  as  a  banker  and 
financier  was  fully  recognized  by  the  American 
Bankers'  Association,  which  was  organized  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  4th  of  October.  187(1.  its  mem- 
bership being  composed  of  the  leading  bankers 
and  financiers  of  the  country.  In  1882  this  asso- 
ciation elected  Mr.  (  fage  its  President,  and  so  ably 
did  he  fill  the  office  that  he  was  re-elected  twice 
in  succession.  Chicago  being  the  greatest  grain, 
lumber  and  live  stock  market  and  packing  point 
in  the  world,  it  has  naturally  been  very  potential 
in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  bankers'  asso- 
ciation, and  the  selection  of  Mr.  (iage  as  its  head 
for  three  successive  terms  was  a  graceful  tribute 
at  once  to  the  influence  of  the  city  and  to  the 
Worth  . .f  the  man.     ( In  the  24th  of  January.   1891, 


Mr.  Gage  became  president  of  the  First  National 
Bank,  which  position  he  still  holds.  Under  his 
superintendence  and  control,  the  First  National 
has  become  the  leading  bank  of  the  Northwest  so 
far  as  the  volume  of  its  transactions,  and  the 
magnitude  and  importance  of  many  of  them,  are 
concerned.  After  the  panic  of  187:!.  there  was  a 
general  tottering  of  small  banking  institutions, 
and  the  wave  of  disaster  engulfed  one  National 
Bank,  in  Chicago,  after  another,  causing  the 
greatest  consternation  among  mercantile  men. 
Throughout  this  trying  period  the  First  National 
stood  firm  and  unshaken,  and  was  able  to  extend 
assistance  to  its  weaker  neighbors.  The  high 
standing  and  influence  which    it   justly   holds   in 

1 1 mmunity  and  in  banking  circles,  not  only  in 

this  country  but  in  Europe,  are  evidence  of  the 
strict  integrity  and  prudence  winch  have  charac- 
terized Mr.  Gage's  management  of  its  affairs. 
From  the  earliest  inception  of  the  World's  Pair 
movement  in  Chicago,  the  name  of  Lyman  J. 
( rage  has  been  associated  w  ith  it.  anil  his  guiding 
spirit  has  directed  every  step  that  has  been  taken 
in  furtherance  of  this  great  enterprise.  During 
the  early  agitation  of  the  subject.  Mr.  I  iage  was 
prominent,  especially  in  the  organization  of  the 
committee  to  whom  was  entrusted  the  formula- 
tion of  plans  for  bringing  the  Fair  to  Chicago. 
When  the  opposition  to  Chicago,  led  by  Sena 
tor  Hiscock  of  New  York,  took  the  form  in  the 
Semite  committee  of  a  want  of  confidence  that 
Chicago  would  carry  out  her  pledge  to  pro- 
vide ten  millions  of  dollars  towards  the  expense 
of  preparations  for  the  Fair,  it  was  the  written 
assurance  of  Mr.  Gage  and  three  other  leading 
financial  men  of  this  city  that  finally  overcame  all 
objections,  and  led  to  the  bill  being  approved  by 
the  Senate-  the  three  others  being  J.  J.  P.  Odell. 
president  of  the  Union  National  Bank.  J.  W. 
Doane,  president  of  the  Merchants'  Loan  and 
Trust  Company,  and  Wirt  Dexter.  When  the 
local  corporation  known  as  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  was  organized,  in  which  work  he 
played  a  most  important  part,  and  the  choice  of 
an  executive  became  necessary,  he  was  the  only 
man  who  appeared  to  be  acceptable  to  the  directory 
without  a  dissenting  voice,  and  he  was  unani- 
mously elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Chicago 
board  of  directors  on  the  30th  of  April,  1890.     He 

accepted  the  In r  with    reluctance,   because  he 

had  beer:  for  some  time  the  acting  president  of 
the  First  National  Bank,  and  his  duties  in  con- 
nection with  the  bank,  till  the  details  of  whose 
vast    business   passed   directly   under    his    care. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


absorbed  b uch  ol  his  time  thai  h.  doubted  hie 

ability  to  give  i"  the  business  <<<  the  Fair  the 
degree  of  attention  which  he  considered  indispen 
sable.  He  was  therefore  unwilling  to  jeopardize 
the  interests  of  the  Pair  by  assuming  the  position 
of  its  executive  head;  bul  having  accepted,  he 
took  the  enterprise  in  hand  with   all    his  charac 

energy  and  sagacity.  All  through  the 
storm}  days  of  the  firsl  year  of  the  history  o)  the 
undertaking,  his  wisdom  and  courage  was  tin'  sus- 
taining force  thai  carried  through  the  great  work. 
It  is  no  disparagement  to  others  who  were  associa 
ted  with  him  to  say  thai  to  him  more  than  to 
any  other  man   is  due   whatever  of  success  has 

deved  bj  the  Exposition  up  to  t  be  pn  enl 
time.  When  the  question  of  the  site  of  thi  Pair 
was  under  discussion,  and  factional  feeling  reached 
a  point  which  bid  fair  to  breed  dissension  each 
division  of  the  city   having   its  advocates  among 

the  members  of  the  local  board     Mr.  Gage  si I 

at  his  post  bravely  and  calmly,  and  held  in  check 
the  turbulenl  spirits  thai  mighl  have  wrecked  all 
to  accomplish  a  certain  purpose.  Daj  by  day  he 
lias  thoughl  and  labored  tor  the  Exposition, 
always  wise,  always  prudenl  and  progressive. 
On  the  24th  of  January,  1891,  he  resigned  the 
presidencj  of  the  board  of  directors,  having  been 
elected  president  of  the  Firsl  National  Lank,  of 
which  he  had  been  tor  a  considerable  time  the 
actual  head  owing  to  the  absence  of  the  president, 
Mr.  s.  .M.  Nickerson.  His  retirement  from  the  posl 
of  chief  executive  of  the  Pair  was  universally  re- 
gretted, but  Mr.  Gage  still  con  in I  to  act  as  one 

of  the  directors.  He  fell  thai  he  had  no  alterna 
live  but  to  resign,  as  the  interests  of  the  bank 
required  his  whole  attention.  The  retiring  presi 
dentol  the  bank,  Mr.  Nickerson,  publicly  explained 
the  situation  at  the  time.  "Thai  Mr.  Gage  should 
take  the  presidency  of  the  bank,"  he  said  "is  a 
Btep  thai  has  been  contemplated  for  som<  timi 
pas!  During  my  frequent  absences  he  has  been 
acting  president,  and  I  have  only  waited  to  resign 

in  favor  of  Mr.  Gag til   tuch  time  as  he  would 

■  d  from  other  duties,  and  be  a  hie  to  give 
to  the  hank's  affairs  the  undivided  attention  they 
demand.  For  twenty  three  years  he  has  been 
associated  with  the  hank,  and  his  advancement  is 
in  the  line  of  a  policy  long  before  decided  on." 
The  entire  press  of  the  city  joined  in  a  chorus  of 
praise  of  Mr.  Gage,  and  deprecation  of  his  ret  ire 
inent.    "The  news  will  be  received   with    regret," 

said  one.  ••  not  only    bj    t  ho  community    but  also  by 

the  National   (' ission   and   all   concerned   in 

i  undertaking.    During  his  occupancy  of 


this  import  q,  he  has  shown  a  knowledge 

of    its    details,    a    sound    and    quiet    judgment,    a 

capacit)    to    harmonize  conflicting  elemi 
broad  and  comprehensive  view  of  affairs,  and   an 
executive  ability  which  it  will  be  difflcuU   to  find 
in  any  one  who  may  be  named  as  his  successor." 

Mi.     Gage     refused     tO     aeeept       the     eoiu  pensa  t  ion 

voted  to  him  by  the  directors,  Since  that  time 
he  has  continuously   given   \aluahle  servi 

member  of  the  1 d.  and  it  was  w  bile  on  his  way 

to  attend  a  banquet  at  Delmonico's,  in  New  5fork, 

given  b.\    the   National  (' aissioners  for  that 

State,  to  bring  togetl  i  epresentatives  of  all 

the  industries  of  the  country   in   the   interest   of 

the  Fair,  that  Mr.  Gage  was  stricken    down    with 

an  illness  necessitating  a  verj  critical  operation. 
which  it  was  at  one  time  thought  would  have  a 
fatal  termination.  Throughout  the,  ntire  countrj 
there  was  general  rejoicing  at   the  assurance  ,,r 

M i's   recovery.    Mr.  Gage   is  a   dignified, 

thoughtful  man.  possessed  of  a  marvellous  inher 
entreserve  force,  which  is  a  characteristic  apparent 
to  all  who  know,  or  come  in  contact  with  him. 
At  the  same  time  his  courteous  and  affable  de 
meanor  make  him  one  of  the  most  accessible  of 
our  public  men.  and  few  enjoy  so  wide  a  populai 
itj  among  all  ranks  and  classes  of  the  community. 

He  extends  to  the  humblest  citizen  who  seeks  his 
advice  the  same  patient  attention  that    he    would 

givi   to  1  !"■  weall  biest.     He  is  alive  to  all  1 
public  questions  of  the    day.    and    has    especially 
made   his    influence    felt    upon   those    questions 
which  divide  different  classes  of  the  community. 
i  always  taken  a  great  interest  in   the  labor 

problem,  and  has  been  a  prime  mover  in  a  series 
of  "economic  conferences"  w  hich  were  lately  held 

in  this  city.  'The  purpose  of  these  conferences 
was  to  discuss  economic  questions  freelj  and 
without  reserve,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  labor 
ing  man  as  well  as  the  capitalist,  and  tin'  discus 
sions  took  a  wide  range    embracing  the  tariff  as 

looked  at  by  tin-   ultra-protectionist   on   th le 

hand  and  the  free  I  rader  on    ti ther,  w  ith   all 

the  phases  ol  the  revenue  reform  that  lie  between 
these  opposite  poles    the  single   tax   thei 

Henry  George     and  various    social    diseases    siiL' 

gesting  equally  various  legislative  remedies.    The 
conferences    were     participated    in     bj 
thoughtful  and  earnest  minded  citizens  of  varying 

shades  of  political  belief.     The  primary  object  was 

to  bring  the  representatives  of  labor  and   capital 

togethei   face  to  f t to  speak  freely  and    frankly 

bole  minds  upon  the  subjects   under  dis 
mission.     It  was  a  greal  and  beneficial  movement 


(7 


■ 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


5' 


to  unite  for  the  moment  on  a  common  platform 
rich  and  ] ■,  the  men  of  clubs  and  the  represen- 
tatives of  trades' unions,  to  talk  over  matters  of 
vital  importance  to  all.  Mr.  Gage  took  an  active 
part  in  the  movement,  and  though  not  one  of  the 
s  trial  organizers  of  it,  war.  lie  leadings]  int  wink 
the  conferences  lasted.  It  was  a  movement  that 
fell  in  with  his  own  desire  to  bring  about  equal 
dealing  between  all  classes;  he  immediately  gave 
it  the  benefit  of  his  help,  and  became  chairman  of 
the  i  secutive  committee.    His  personal  influence 

was  sufficient  to  secure  thi peration  of   other 

men  like-minded  with  himself,  and  among  those 
who  took  part  in  the  discussions  were  such  men 
as  Franklin  MacVeagh,  Henry  I  >.  Lloyd  and  Mr. 
representing  one  end  of  the  social  ladder, 
and  Thomas  Morgan  and  George  Schilling  as 
spokesmen  for  the  other.  Mr.  Gage  delivered  al 
least  two  addresses  before  i!  ences,  one 

of  them  on  the  subject  of  banking.  In  many  of 
the  discussions  Mr.  <  Sage's  voice  was  heard,  always 
on  the  side  of  the  fullest  concession  to  the  fair 
claims  of  the  laboring  classes,  always  with  some 
helpful  suggestion  towards  bettering  their  condi 
tion.  Having  risen  to  his  present  position  through 
his  own  untiring  industry,  he  has  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  rights,  feelings,  and  needs  of  all  classes. 
and  some  of  his  utterances  upon  the  issui 
by  the  laboring  classes  have  been  so  fair  and  em- 
inently  sound  that    his   views    have  commanded 

genera]   respect.    Mr.  Gage   has  always   be 

member  of  the  Republican  Party.  He  is  a  lover  of 
freedom  and  of  equal  rights  for  all  citizens,  irre- 
spective of  race  or  color,  or  of  social  condition. 
He  believes,  however,  more  in  men  than  in  party: 
that  is  to  say.  he  is  a  man  of  independent  thought, 
and  is  altogether  too  broad  to  he  lettered  by 
caucusesor  •■machines."  His  patriotism  takes  the 
form  of  republicanism,  because  his  sympathies 
with  the  oppressed  find  in  that  party  their  most 
fitting  exponent;  hut  he  would  not  countenance 
injustice  or  wrong  because  it  happened  to  he  tic 
outcome  of  republican  legislation.  He  is  known 
every  where  as  the  friend  of  fair  dealing,  and  he 
has  the  ability  and  force  of  character  to  make  his 
opinions  felt  and  respected.  He  is  a  logical  and 
forcible  speaker,  and  his  range  of  subjects  is  wide, 
he  being  equally  at  home  whether  treating  of  tin' 
relations  of  labor  ami  capital,  or  discussing  tin- 
arts.  He  is  not  aggressive,  as  that  term  is  com 
monly  understood;  but  his  mind  once  made  up, 
he  will  defend  his  views  with  vigor  and  earnest- 
ness, ami  generally  succeeds  in  impressing  them 
upon  others.     Such  a  man  naturally  takesa  prom- 


inent place  in  the  social  lit'.- of  the  city.  Mr.  Gage 
is  a  member  of  two  of  the  leading  social  clubs  of 
>>  and  tie-  Union.  He  has 
i  president  of  the  Commercial  Club  of 
Chicago,  the  membership  of  which  is  limited  to 
sixty,  representing  the  most  important  branches 
of  business  and  the  most  enterprising  industries 
of  the  city.  He  is  also  a  director  and  the  treasurer 
of  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago.  Though  In-  has 
been  a  busy  man  all  his  life.  Mr.  Gage  has  found 
time  to  devote  to  the  pleasures  of  literature,  lie 
is  a  hard  student,  and  an  omnivorous  reader.  His 
private  library  is  one  of  the  choicest  in  the  city. 
"  He  does  not."  says  one  of  his  friends,  -waste  his 
time,  monej   and  energj   collecting  rare   editions 

of  worthless  • ks.  in  extra-illustrating,  or  in  any 

similar  way.  He  spends  his  days  in  bush 
his  nights  with  the  classics.  I  suppose  there  is 
not  another  man  in  Chicago  who  can  c 
with  him  in  the  extent,  variety,  and  accuracy  of 
his  knowledge."  Those  who  have  noted  the  style 
of  Mr.  Gage's  public  utterances  must  have  been 
struck  with  the  fact  that  he  has  formed  it  upon 
good  literary  models.  Mr.  Gage  has  been  twice 
married,  first  in  lsel  to  Miss  Sarah  Etheridge, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Francis  B.  Etheridge,  of  Little 
Falls,  New  York.  She  , lied  in  1874.  In  188 T  ai 
was  married  to  his  present  wife.  Cornelia  Gage, of 
Denver,  Colorado. 


EUGENE  S.   PIKE. 

Forty-five    years   ago   Eugene   S.   Pike   was  a 
penniless  orphan  hoy.  working,  even  at  the  tender 

ii  a   farm   in    Lake    County,    Ohio. 

for  his  hoard  and  the  privilege  of  attending  scl I, 

"between  chores"  in  the  winter  time.  To-day,  at 
fiftj  six,  Mr.  Pike  is  one  of  the  best  known  and 
most  successful  financiers  of  Chicago;  a  man  who 
by  his  works  has  proven  that  there  is  a  bountiful 
measure  of  success  within  reach  of  those  who 
strive  for  it  diligently.  His  early  history  is  linked 
with  that  of  James  A.  Garfield,  and  while  the  in- 
clinations of  Garfield  led  him  into  the  arenas  of 
war  and  politics,  those  of  young  Pike  drew  him 
to  the  more  quiet,  but  nonetheless  exacting,  field 
of  finance.  Mr.  Pike  is  a  native  of  Ohio,  having 
been  born  in  Lake  County,  that  state,  October 9th, 
is;;.",.  From  both  his  father  and  mother  lie  in- 
herited the  true  patriotism  and  the  deep-seated 
regard  for  fidelity  and  right  which  arc  character- 
istic of  the  old  New  England  families.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Berkshire  County,  Mass..  and  his 


5- 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ttJJNOlS. 


mother  (Jerusha  Hartwell),  was  also  born 

same  Btate.     Mount  Holyoke  Seminary  .  known  I" 

this  day  as  one  of  the  most  famous  seats  i 

ing  in  Massachusetts,  was   Founded   through    t  he 

exertions  of  Jerusha    Eartwell   and  her  cousin, 

Mar}  Lyon.     All  the  women  of  this  fa  rail)    were 

models  of  Christian  virtue,   and    uoted   for  their 

high  education  and  refine nt,  and  none  ol  them 

ing  mi  ither  of  the  subject   of 
tch.     Prom  his  eai  liesi  Eugi  ae  was 

trained  in  the  ways  of  honor  and  integrity,  and 
w  hen  his  fal  her  died,  leai  ing  I  he  I  03  and  hit 
mother  in  straightened  circumstances,  l"'  was, 
although  but  eight  years  old,  a  sturdy,  self  reliant 

lad,    For  three  years  1 'e  he  had  the  advantage 

of  his  mother's  guidance,  and  then  she  too  was 
called  away,  leaving  the  child  to  make  his  way  in 
the  world  alone.  It  was  then  that  the  example  of 
his  Christian  mother's  teachings  had  full  effect, 
and,  nothing  da  %  Pike  started  to  earn 

his  own  living  as  a  farmer's   boy.     For  years   he 

struggled  on,  going  to  the  district  scl I  in  winter 

and  saving  sacredly  the  few  dollars  he  was  able 

in  the  Bummer  months.    Through  all  this 

the  bo j  had  one  object  in  view  and   that    was  to 

acquire  a  college  education.     It  was  with  a  pardon 

able  presumption  that  he  decided  one  day  to  risk 

the  experiment  of  a  course  at  the  Western  Reserve 

College  at  Hiram.  Ohio.     It  was  here  that  young 

i     ies  A.  Garfield  who  was  then  making 

his  way  in  much  the  same  manner,  in  the  Western 

College,  both  studying  hard  by  night  and 

working  even  harder  bj  da}  at  an}  manual  labor 

which  would  assist  them  in  earning  the  monej  to 

pay  their  board  and   tuition.    He  remained   here 

to  Antinrh  ( lollege  where  he 

concluded    his    collegiate  studies.    Unlike  most 

young  men,  and  especially  those  who  have  been 

educated  at  college,  Mr.   Pike   was  successful   in 

business  from  his  first  venture.     He  began   as  a 

salesman  of  nurser}  Btock  and  gradually  extended 

his  trade  until  he   became  an    importer  oi    fruil 

trees,  grape  vines,  roses,  etc.,  from  France,    These 

he  found  sale  tor  in  the  Southern  states  until  the 

beginning  of  hostilities  in  L861  made  further  busi- 

m  1       m]  rai  I »  able      M 1 ,    Pike  was 

always  ambitious  to  bei te  a  banker,  and  the 

breaking  up  of  his   trade  by  war's  stem   alarms, 

gave    him    the    desired    opportunity.    Q g    to 

Painesville.  Ohio,  he  engaged  in  the  banking  and 
brokerage  business,  and  his  operations  soon  at 
tracted  attention.  His  ability  as  a  financier  was 
ed  and  he  was  im  ited  to  a  leading  place 
in  many  important  enterprises,  and   Boon   made 


fur  himsell  an  enviable  reputation  for  one  so 
young  in  business  life.  He  made  mone)  rapidly, 
and  finally,  seeking  a  more  extended  field  in  which 

1    earn,  t,i  ( ihicago  iii  1867.     He  was  not 
long   in    imbibing  the  spirit   and   energy   of   the 

letropolis,  which  his  past   career  had  so 

well  fitted  him  t"  cope  with.     Mr.  Pikes 

his  name  as  well  known  ami  respected  iii  the 
Garden  City  as  it  had  been  in  the  Ohio  village. 
1  lis  faith  in  the  si  mm  In  ess  of  Chicago  11  all. \  datei 

fr the  da}  of  his  arrival  in   the  city,  and   it    is 

not  urpi  ising  that  he  quick]}  began  the  1 
of  land  in  the  business  district  of  the  South  Side. 
As  his  means  would  allow.  Mr.  Pike  erected  solid 
blocks  on  these  lots,  and  in  this  way  has 
added  ver)  materially  to  the  growth  and improvi 
ment  of  that  part  of  the  city,  all  of  his  propert} 
being  of  high-class  and  very  productive.  His 
experience  in  this  line  soon  brought  Mr.  Pike  to 
be  recognized  as  an  expert  in  the  building  and 
rebuilding  of  office  structures,  and  even  now  the 
most  noted  architects  are  frequently  glad  to  get 
in     counsel   and   advice   in   this  direction.    Mr. 

Pike's  business    Ventures    outside    of    real    estate 

have  been  few,  but  almost   uniforml}    successful. 
During  his  residence  in  Ohio  he  took  a  print   in 
terest  in  horticulture  and  engaged  in  it  extensively 
and  with  profit.    At  another  time  he  wa 
concerned   in    mining   in   Colorado,   and   in   this 

added     materially    to    his    growing    fortunes.      In 

1876  Mr.  Pike  became  a  jeweler    tor  diversion 
buying  a   me' hair   interest    in    the   well   known 

I se  of  N.  Mats &  Co.,  at  the  corner  of  State 

and  Monrde  streets.  He  took  no  active  part  in 
the  management  oi  the  firm's  affairs,  however, 
ami  in  1879,  sold  his  interest  in  the  business;  Mr. 
Pike  is  now,  and    has   been    for  several   years,   a 

director  of  the  First   National    Bank.    Tin m 

mittee  of  organization  of  the  World's  Fair  insisted 
upon  having  the  advice  and  counsel  of  Mr.  Pike  in 
the  Exposition  Directory,  and  he  is  among  its  most 
influential  members,  [n  L891  the  Manchester  Fire 
Assurance  Company  of  England,  the  largest  con 
cem  of  its  kind  ill  the  world,  was   glad    to    obtain 

the  consent  of  Mr.  Pike   to  serve  as  f   the 

three  trustees  for  the  United  States.  Unlike 
many  men  of  wealth.  Mr.  Pike  is  a   man    of    great 

g 1  fellowship  and  full  of  a  benevolence  t"  his 

fellow  man  which  takes  practical  form.  In  his 
social  relations  he  is  the  most  delightful  of  com 
panions.  As  an  old  friend  and  business  associate 
descril.es  him:  "Mr.  Pike  is  always  the  same 
genial,  jovial  good  fellow,  overflowing  with  a 
genuine,  wholesome,  happy   disposition."     \t  the 


3  J, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


?.-> 


same  time  he  is  a  man  of  force  and  keen  tact; 
quick  to  solve  intricate  business  problems  and  to 
judge  their  merits;  and  of  ten  mastering  the  whole 
field,  while  others  arc  still  feeling  in  the  dark  for 
the  gateway.  There  is  combined  with  all  this,  an 
old-fashioned  virtue  in  Mr.  Pike's  character  which 
makes  him  unusually  steadfast  in  his  adherence 
to  his  friends,  and  ever  ready  to  d<>  them  a  kindly 
service.  Asa  memberof  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Chicago,  Mr.  Pike  is  a  recognized 
leader  in  religious  circles,  and  is  much  inter- 
ested in  Church.  Sunday  School  and  charitable 
work-.  His  home  is  a  beautifully  domestic  and 
aappj  one.  Mr.  Pike's  wife  was  Miss  Marj  Rock- 
well of  Painesville,  Ohio,  a  relative  of  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson,  the  famous  poet  and  philosopher. 
Of  this  union,  which  took  place  in  1865,  three  sons 
have  been  born,  all  of  whom  are  now  young  men 
of  unusual  promise.  The  eldest  is  Eugene  R. 
Pike,  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  the  class  of  1890.    The 

-i ad  son,  Charles  Burrall  Pike,   is   at    Harvard 

in  the  class  of  1892.  The  youngeBt,  William  W. 
Pike,  is  now  at  Belmont,  Mass.,  preparing  himself 
for  admission  to  Vale.  None  of  these  young  men 
will  have  to  drudge  their  way  through  college  as 
their  father  did.  hut  they  are  all  able  to  do  so 
should  the  occasion  require  it.  They  inherit  from 
their  father  the  qualities  of  independence  and 
manhood,  which  have  made  him  a  leader  in  the 
business  circles  in  which  only  true  merit  can  be 
successful;  from  their  mother  they  are  endowed 
with  gifts  of  rare  accomplishment  which  make 
them  charming  companions.  Mr.  Pike  is  a  man 
of  few  recreations,  and  the  only  out-door  sport  in 
which  he  takes  real  enjoyment  is  with  the  rod  and 
gun.  His  greatest  pleasure  is  derived  from 
frequent  shooting  trips,  with  Ids  sons  as  his  com- 
panions; and  there  are  no  keener  sportsmen  in 
the  West  than  this  active  man  of  fifty  six.  and  Ids 
three  stalwart  boys. 


JOHN   BICE  TURNER. 

JOHN  BICE  TURNER,  for  many  years  one  ol 

the  most  able,  public-spirited  and  trustworthy  of 
Chicago's  early  citizens,  stands  as  a  corner-stone 
of  the  great  Chicago  &  North  Western  railway 
system.  William  B.  Ogdenand  himselfareto  day 
recognized  as  having  been  the  most  powerful 
agents  in  the  establishment  of  the  Galena  & 
Chicago  Union  Railroad  Company,  which  may  be 
called  the  foundation  of  its  giant  successor.     It  is 


full  of  interest  as  well  as  instruction  to  trace  the 
life  of  such  a  man  along  the  rugged  pathway  by 
which  he  reached  his  ultimate  success.  His 
record  as  a  railroad  pioneer  commences  as  early 
as    L835,   in  the  state  of  New  York.    Having  not 

yet  recovered  from  the  business  reverses  sustained 
a  few  years  previously,  in  April.  1835,  being  then 
a  young  man  of  thirty  six.  he  set  to  work,  under 
contract,  to  build  seven  miles  of  the  Ransom  it 
Saratoga  Railroad.  This  being  accomplished,  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  entire  mad.  and  had 
the  honor  of  putting  in  service  the  "Champlain," 
a  locomotive  of  rive  tons  weight,  and  the  second 
of  its  kind  to  appear  in  the  northern  states. 
Most  of  the  "trains"  were  drawn  by  horses,  of 
which  the  company  purchased  thirty,  and  Mr. 
Turner  built  a  barn  every  ten  miles  along  the 
load,  for  their  accommodation.  In  November. 
1835,  ground  was  broken  by  himself  and  his  part- 
ner, as  contractors,  for  the  construction  of  the 
Delaware  division  of  the  New  York  A  Erie  Rail 
road  Company.  The  financial  crash  of  April. 
1837,  however,  carried  that  corporation  with  it 
and  caused  the  temporary  ruin  of  the  young 
contractor  and  his  partners.  Subsequently,  the 
company  resumed  operations,  and  the  $16,000, 
which  it  was  feared  had  been  permanently  lost. 
was  recovered.  His  next  venture  was  in  partner- 
ship with  his  brother-in-law,  John  Vernam,  in  the 
building  of  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal.  When,  in 
1840,  the  state  suspended  work  upon  it,  Mr.  Tur- 
ner himself  received  another  set  back.  The  enter- 
prise was  resumed,  however,  and  finished,  also  a 
section  of  the  Troy  A  Schenectady  road,  by  the 
spring  of  1S4.'!.  This  placed  Mr.  Turner  in  more 
comfortable  circumstances,  and  he  resolved  to 
locate  in  the  west.  In  company  witli  his  wife,  he 
made  a  journey  of  observation  as  far  west  as  the 
Mississippi  river.  Determining  to  settle  in  Chi- 
cago, he  returned  to  Troy  for  his  two  younger 
children,  leaving  his  oldest  boy  in  Williamstown 
Col  lee,..  He  arrived  in  the  Garden  City  on  Octo- 
ber 15,  1843.  boarding,  with  his  family,  at  the  old 
Tremont  House.  Early  in  the  spring.  Mr. Turner 
purchased  one  thousand  acres  of  prairie  land 
lying  south  of  Blue  Island,  and  put  upon  it  an 
immense  Hock  of  sheep  which  he  had  brought 
from  Ohio.  He  was  now  in  such  comfortable  cir- 
cumstances that  he  was  enable, I  to  devote  his 
active  mind  to  larger  profits  connected  with  the 
improvement  of  the  new  country  which  he  had 
made  his  home.  A  railroad  from  Chicago  to  the 
Pox  River  was  the  all-absorbing  topic  among  the 
active  and  broad-minded  men  of  the  state  and  the 


54 


BIOGRAPHl    OF    IMJNois. 


city.    The    Galena    &   Chicago   Union    Railroad 
Companj    had   been   inaugurated   seven 
previously, and  a  small  s«-.t ii>u  of  the  road  con 
structed,  when  the  funds  gave  oul  and  work  was 
suspended.     In  1847,  ten  years  after  the  building 
of  this  crude  excuse  tor  a  railroad,  Mcssi 
and  Turner  resuscitated   the  enterprise,  and  on 
the   "'ih  "f  April,  lsiv.  the   former   was  'Uriel 
I  Mr.  Turner  acting  directot   ol   t  he 
road.    Soon  afterward,  Richard  P.  Morgan  made 
a  Burvej  of  the  line,  and  the  two  enthusiastic  and 
able  officials  traveled  through  the  country  solicit 
ing  subscriptions.    Winn  Mr.  Turner  wa 
president  "f  the  compi  Deci  mber,  1850,  the 

been  extended  rrom  Chicago  to  beyond 
Elgin,  and  by  September,  1852,  it  had  reached 
Freeport,  where  it  connected  with  the  Illinois 
Central.  Under  his  administration,  the  Dixon 
Air   line  ted  to   Fulton,  and  during 

iluit  period  the  line  across  the  state  of  Iowa  was 
partially  finished.     He  resigned  thePresi 

1858,  after  having  1 n,  with  th cception,  per 

William  B.  Ogden,  the  most  efficient 
laborer  in  laying  the  foundation  of  oni 
greatest  railway  systems  in  the  world.  I  1853, 
he  had  organized,  also,  the  Beloit  &  Madison  Rail 
road  Company,  and  continued  in  active  connection 
with  the  Galena  &  Chicago  Union  Companj   ami 

ssor  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.    When 
.   ( Jhicago  I  rnion 
and  the  Chicago  <S  Northwestern  was  effi  i  ti 

,h 1864,  Mr.  Turner  was  chairman  of  the  man 

aging  committee.  He  subsequently  served  as  a 
director  and  member  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  new  road,  bringing  to  bear  the  same  energy, 
ability  and  probity  which   characterized   him   in 

his  younger  days.    One  illustrate I    r 

dence  which  he  had  gained,  not  only  of  his  imme 
diate  circle,  but  throughout  the  country,  is  hero 
given.  Duringthe  war.  while  Fremont  had  com 
inand  in  Missouri,  ami  suspicions  were  abroad 
that  the  railways  were  swindling  the  Govi 
Mr.  Turner  made  an  investigation  of  the  matter, 
and  the  National  Commissioners  adopted  his  fig 
ures  without  alteration.  In  fact,  the  nature  of  his 
public  enterpri  settlement  in  Chicago 

had  brought  him  into  contact  with  capitalists  and 
professional  men  scattered  throughout  the  land, 
ami  the  name  "I  John  Bii  a  Turner  had  b 
svnonyni  for  all  that  was  honest  and  reliable. 
In  addition  t"  his  other  manifold  labors,  Mr.  Tin- 
hit's  name  appears  as  one  of  the  director! 
North  Side  Street  Railway  Company,  which  was 
incorporated  in  February,  1859.    Mr.  Turner  was 


horn  at  Colchester,  Delaware  Co.,  N.  7.,  January 
II.  1799.     His  father  died  when  he  was  two  years 

of  age  ami  his  mother  when  In-  was  fourteen. 
Ih'  was  adopted  bj  a  Mr.  Powers  soon  after 
..I  his  father.  In  a  tan  yard  and  upon 
with  an  occasional  term  of  schooling, 
the  boj  passed  the  earl}  years  of  his  life,  ami  so 
well  did  he  improve  his  opportunities  that  he  was 
able,  in  1819,  to  unite  himself  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Martha  Voluntine,  ol  Malta.  Saratoga  <  !o.,  X.  Y. 
In  I s-_r t.  he  sold  th"  interest  he  bad  obtained  in 
a  farm  to  his  brother  in  law.  bought  a  mill  and 
built  a  distillery,  u  hich,  w ith  a  store,  he  operated 
at    Mattaville,   in   the    same  county.    Six   years 

C! ii|i"ii     him. 

which  at  length  induced  him  t"  embark  in  those 
railroad  enterprises  which  brought  him  f. 
fortune.    While  acting  as  an  official, howi 
Turner  studiously    and   conscientiously    avoided 
the  rock  of  speculation— a  marked  trait  of  his  up 
right   character  being  his  often  express 

one  would  suspect  him  of  abusing  his 

position  ti  I  increasing  his  fortune 

through  such  means.  In  March,  1853, Mr. Turner 
lost  his  first  wife  by  death.     In  1855,  he  was  mar 

ried  to  Miss  Adeline  Williams,  of   Columhus.   Ga. 
Six  children    urn-    bom    t"    him.    three   oi 
wen-   daughters.     Up   t"   the   day   "f   In 
which  occurred  on  February  26,  1871,  he  seemed 
hale  and  hearty*     He  died  peacefully  and  quietly 

a  tiltiiii:  end  lor  "lie  whose  life  was  so  tilled 
esl  works.  His  demise  was 
i'.n  for  wide-spread  grief  his  railroad 
associates,  especially,  looking  upon  his  loss  as 
irreparable.  Asgracefully  and  feelingly  announcd 
h\  General  Manager  Dunlap,  "I  the  Chicago  a 
Northwestern  road,  il  ces  ami  slinks 

were  closed  in  profound  respect  for  the  memory  of 
this  "judicious  and  faithful  counsellor,  genial 
companion,  considerate  friend  and  Christian  gen 
tleman.     His  di  e  material  interests  ol 

I  i,,  ©  lunfc  |  n  a    i  [celled  onlj   by  the  patriotism 

which  never   lost    Bight    of    the    highest    .lull"'-    "I 

citizenship.  His  great  works  live  after  him.  ami 
will  keep  his  memory  green   forever." 


cyrus  h.  Mccormick. 

In  the  splendid  array  of  famous    men  who  have 

impressed  their  energy  and  genius  upon  our  rapidlj 
developing,  brilliant  American  en  ilization,  no  one 
has  made  a  deeper  impress  than  the  late  Cyrus 
II.  McCormick.     Indeed  his  life  and  achievi  nun  is 


C{    /¥.  /l^Qn^w^, 


BIOGBAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


55 


were,  in  Came  and  in  importance,  far  more  than 
national.  They  were  an  inspiration  to  progress, 
materially,  intellectually  and  morally,  through 
out  the  civilized  world.  Genius  and  extraordinary 
achievement  upon  any  line,  are  very  apt  to  be  the 
result  of  a  one-sided  development.  Then'  is  greal 
strength  in  one  direction,  and  a  marked  weakness 
in  every  other;  a  charming  brilliancy  at  one  point, 
and  a  marked  dullness  at  others.  But  Mr.  Me- 
Cormick  was  symmetrically  developed.  An  in- 
ventor who  revolutionized  the  methods  employed 
in  the  greatest  industry  of  the  world,  and  the 
head  of  an  immense  manufacturing  institution,  lie 
was  greatly  interested  in  the  cause  of  education 
and  religion,  and  a  wise  counsellor  in  the  affairs 
of  politics  and  statesmanship.  There  was  indeed 
no  sphere  demanding  the  wisdom  and  faithful 
action  of  the  citizen  and  of  the  man,  in  which  he 
was  not  an  actor  whose  worth  was  universally 
acknowledged.  Cyrus  Hall  McCormick  was  born 
in  Rockbridge  Co.,  Virginia,  Feb.  15th.  1809.  His 
parents,  Robert  and  Mary  Annillall)  McCormick, 
were  people  of  influence,  strong  character  and 
great  natural  ability.  Their  home  was  one  of 
comfort  and  of  strict  discipline  which  impressed 
upon  the  seven  children — of  whom  Cyrus  was  the 
eldest  the  duty  of  self  reliance,  industry  and  a 
sacred  regard  for  divine  truth  The  son  readily 
profited  by  such  teachings,  and  blessed  with  a  rich 
inheritance  of  intellect,  he  developed  into  a  man 
splendidly  equipped  for  the  achievement  of  the 
best  successes  in  life.  Theopportunitiesforacquir- 
ing  an  education  at  that  time  were,  it  is  true  not 
the  best,  but  lie  improved  those-  that  wen'  offered 
at  the  "old  held  school  house."  was  observant  and 
quick  of  perception,  and  made  his  every  day  life 
and  the  world  the  college  in  which  he  secured 
a  good  practical  education.  The  genius  of  in- 
vent  anil'ested  itself  while  hi-  was  yet  a  boy, 

showing  that  he  had  inherited  the  father's  talenl 
in  this  regard.  Upon  the  farm  on  which  tin- 
family  lived  there  were  carpenter  and  blacksmith 
shops,  in  which  the  work  of  that  character  needed 
on  the  premises,  was  done,  and  in  these  Cyrus, 
when  only  fifteen  years  old,  showed  the  mechani- 
cal l»-nt  of  his  mind  by  making  a  grain  cradle, 
which  he  often  afterwards  used  in  the  harvest 
Hells,  thus  early  in  life  experiencing  the  hardship 
of  severe  toil  from  which  his  invention  afterwards 
released  millions  of  his  fellow  men.  The  inventive 
turn  of  his  mind  was  first  shown  in  a  practical 
way,  in  a  hillside  plow  of  his  own  conception. 
This  implement  threw  alternate  furrows  on  the 
lower  side,  being  thus  a   right  and  left  hand  plow 


at  the  will  of  the  operator.  It  was  patented  in 
1831.  Two  years  later  he  invented  a  superior 
horizontal  self  sharpening  plow.  But  the  work  of 
his  life  in  the  sphere  of  invention  was  to  be  the 
labor  saving  reaper.  Several  attempts  had  been 
made  to  invent  a  machine  for  harvesting  grain, 
but  all  of  them  resulted  in  failure.  Mr.  McCor- 
miek's  father  was  among  these  experimenters  and 
devised  a  reaping  machine  in  1816,  which,  while  it 
failed  to  accomplish  the  purpose,  did  awaken  in 
this  observing,  thoughtful  boy  the  genius  that 
was  to  make  him  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the 
world's  inventors.  Y<-t  this  old  machine  was  of 
very  little  help  to  him  in  his  later  splendid 
achievements  in  the  same  line,  except  to  point  him 
to  errors  that  In-  must  avoid  in  the  construction 
of  his  reaper.  The  principle  which  his  father  had 
adopted  was  fundamentally  wrong,  and  Cyrus 
readily  saw  it.  That  machine  had  upright  re- 
volving cylinders,  provided  at  their  base  with 
knives  in  the  shape  of  sickles.  The  quick  mind 
of  young  McCormick  saw  that  instead  of  this 
arrangement  there  must  be  a  horizontal  recipro- 
cating blade,  operating  upon  the  grain  in  mass. 
The  idea  that  a  successful  reaper  could  be  invented, 
and  that  it  would  be  .me  of  tie-  most  important 
and  profitable  inventions  of  the  world,  grew 
and  stronger,  and  absorbed   so   much  of 

the  youth's  attention  that  his  father,  judging 
from  past  failures,  and  having  but  an  imperfect 
conception  of  the  sterling  stuff  of  which  his  son 
was  made,  remonstrated  with  him  against  what  he 
regarded  as  a  waste  of  time  and  abilities.  But 
the  young  inventor  was  not  diverted  from  his 
course.  He  thought  out  the  details  of  bis  machine, 
and  in  time  began  transferring  his  ideas  into  wood 
and  iron.  With  his  own  hand  he  shaped  every 
part  of  the  first  reaping  machine  which  consisted 
of  a  vibrating  blade  to  cut;  a  platform  to  receive 
the  falling  grain,  and  a  reel  to  bring  the  grain 
within  tie-  reach  of  the  blade.  This  machine, 
drawn  by  two  horses,  was  tested  in  a  field  of  oats 
near  the  McCormick  homestead,  in  1831,  and 
proved  to  be  a  success;  and  in  that  harvest  field  on 
that  summer's  day.  thi-^  young  man  made  it  possi- 
ble for  the  United  States  to  become  the  magnificent 
grain  producing  country  that  it  is  to-day.  Soon 
after  this  trial  of  the  reaper  Mr.  McCormick  entered 
into  a  partnership  for  the  smelting  of  iron  ore,  but 
the  panic  of  ls:t7  brought  financial  disaster  to  the 
enterprise;  yet  it  furnished  the  young  man  and  his 
family  a  splendid  opportunity  to  show  that  honor 
and  that  honesty  which  were  conspicuous  charac- 
teristics of  Mr.  McCormick's  life.    He  sacrificed 


56 


BIOGRAPHY    til     fLLINOIS. 


Ins  mi  hi'  possessions,  and  the  famil\  taxed  its  re 
sources  to  the  u  late  the  debts  of 

tlic  insolvent  linn.  Again  he  turn.. I  his  attention 
to  his  reaper.  He  improved  the  machine  and 
sought  its  introduction  into  general  use.  Bui  the 
facilities  tor  the  manufacture  and  Bale  .if  the 
reaper,  on  the  Virginia  farm,  were  bo  limited  thai 
in  I  sir,,  he  transferred  the  business  to  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,     Hi'    had   in   the   meantime    Becured    new 

patents  u] improvements  which  greatly  added 

t.i  tin'  value  nf  the  machine  and  increased  the 
demand  for  it.     Parentheticall)   it   may  In'  nun. 

tioned  thai  In-  was  adding  improve nts  nf  greal 

meril  to  the   McCormick    reaper,   as   long  ;is  he 

lived,     ln  is  it  in'  re ved  t.,  ( ihicago,  and  dur 

ing  ilu'  following  year  erected  in  thai  citj  which 
he  clearlj  saw  was  to  I"-  the  metropolis  nf  a 
greal  grain  producing  country  substantial  reaper 
works,  ami  huilt  in  thai  year  seven  hundred 
machines.  In  1849  then'  were  fifteen  hundred 
machines  turned  out,  which  in  those  days,  when 
there  was  no  improved  iron  ami  wood  working 
machinery,  was  a  great  achievement,  and  one  which 
only  a  man  with  Mr.  McCormick's  thorough  busi 
ness ability, and  indomitable  energ)  ami  enterprise 
could  have  accomplished.  In  the  meantime,  tun. 
arrangements  hail  been  made  with  a  firm  in  Rock 
port,  X.  V..  tn  manufacture  tin'  machines  mi  a 
royalty,  fur  the  purpose  nf  more  readily  introduc 
ing  tin -n i  into  the  then  excellent  wheal  producing 
sections  of  central  New  York.    Saving  established 

the  success  nf  his  reaper  at   ho Mr.   McCor 

mirk  spent  s •  time  in  bringing  the  machine  tn 

tin'  attention  nf  European  agriculturists.  In  1851 
the  machine  was  exhibited  at  the  World's  Pair  in 
i  conquering  all  prejudice,  and  when  tested 

in  thr  English  harvest  fields, commanding  univer 
sal  admiration  and  great  enthusiasm.  After  Bub 
jecting  tin-  machine  In  rigid  ami  prolonged  lists. 
the  "  Great  Council "  medal  was  awarded  its  in ven 
ti  a  in  i  In  ground  "of  the  originality  ami  value  nf 
ier;"  and  the  "London  Times  "which  at  firsl 
was  not  friendly  to  the  American  ami  his  inven 
tinn.  frankly  admitted  that  this  machine  was  equal 
in  value  tn  the  entire  cosl  of  the  exhibition. 
From  tin'  moment  nf  this  signal  triumph  the  fame 
nf  Mr.  \|  i  as  assured,  ami  fortune  was 

at  his  bidding.  At  tin-  Universal  Exposition  at 
Paris  nf  1853,  the  reaper  secured  tin'  Grand  Prize 
for  its  inventor.     In  1867  he  again  exhibited   the 

machine  at  ti ^position  held  at  Paris,  ami  was 

tint  only  awarded  the  <  Irand  Prize,  hut  was  de'cor 

ated  by  the  Emperor  with  tin'  rmss  nf  tin    I ..  ■_ 

nf  Honor  for  his   valuable   invention.    Thus   Mr. 


McCormick  had  fought  tin-  battle  ami  won  a  re 
Bplendanl  victory;  and  the  tru  li  roi  theworld'e 
recognition  of  tin-  merits  of  his  invention  was  a 
battle  I'm in  tlm  beginning.     He  encountered  ob 

Stacles  B  hi'li  nnh   a  inalrhli'ss  energ]   ami  ability 

would  have  overo •.    At  tin-  beginning,  ami  for 

a  long  time  afterwards,  he  was  inconvenienced  bj 

a  lack  nf  capital,  ami    isolation   fn enters  nf 

communication  ami  trade;  In-  was  opposed  by  tlm 
ignorance  of  the  laboring  classes  in  their  opposi 
linn  tn  labor-savin  Congress  refused 
to  give  him  just  patent  protection;  an.  I  thu 
was  confronted  by  a  siege  of  opposition  ami  ilis 
couragement.  Hut  he  conquered.  Steadily  he 
overcame  every  obstacle,  and  established  his  claim 
as  tin'  benefactor  nf  tin'  industrial  world.  Ami 
yet  in  tlm  midst  nf  one  nf  the  greatesl  material 
triumphs  that  man  ever  achieved;  with  fame  and 
wealth  in  possession,  ami  with  still  more  brilliant 
fa  an'  ami  greater  wealth  assured,  Mr.  McCormick, 
as  already  stated,  was  keenly  alive  to  the  interests 
..I'  religion  ami  education.  In  1859,  at  the  General 
\ss.inlii\  ..r  thr  Presbyterian  Church,  held  at  In 
dianapolis,  he  offered  t"  endow  tlm  professorships 
of  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Northwest,  mi  condition  that  tlm  Seminar)  !>'■ 
located  at  Chicago.  The  conditions  were  accepted, 
and  this  Seminary  which,  in  addition  tn  tlm 
original  endowment,  received  from  Mr.  McCormick 
numerous  other  magnificent  donations  is  to-day 
a  proud  monument  tn  his  liberality  and  nobility 
nf  heart.  On  the  educational  ami  religious  line  nf 
his  work  was  also  his  purchase  nf  "Tin'  Enterior," 
a  newspaper  that  was  started  in  Chicago  t..  repre 
s.  ni  tin-  Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  struggling 
in  financial  difficulty,  when  at  the  solicitation  ol 
its  friends  and  the  friends  of  tlm  cause  it  repre- 
sented, Mr.  McCormick  purchased  it:  placed  it 
upon  a  sound  financial  basis,  and  was  the  means 
nl  making  it  a  religious  journal  nf  vast  influence. 
In  L871thegreat  Chicago  tin'  laid  in  aslms  tlm 
McCormick  reaper  plant,  but  its  energetic  owner 
proceeded  tn  rebuild  at  once,  ami  upon  a  still 
larger  scale.  In  lsTs  he  went  to  Paris  tor  tlm 
third  time  t"  receive  tor  his  reaping  and  self  bind 
ing  machine  a  i  Irand  Prize  of  tlm  Exposition;  ami 
the  rank  of  Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  was 
also  conferred  upon  him.  In  recognition  nf  his 
"having  done  more  I'm-  the  cause  nf  agriculture 
than  any  other  living  man," he  was  at  this  time 
elected  a  corresponding  member  of  tlm  French 
Academy  of  Sciences.  It  was  a  gri ful  recogni- 
tion of  the  value  of  his  greal  invention,  ami  was 
in  harmony    with  the  opinion  ami  expression   nl 


*^^. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


57 


twi  i 1  if  A  merica's  most  famous  statesmen.  In  1859 
the  late  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson  declared  in  an 
argument  before  the  Commissioner  of  Patents 
thai  the  "McC  irmick  reaper  had  already  contrib- 
uted an  annual  income  to  the  whole  country  of 
fifty-five  millions  of  dollars,  at  least,  which  must 
increase  through  all  time."  About  this  time  the 
late  Eon.  William  Seward  affirmed  that  "owing  to 
Mr.  McCormick's  invention  the  line  of  civilization 
moves  westward  thirty  miles  each  year."  Mr. 
McCormick  during  his  busy  and  successful  life 
came  to  be  universally  recognized  as  a  benefactor 
to  his  race  and  a  powerful  force  in  the  develop 
iiienl  of  the  resources  of  his  native  land.  Not 
only  had  his  genius  developed  magnificent  farms 
mi  the  wild  plains  and  prairies,  and  lightened  the 
burdens  of  the  husbandman,  as  well  as  reducing 
the  cost  of  production;  but  his  extensive  manufac- 
turing enterprise  furnished  employment  and  com- 
fort to  a  great  army  of  workmen.  It  is  worthy  of 
notice,  too,  as  showing  the  ability  of  this  great 
man  to  manage  a  great  business,  and  his  strict 
regard  for  justice  in  his  intercourse  with  his 
fellow  men.  that  in  the  midst  of  all  the  labor 
agitation  and  conflicts  of  the  hist  few  years,  there 
has  been  little  trouble  among  the  workmen  at  the 
McCormick  works,  and  never  would  have  been 
any  at  all.  if  the  majority  of  the  men  could  have 
controlled  matters,  and  the  pernicious  influence 
of  outside  idlers  and  professional  labor  agitators 
could  have  been  quieted.  Mr.  McCormick's  men 
had  a  genuine  affection  for  him.  They  knew  him. 
as  all  the  world  knew  him,  to  be  just  in  his  ileal 
ings,  liberal  in  his  rewards,  and  humane  in  his 
treatment  of  those  who  were  under  his  authority. 
His  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  right  and  the  truth 
was  so  conspicuously  the  underlying  principle  of 
all  his  acts,  that  no  one  connected  with  him,  in 
his  sober  judgment,  could  possibly  distrust  him  or 
fail  to  love  him.  In  the  latter  years  of  his  lite  Mr. 
McCormick  suffered  great  physical  infirmity,  but 
his  splendid  mind  never  faltered,  and  he  remained 
the  active  head  of  the  great  company  which  bears 
his  name,  to  the  last,  directing  its  operations  and 
continuing  familiar  with  all  its  important  details. 
In  1858  Mr.  McCormick  married  Miss  Nettie 
Fowler,  daughter  of  Melyar  Fowler,  Esq.,  of  Jeffer 
son  County,  New  York.  This  union  was  blessed 
with  a  family  of  four  sons  ami  three  daughters; 
two  of  whom,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  McCormick  died.  May  13th,  1884,  full  of  years, 
and  mourned  as  few  men  are.  The  eloquent,  sin 
cere  words  of  eulogy  that  were  spoken  over  his 
casket  by  able  and  distinguished  clergymen,  who 


were  fa  mi  liar  with  his  life  and  his  achievement;  the 
evidences  of  sorrow  in  the  hearts  of  the  multitude 
that  gathered  to  pay  their  last  tribute  to  his 
memory;  the  obituaries  in  the  public  press,  and 
the  resolutions  of  different  organizations  were 
such  as  only  a  brilliantly  successful  life,  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  term,  could  have  suggested  or 
warranted. 


RANSOM   R.   CABLE. 

RANSOM  R.  CABLE,  President  of  the  Chi- 
cago. Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Railway,  was  born 
in  Athens  County,  Ohio,  on  the  23d  day  of  Sep 
tember,  1834,  the  son  of  Hiram  and  Marj  Cable. 
This  was  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  state. 
its  admission  under  the  constitution  only  ante- 
dating that  period  by  a  few  years.  The  parents  of 
Mr.  Cable  may,  therefore,  be  fairly  said  to  have 
been  pioneers,  and  his  youth  cast  in  pioneer 
times,  with  all  their  trials  and  vicissitudes  and  all 
their  demands  for  originality  and  self  reliance. 
His  education  in  the  schools  was  such  as  the 
naturally  incomplete  common  schools  of  the 
time  afforded.  This  was  supplemented  by  those 
acquirements  which  came  to  him  through  tin.' 
influence  of  a  keen  desire  for  more  liberal  attain- 
ments, aided  by  industry  and  a  retentive  mem- 
ory. The  necessities  of  the  comparatively  fron- 
tier civilization,  however,  proved  the  most  prac- 
tical and  potent  factor  in  the  formation  of  his 
character.  As  in  the  case  of  a  majority  of  the 
successful  men  of  the  century,  it  has  been  the 
struggle,  under  adverse  conditions,  for  improved 
and  enlarged  opportunities  and  environments,  that 
has  given  him  that  competency,  efficiency  and 
self  confidence,  which  have  marked  him  among 
the  prominent  men  of  his  time.  Trained  in  this 
practical  school  therefore.it  was  not  strange  that, 
reliant  and  confident,  he  was  found,  at  the  early 
age  of  seventeen,  engaged  on  his  own  account  in 
the  lumber  business,  superintending  the  work  in 
the  f..rest.  and  actively  participating  in  the  gen- 
eral management.  Experience  of  this  character 
added  to  his  capabilities,  and,  engaged  as  it  was  in 
a  still  relatively  new  country,  led  to  the  seeking 
for  greater  opportunities  of  the  farther  west.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  three  he  sought  the  then  new 
and  undeveloped  State  of  Illinois, recently  at  that 
time  admitted  into  the  Union.  It  was  a  region 
rich  in  resources,  affording  boundless  chances  for 
the  vigorous  and  courageous  character  that  had 


5§ 


i:io(:i;ai'iiv  of  Illinois. 


been  formed  in  the  state  of  his  birth;  a  region 
with  everything  to  I"-  developed,  mines  to  I"' 
opened,  farms  to  be  improved,  railroads  to  be 
built,  wealth  to  be  created;  an  arena  fitted  for  a 
man  of  nerve  and  force,  and  one,  too,  which  was 
ai  once  abl)  comprehended  ami  occupied,  with  a 

slight  interrupti if  ma'  or  two  years  spent  in 

thr  neighboring  State  of  Iowa.  Mr.  Cable's  life 
since  lsr.7  has  been  spent  in  Illinois,  ami  actively 
identified  with  the  natural  growth  and  develop 

incut  "I'  the  state.  Its  mineral  resources  first  en- 
gaged his  attention,  ami  the  coal  mines  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bock  Island  for  several  years  evidenced 
his  mastery  of  their  management.  Through  his 
connection  with  them  he  became  engaged  in  rail- 
road affairs,  being  successively  superintendent. 
vice-president  and  president  of  the  Bock  Island 
and  Peoria  Railroad,  and  general  manager  of  the 
Rockford.  Rock  Island  A-  St.  Louis  Co.,  in  which 
positions  he  acquired  a  familiarity  with  the  de- 
tails of  railroad  management,  and  displayed  that 
fitness  for  dealing  with  railroad  affairs  which 
brought  him  to  the  notice  of  managers  and  own- 
ers controlling  large  and  important  railway  inter- 
ests. The  result  was  that  in  1876  he  entered  the 
directory  of  the  Chicago.  Rock  Island  and  Pacific 
Railway,  becoming  successively  one  of  tin'  vice- 
presidents,  assistant  to  the  president,  general 
manager  and  president. winch  latter  position  he  has 
held  since  1880.  His  previous  experience,  added 
to  a  retentive  memory,  broad  comprehension  of  the 
possibilities  of  tin'  property,  and  a  courage  born  of 
years  of  self-reliance,  render  him  efficient  in  this 
responsible  position.  Under  his  administration 
the  property  lias  been  extended  until  in  a  little 
more  than  ten  years  the  mileage  has  been  doubled. 
In  the  hot  rivalry  for  business  he  has  come  in  con- 
tact with  leaders  of  the  largest  systems  of  the 
East,  and  in  such  contests  he  has  nol  failed  to  suc- 
cessfully sustain  the  rights  of  the  "Rock  Island." 
and  as  a  .result  has  earned  and  received  the  re- 
spect and  confidence  of  his  opponents.  The  road 
now  embraces  a  mileage  of  about  thirty-five  hun- 
dred miles,  including  in  its  territory  the  desirable 
parts  of  eight  states  and  territories.  With  the 
welfare  of  the  property  as  the  controlling  guide  to 
his  actions  he  is  ai  the  same  time,  while  demand- 
ing perfect  fealty  to  that  interest  from  all  con- 
nected with  it.  at  once  considerate  of  the  rights  of 
those  associated  with  him  in  the  management  and 
operation  of  the  property,  and  his  observant  eye 
seldom  fails  to  discover  merit  or  demerit.  Nbtthe 
least  of  his  strength  is  found  in  his  familiarity 
with  the  property;   with  all  contracts  and   agree- 


ments relating  to  it.  and  with  the  fair  needs  and 
demands  of  the  country  to  which  it  is  tributary. 
The  improvements  in  the  service  do  not  escape  his 
a  Mention,  and  the  property  is   kept  abreast  of  the 

times  in  these  directions.    The  successful  admin 

istration  of  a  railway  that  covers  so  much  ter- 
ritory and  embraces  so  many  miles,  marks  the 
man  who  does  it  as  one  born  to  command,  a  prop 
of  men.  with  a  mind  that  grasps  comprehensive^ 
the  entire  problem  and  admits  him  to  tile  ranks 
of  leaders  in  business.  Mr.  Cable  resides  in  the 
city  of  Chicago.  He  has  been  twice  married,  his 
first  wife  having  been  the  mother  of  four  children 
who  survive  her.  She  was  the  daughter  of  lien 
jamin  Stickney,  a  retired  banker  of  St.  Louis.  Mo. 
The  present  Mrs.  Cable  was  Miss  Jane  S.  Buford, 
da  lighter  of  Jas.M.Buford.  banker,  of  Rock  Island, 
111. 


BENJAMIN  F.  AYER. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  AVER,  an  eminent 
lawyer  of  Chicago,  general  counsel  for  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  was  born  in  Kingston, 
Rockingham  County,  New  Hampshire,  April  '2'2, 
1825.  He  is  a  scion  in  tin-  eighth  generation  of 
the  old  and  respected  Aver  family  of  New  Eng 
land,  whose  founder,  John  Aver,  came  from  Nor- 
folk County,  England,  in  1(>:>7,  and  settled  at 
Haverhill.  Massachusetts,  in  Kilo,  whence  his  de- 
scendants have  spread  to  many  partsof  the  coun- 
try. The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  Robert  Ayer,  born  at  Haverhill  August  14, 
1791,  and  Louisa  (Sanborn)  Ayer,  the  hitter  the 
daugter  of  Benjamin  Sanborn,  of  Kingston.  New 
Hampshire,  a  descendent  of  John  Sanborn,  grand- 
son of  the  Rev.  Stephen  Batchelder,  who  came 
from  Derbyshire,  England,  in  1632,  and.  on  the 
settlement  of  Hampton.  New  Hampshire,  in  1638, 
became  the  first  minister  of  the  church  in  that 
town.  Among  Mr.  Batchelder's  descendants  were 
Lewis  Cass  and  Daniel  Webster.  Mr.  Ayer's 
parents  were  in  good  circumstances,  and  their 
children  were  carefully  educated.  After  due 
preparation  at  the  Albany  Academy,  Albany, New 
York,  then  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  T.  Romeyn 
Beck,  Benjamin  P.  Ayer  entered  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, where  he  was  graduated  in  1846.  Choosing 
thi' law  as  a  profession,  he  prepared  himself'  for 
it    practice  by  a  course  of  study  extending  over  .a 

period  of   three  years,  including  attendance   upon 


Uf 


l/i. 


L 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS, 


59 


the  regular  courses  of  lectures  at  the  Dane  Law 

Scl I      the  law  department  of  Harvard  College. 

In  July,  1849,  he  took  up  his  residence  a1  Man- 
chester, New  Hampshire,  and  being  July  admitted 
to  the  bar,  opened  a  law  office  there,  and  was  soon 
immersed  in  professional  work.  Mr.  Ayer  brought 
to  the  practice  of  his  profession  a  thorough  educa- 
tion, natural  mental  endowments  of  a  superior 
order  and  a  peculiar  aptitude  for  the  niceties  of 
the  law.  He  applied  himself  with  rare  industry 
In  his  duties,  and  made  such  an  excellent  impres 
sion  that  his  practice  grew  with  great  rapidity, 
and  his  reputation  as  a  lawyer  of  ability  and 
thoroughness  corresponding!}  increased.  In  Is.",;; 
his  fellow  citizens  elected  him  to  represenl  them 
in  the  State  Legislature.  In  1854  he  was  ap- 
pointed prosecuting  attorney  for  Hillsborough 
County,  and  held  the  office  until  his  removal  to 
Chicago  in  1857.  Mr.  Ayer  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  courts  .if  Illinois  May  15.  1S.">7.  and 
within  a  year  from  that  date  was  occupying  a 
prominent  place  at  the  Chicago  liar.  In  L861  he 
was  appointed  counsel  to  the  corporation  of  tin' 
city  of  Chicago,  and  remained  in  that  office  until 
1865.  I  )ne  of  his  principal  acts  as  1  he  city's  chief 
legal  adviser  was  the  drafting  of  the  revised  citj 
charter  of  1st'.:;.  Soon  alter  the  close  of  his  term 
a  corporation  counsel  he  became  a  member  of  tin- 
law  firm  of  Beckwith,  Ayer  A  Kales,  which  in  1st:; 
took  the  style  of  Ay.  r  A  Kales,  the  senior  partner 
retiring  from  the  firm.  While  not  restricting  his 
practice  in  any  single  department,  Mr.  Ayer  Er 

an  early  period  in  his  professional  career  made  a 
close  study  of  corporation  and  railroad  law.  His 
successes  in  this  held  gave  him  a  wide  reputation 
and  secured  him  many  clients  among  tin-  large 
companies  having  interests  centered  at.  and  in 
the  vicinity  of ,  Chicago,  la  1876  he  was  induced 
i"  give  up  a  flourishing  general  practiceand  accept 
the  appointment  of  general  solicitor  of  the  Illinois 

Central  Railroad  (' pany,  i E  the  principal 

railroad  corporations  of  America,  of  which,  in  the 
following  year,  he  was  elected  a  director,  (in 
January  1,  1890,  he  became  general  counsel  of  the 
company,  ami  still  holds  that  highly  responsible 
position.     For  upwards  of  thirty  years  Mr.  Ayer 

has  1 n  a  distinguished    figure   at   the   Chicago 

bar,  and  during  all  that  period  has  ranked  as  one 
■  if  its  ablesl  and  most  successful  members.  His 
reputation  as  a  lawyer  has  been  won  at  a  bar 
famous  for  the  learning,  skill  and  distinguished 
successes  of  many  of  its  members,  ami  in  open 
competition  with  some  of  the  most  brilliant  and 
accomplished  advocates  of  the  present  generation. 


This  reputation  is  not  based  on  those  superficial 
attributes  which  frequently  bring  notoriety  and 
fortune  totla.se  possessing  them,  but  on  the  most 
solid  legal  acquirements.  In  the  opinion  of  many 
competent  critics.  Mr.  Ayer  is  probably  without  a 
superior  in  the  special  field  to  which  he  hasof  late- 
years  given  his  chief  attention.  So  clear  are  his 
perceptions  and  so  accurate  his  judgments  that 
his  conclusions  are  seldom  overthrown.  His  men- 
tal processes  are  so  unerring  in  their  results  that 
they  have  been  described  as  "  mathematical." 
While  conducting  general  practice,  his  services 
were  engaged  on  one  side  or  the  other  in  many  of 
the  tno  i  important  litigations  then  coming  before 
the  Illinois  courts.  Since  his  official  connection 
with  the  Illinois  Central  began,  his  labors  have 
been  principally  in  the  service  of  that  corporation, 
and  as  its  legal  representative  he  has  done  masterlj 
work  in  protecting  and  advancing  its  interests. 
One  of  his  chief  railroad  cases  is  the  famous. one 
involving  the  title  to  the  Lake  Front  and  re- 
claimed ground  occupied  by  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  in  Chicago,  and  which  is  now 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
Another  is  that  involving  the  right  of  the  Balti- 
more A-  Ohio  Railroad  to  retain  station  grounds  in 
the  yards  of  the  Illinois  Central;  and  still  another 
determining  the  right  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
&  Northern  Railroad  to  condemn  eighteen  miles 
"of  Illinois  Central  right  of  way  between  Galena 
and    East    Dubuque.     The   two   last  have   lately 

been  decided  by  the  Supn ( lourf  of  Illinois  in 

favor  of  the  Illinois  Central.  In  common  with 
the  nnisi  successful  lawyers  of  this  or  any  age, 
Mr.  Ayer  has  the  talent  for  industrious  applica- 
tion. It  was  largely  by  this  talent  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  mastering  his  profession  while  still  a 
young  man;  and  to  it  also  he  may  fairly  attribute 
some  of  his  most  brilliant  victories.  His  powers 
of  analysis  are  unusually  keen,  and  rarely  fail  to 
reveal  to  him  much  that  would  escape  another 
less  gifted  in  this  direction.  In  speaking  he  never 
aims  at  display.  His  mind  is  thi  in  Highly  practical. 
He  has  great  force  and  clearness  of  statement, 
and  the  faculty  of  eliminating  and  presenting 
the  decisive  issues  of  a  case  with  extraordinary 
precision  and  perspicuity.  His  method  of  putting 
things  is  so  strong  and  forcible  that  his  rea- 
soning seldom  fails  to  carry  conviction.  No 
man  makes  fewer  mistakes,  and  no  man's  opin- 
ions on  legal  questions  are  more  carefully  con- 
sidered or  to  be  more  safely  relied  upon.  A  Chi- 
cago lawyer  who  has  known  Mr.  Ayer  intimately 
for    many    years,    and    win.   enjoys    a    reputation 


6o 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


s .ml  to  none,  recently  said:   "Benjamin  P.  Ayer 

i  in  tin-  tirst  rankol  lawyers  in  Chicago 
fur  more  than  1 1 1 i i- 1 \  years.  Nothing  b 
allowed  i"  divert  him  trom  his  profession.  He 
never  relies  on  others  to  do  his  work,  Ever) 
question  is  investigated  until  the  subject  is  ex 
hausted.  While  nol  controlled  b)  precedents,  he 
personally  examines  every  case  where  the  subject 
has  been  involved,  in  order  t"  extract  the  princi- 
ples applicable  to  the  matter  in  hand.  I 
remarkable  quality  is  the  ability  to  make  a  con 
nected  and  logical  statementof  his  case  to  the  court. 
This  is  done  in  language  v<  hich  cannot  I"-  misunder 
stood,  and  when  presented  orally  it  is  with  a  clear 
voice  and  appropriate  emphasis,  giving  the  greatest 
pleasure   to  the  listener.    The  manner  is  one  of 

honesty  and  candor,  which  leaves  no   c to 

doubt  as  to  his  own  convictions.  He  Has  always 
had  the  credit  of  sincerity  with  the  court,  stating 
facts  in  a  conservative  waj  and  suppressing  noth 
ing,  regardless  of  the  effect  "ii  his  case.  He  has 
always  endeavored  to  aid  the  court  in  arriving  at 
correct  conclusions,  both  as  to  fact  and  law,  be- 
lieving that  the  highest  duty  <>f  a  lawyer  i~-  t"  see 
that  justice  is  dune,  in  short,  he  commands  the 
confidence  ami  respect  of  judges  and  lawyers, and 
as  a  citizen  is  without  reproach."  Another  emi 
nent  lawyer  of  Chicago,  equally  qualified  to  esti- 
mate Mr.  Ayer's  ability,  says:      "It  is  often  said  if 

Mr.  Ayer  hail  remained  in  active  practice  and  had 
not  become  counsel  tor  the  Illinois  Central  U.K. 
Co.,  he  would  now  I pe  chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States.  However  this  might  have  been,  it  may  be 
asserted  without  disparagement  t"  the  incum- 
bent ppf  that  high  office,  that  to  Mr.  Ayer,  fitness 
for  that  position  is  universally  accorded.  \  long 
course  of  study,  an  active  and  varied  practice  of 
over   twenty  five  years  before  juries  and  courts. 

had  developi  'I  a  o I   naturally  strong  and  clear. 

An  equable  temperament  superadded  made  him 
the  ideal  of  a  judge.  In  the  presentation  i>f  a 
case,  Mr.  Ayer  Bhows  great  logical  force.  He 
never  fails  to  prepare  himself  thorough!}  and  is 
always  a   power.     Mr.   Ayer   is  a   wide,  rs 

reader,  and,  because  well  informed,  a  converse 
tionalist  of  great  interest.  It  is  fair  t« >  say  that 
few  in  1 1  i •  ■  Northwest  an'  his  equals,  and  no  one  is 
his  superior."  Notwithstanding  his  acknowledged 
ability,  his  distinguished  Buccess  and  elevated 
position,  hi'  is  a  man  of  rare  professional  and  per 
spinal  modesty,  bearing  his  honors  without  pride 
or  ost  en  tat  inn.  ami  continuing  to  work  as  though 
hi-  \  ei  j  existence  dependei !  i  pplication. 

His  disposition   is   the   reverse  of  demonstrative 


and  In-  is  inclined  to  reticence;  but  in  friendly 
intercourse  In-  is  invariabl]  courteous  ami  kindly. 
and  verj  companionable  to  those  with  whom  he  is 
upon  intimate  terms.     1 1  is  politeness  is  unfailing, 

ami  it  is  Bald  of  him  that  he  has  never  been 
known  to  treal  an)  person  with  asperity  or  harsh 
m  SB.  lie  has  the  tastes  of  a  scholar  as  well  as 
the  talents  of  a  lawyer,  and  steadily  cultivates  his 
intellect  in  fields  extending  far  beyond  profes- 
sional needs,  finding  in  stinh  and  readings  large 
part  of  tin-  relaxation  he  permits  himself  from  his 

duties,       Hi-     interest    in 

public  affairs  is  that  of  one  who  does  not  lightl) 
regard  the  duties  of  citizenship,  but  rather  seeks 
to  perform  them  fully,  always  with  an  eye  single 
to  the  public  welfare  ami  with  a  clear  appreciation 
of  the  value  of  example.  Ami  the  same  may  ln- 
said  of  his  regard  for  the  minor  duties  imposed 
u|p.pii  ever)  gentleman  b)  the  demands  of  cul 
tivateil  society.  Never  seeking  professional  or 
social  preferment,  he  has.  nevertheless,  gr: 
accepted  it  together  with  the  responsibilities  it 
has  brought  when  circumstances  have  indicated 
the  propriety  of  this  action.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  American  Bar  Association  and 
also  of  thi  Chicago  Bar  Association,  and  has  ii  lie.  1 

the  vice  presidency  of  the  former  lor  Illinois,  and 
in  1875  was  [president  of  the  latter.  In  l^Ts  he 
received  from  Dartmouth  College  the  honorary 
p|p  igri  e  of    LL.   I  I.      He  was  one  of   the  foil 

the  "Sons  of  New  Hampshire,"  organized  in  L889, 
and  was  I'm  two  years  president  of  that  flourishing 
society.  Since  1879  hi'  has  been  the  president  of 
the  Western  Railroad  Association.  He  is  likewise 
amember  of  tin'  Chicago  Historical  Society,  the 
■  Law  Institute,  the  Chicago  Literary  Club, 
the  Chicago  Club  and  tie-  Kenwood  Club.  It  may 
he  said  of  him  that  his  reputation  as  a  lawyer  has 
only  been  rivalled  by  his  standing  asa  gentleman, 

for  in  every  relation  of   life   he   has    been  a  perfect 

exponent  ppf  enlightened  citizenship  and  refined 
manhood.     He  is  of  medium  height,  with  a  well 

poised  and    well  shaped   head,    clear   cut    features. 

expressive  blue  eyes,  and  a  general  appearance  ..f 
refinement  ami  intellectuality.  No  lawyer  in 
Chicago  is  more  high!)  respected  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  bar,  and  none  stand  higher  in  public 

estee ml   general   popularity.     Mr.    Vyer   was 

married  in  1868  to  Miss  Janet  A.,  daughter  of  the 
Hon  James  C.  Hopkins,  .pf  Madison,  Wisconsin. 
I. i|p    United  States  District   Judge  for  tilt-  western 

district  or  that  state.  They  have  four  child- 
ren Walter,  Mai*)  Louisa.  Janet  ami  Margaret 
Helen. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


6l 


THOMAS  HOYNE. 

Probably  no  Chieagoan's  name  ever  spoken  re- 
calls to  those  who  know  the  man  such  mingled 
feelings  of  pride  and  sorrow  as  that  of  Thomas 
Hoyne.  Pride  for  his  sterling  character  and 
services,  and  sorrow  for  his  tragic  and  untimely 
death.  Going  to  that  city  while  yet  a  young  man, 
jusl  bi  -inning  to  feel  the  powers  that  were  latent 
within  him,  and  at  a  time  when  the  city  had 
hardly  an  indication  of  her  future  greatness,  he 
developed  with  it,  growing  strong  as  it  strength 
ened,  expanding  in  usefulness  as  it  expanded  in 
area  and  influence.  Thomas  Hoyne  became  a  man 
to  whom  the  best  elements  of  the  municipality 
were  wont  to  look  for  aid  and  counsel  in  many 
crises  of  the  city's  affairs.  It  is  but  natural  that 
his  fellow  citizens  should  kindle  with  pride  at  tin- 
mention  of  his  name,  and  that  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  regret  should  be  mingled  with  that  feeling  at 
the  sudden  and  violent  death  which  took  him 
from  their  midst  when  still  in  tin'  full  vigor  of  hie 
health  and  usefulness.  Thomas  Hoyne  was  a 
great  man.  a  grand  man,  but  one  whose  naturally 
unselfish  disposition  led  him  to  eschew  the  honors 
those  who  loved  and  admired  him  would  have 
been  delighted  to  confer,  and  whose  life,  that 
true  life  of  us' fulness  and  beneficence,  could  only 
be  fully  known  and  truthfully  told  after  death. 
!!•■  never  sought  glory  for  himself,  but  he  did 
seek, and  with  all  the  energy  of  his  sturdy  nature; 
and  with  all  the  ability  of  his  remarkably  bril- 
liant mind;  with  all  the  devotion  of  his  great  en 
thusiastic  soul,  for  the  best  and  truest  interests  of 
the  city  he  had  adopted  as  his  home,  and  for  the 
welfare  and  good  of  her  citizens.  Thomas  Hoyne 
was  a  native  American,  though  his  parents  were 
both  Irish  and  had  emigrated  to  this  country  two 
years  prior  to  his  birth,  which  occurred  on  Feb- 
ruary 11.  1317.  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  re- 
ceived the  groundwork  of  his  education  at  St. 
Peter's  School,  continuing  there  until  his  father's 
death  in  lS'JD.  His  mother  died  the  following 
year.  Thus  left  an  orphan  at  tin-  age  of  thirteen, 
the  oldest  of  a  family  of  seven  children.  Thomas 
Hoyne  was  compelled  to  face  the  world  and  earn 
his  own  living.  In  1830  he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
fancy  goods  manufacturer,  and  remained  there 
for  five  years.  Through  all  this  tine-  he  tilt  that 
he  was  capable  of  something  higher  in  life,  and  a 
natural  taste  for  books  led  him  to  devote  every 
spare  moment  to  mental  improvement.  He  wrent 
at  this  in  a  thoroughly  systematic  manner,  and 
marked  out  a  course  of  study  in  those  branches 


wherein  he  felt  himself  to  be  least  proficient.  He 
had  as  yet  decided  upon  nothing  as  to  the  profes 
sion  or  occupation  of  his  future,  but  he  knew  that 
whatever  it  might  be.  an  education  was  sure  to  be 
a  necessary  factor  in  his  success.  Fully  realizing 
this  fact,  In-  I"  nt  himself  to  his  task  with  the 
same  zeal  that  characterized  him  in  all  his  under- 
takings. He  was  fortunate  at  this  time  to  form 
the  acquaintance  of  a  family  which  subsequently 
exercised  a  great  influence  over  him.  and  was  in  a 
measure,  the  cause  of  his  choosing  the  law  for  his 
profession.  This  family  was  that  of  the  late  Rev. 
Archibald  Maclay,  u  hose  friendship  and  sympathy 
in  this  time  .if  need  he  never  forgot,  and  to  the 
last,  loved  to  refer  with  expressions  of  gratitude. 
From  a  letter  written  in  June,  1882,  to  Robert 
Maclay.  of  New  York,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death 
of  the  Hon.  William  B.  Maclay.  Mr.  Hoyne  indi- 
cates in  plain  language  how  tender  was  his  re- 
membrance of  those  early  ties  and  how  valuable 
to  him  had  been  the  associations.  The  letter  be 
gan: 

••Among  the  many  early,  and  most  of  them  dis- 
tinguished, associates  of  my  early  life.  I  know  of 
in.  .me  to  whom  I  was  personally  more  indebted 
for  that  friendship  which  assisted  mj  fortunes  at 
their  greatest  need  than  to  your  highly  distin- 
guished uncle,  the  late  Hon.  William  B.  Maclay. 
He  first  encouraged  my  dearest  youthful  aspira- 
tions to  study  the  law  as  a  profession.  He  aided 
me  also  in  the  acquirement  of  an  education  which 
I  lacked,  and  he  always  tendered  me  a  cordial,  kind 
and  generous  support." 

A  little  further  on  Mr.  Hoyne  said  in  the  same 
letter: 

■•A  happy  train  of  circumstances  (not  ni 
to  relate,  threw  me  into  tin-  societj  of  your  uncle 
William  and  his  brother  Moses,  still  living,  ami 
your  father,  the  late  Robert  Maclay;  and  I  found 
a  home  under  their  father's  roof.  Your  grand- 
father. Rev.  Dr.  Archibald  Maclay.  was  known 
and  revered  throughout  the  United  States,  before 
Chicago  had  a  municipal  beginning  or  name,  as 
one  of  the  most  eminent  Baptist  divines  as  well  as 
learned  expositors  of  the  Bible,  lb-  lived  on  East 
Broadway  in  1835,  when  I  was  in  tin-  family  for 
two  years  and  up  to  the  time  I  left  New  York  to  try 
my  fortunes  in  Chicago.  During  these  two  years 
I  enjoyed  the  friendship  and  intimacy  of  the  large 
and  intelligent  family  that,  as  you  know,  at  that 
time  comprised  the  Maclay  household.  Among 
them  I  was  enabled  to  cultivate,  through  their 
intercourse,  the  means  that  obtained  for  me  some 
knowledge  of  the  classics  and  the  rudiments  of  a 
sound  English  education.  Ami  upon  that  knowl- 
edge I  afterwards  qualified  myself  in  Chicago  t" 
enter  the  legal  profession  in  ls;;:t." 

One  of  Mr.  Hoyne's  early  aids  to  education  was 
a  literary  association,  which  he  was  led  to  join  by 
his  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  which  included  m 


62 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLIVtls. 


i  iung  men 
and  boys  who  were  afterwards  known  as  Judge 

Vlanierre,  Bor:  -  Judge  Charles 

IV.  B.Maclaj  andMoses  B.Maclay. 
Ii  was  as  a  member  of  that  association  that 
Thomas  Boyne  began  to  develop  his  pow< 
orator,  and  it  was  there  he  laid  the  foundation 
that  gave  him  his  future  reputation  as  a  powerful 
speaker  and  opened  up  before  him  the  \ 
honorable  career.  Be  boldlj  decided  to  prepare 
for  the  bar.  To  this  end  he  attended  night 
school,  studied   Latin.  Greek    and   the 

s,  and  faithfully  applied  himself  to  the 
task  of  di  i  a  fitness 

for  the  profession  he  had  in  view.  Thus  •  1  i <  I 
young  Boyne  occupy  himself  during  the  years  of 
his  apprenticeship.  'This  ended  in  1  s; ;r».  and  he 
obtained  a  situation  in  a  jobbing  house  with  a 
salary  sufficient  i"  enable  him  to  pursue  his 
-  16,  Mr.  I  foyne  formally 
began  his  career  by  entering  tin-  office  of  the  late 
Xrw  York.  Be  remained 
there  until  near  the  end  oi  1837,  when  he  deter- 
mined !<>  go  to  tin-  -  far  West."  1 1 
thither  and  his  arrival,  together  with  his  thoughts 
and  impressions,  can  be  much  better  given  in  his 
nun  words.  In  an  address  delivered  before  the 
Chicago  Bar  Association,  in  February,  1881,  en 
titled-"The  Lawyer  as  a  Pioneer,"  Mr.  Boyne 
said: 

•■  I  left  New  York  while  a  student  at  law  on  the 
Uth  daj  of  August,  1837,  and  1  reached  Chicago 

Llth  daj  of  Septi  inber.    t  >m    i ith  »  as 

consumed  on   the  way  without    making 

point   except  at   I  tetroit, 
u  here  I  took  pa  Ibhn  H.  Kinzie, 

which  landed  me  after   two  weeks' tempestuous 
passage  at  one  of  the  two  only  i li 

docks  were  on  the 
North  Side,  adjoining  the  present  sit< 
Bush  Streel  bridge.  Bere  was  then  the  great 
tavern  or  hotel  known  as  the  Lai  i  Bouse,  just 
erected.  There  was  also  to  be  seen  the  tower  of 
St.  .Tames'  Episcopal  Church,  then  the  only  brick 

At  thai  daj  all  the 

fashionable  Btores,  the  leading  society  | pie  and 

the  handsomest  dwelling  houses  were  on  the  North 
si.le.     1 1  ;  upon  being  the 

main  siile  ami  future  city.     Bui    I   did 
longonthal  si.le.    Chicago  River  was  ct 
Dearborn  Street   by  the  onlj   bridge  with  a  draw, 
raised  bj  chains  and  a  crank;  and  to  that  bridge 
I  hurried  upot  mber  afternoon.    My 

objective  point  was  the  Chicago  court   house  or 
clerk's  office,   where    I    was   to   find   the  earliest 

friend  and   companii f   mj   b< 

Manierre,  who  was  then  deputy  "f  the 
Circuit  Courl  clerk,  Colonel  Bamilton.  We  had 
parted  it  nn   each   other   two  years  be 


i  dock  in   New  York.    As  1  sped  on  my 

way  on  toot,  with  satchel  in  ha  ml.  along  the  high, 

rank  grass  of  Btreets  newly  opened,  I  was  fain  to 

ts   laid  « ithout 

lewalb    or   1  »1   upon   that 

antique  bt  I  \  ard  the  junction  of 

ams,  up  t"  what  is  now  Wesl  Water 
street,  and  for  the  tirst  timi 

ighty  land  the  tar-off  West  of  my 
imagination.  It  had  gilded  my  dreams  of  the 
future,  ami  bounded  every  possibility  of  my  life. 
I  stoi "I  upon    i ' j : 1 1    .-nil i. i u.    bridge  and 

a  •  prison 
and  a  palace '  here  was  a  bridge  with  a  past  and 
future  upon  each  hand,  1  reached  the  corner  of 
Randolph  and  Clark  Streets,  the'  ..pen  field  or 
Courl  Bouse  Square,  which  appeared  like  an  out 

I  raet  of  this  .lay   in  some  i 

rb.    And  het 

i  if  the  court  bous ■  clerk's 

office,  clear  pine  and  \\  bite  li  ical  out- 

line. It  was  as  near  a  Bketch  of  the  Parthenon  at 
Athens,  as  a  boy's  sketch  in  rould  re- 

semble an   original.    The   m  faced  on 

Clark   Street.     Its   broad   stairways   and   double 

:   up    into  a   long  room   fifty  teel    wide. 

Bere  was  my  old   friend  I  teorge  Manierre,  deputy 

clerk,  al..ne  among  the  papers  and   records  of  the 

clerk's  office,  of  which  sole  custodian. 

us  meeting." 

Thomas  Boyne's  first  employment  it  I 
was  in  this  same  Circuil  Court  clerk's  office  with 
his  friend  Judge  Manierre,  at  a  salary  of  ten 
dollars  per  week.  This  to  him  was  the  nucleus 
of  a  fortune,  and  here  he  found  time  to  pur- 
study  of  the  law  and  also  to  observe 
its  practical  workings.  Thai  he  improved  these 
Lis    subsequent    career    unmistakably 

proves.      Be    employe. 1    himself    in    various    ways. 

all  of  which  tended  toward  his  mental  im- 
provement. II.  bi  tame  a  leading  member  in 
a  literary  society  which  was  organized,  and 
in  1838  he  taught  in  the  tirst  public  school 
organized  in  the  city.     Pour  months  of  teaching 

i vinced  him  thai  hewasnol  intended  bynature 

for  a  teacher,  and  he  resume. 1  his  legal  sin. lies  in 

the  offi I    ih.     Bon.  J.  Young  Scammon,  with 

whom  he  formed  a  friendship  thai  continued  un- 
broken till  the  end  of  his  life.  Though  not  lies- 
tine.l  for  a  teacher,  Mr.  Boyne's  nam.  Btands  out 
in  prominent  as  well  as  permanent  identification 
ational   interests  of  Chicago,   the 

•■  Tl ias  Boyne  "  public  scl 1  on  Illinois  st  reet 

having  been  named  in  his  h ir.    In  l^::i>  he  was 

admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  of  his 

Mr.    Hoy  ne    found    his    chief    Social 

pleasures  in  the  home  ol  Dr.  John  T. Temple,  to 
whom  he  had  brought  a  letter  from  the  Rev. 
Archibald  Maclay.     Be  was  warmly  received  and 


PIOCKAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


63 


became  a  constant  visitor  ;it  the  Temple  home. 
Dr.  Temple  was  a  highly  educated  gentleman,  and 
in  the  circle  of  such  a  home  Mr.  Hoyne  found  an 
influence  both  pleasant  and  beneficial.  The  ac- 
quaintance ripened  into  a  permanent  relation 
with  the  Doctor's  family,  by  his  marriage  on  Sep 
tember  17, 1840,  with  Leonora,  tin-  eldest  daugh- 
ter.    Mr.  Hoyne  was  ever  wont  to  refer  to  this  re- 

the  foundation  of  what  was  happiesl  in 
.  and  as  the  chief  factor  in  the  success  to 
which  he  attained.  It  was  but  natural  that  such 
an  active  mind  as  that  of  Mr.  Hoyne  should  be- 
come interested  in  the  city's  politics,  and  in  1S40 
he  was  elected  city  clerk  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
the  salary  at  that  time  being  only  four  hundred 
dollars  per  year.  While  in  this  office  Mr.  Hoyne 
wrote  the  memorial  which  was  presented  to  Con 
gress,  asking  for  increased  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Chicago  harbor,  a  document 
full  of  interest,  giving  in  brief  a  picture  of  the  com- 
mercial  importance  of  the  city  and   the  business 

which  prevailed  here  in  the  first  few 
years  that  followed  the  municipal  organization. 
As  city  clerk,  also,  Mr.  Hoyne  drafted  the  tirst 
Thanksgiving  Proclamation  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois. That  paper  was  first  suggested  bj  Alderman 
Julius  Wadsworth,  who  proposed  that  if  Mr. 
Hoyne  would  draft  a  resolution  and  then  draw  a 
proclamation  in  due  form,  so  that  it  should  go  out 
signed  by  the  mayor  and  clerk  as  authoritative. 
fixing  a  special  day  at  the  usual  time  in  the  city 
as  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  requesting  churches  to 
observe  it  and  the  people  of  the  city  to  close  their 
places  of  business,  the  p.'ople  could  havi 
day.  the  turkey  would  be  eaten  and  4,1 Ml  people  be 
happy.  The  matter  cane-  before  the  Common 
Council  on  Monday  evening.  Nov.  22,  lsil.  There 
were  present  his  honor,  the  mayor,  and  Alder- 
men Page.  Miltimore,  Foster.  Howe.  McCord, 
Snell  and  Pollansbee.  Upon  motion  of  Miltimore 
it  was  resolved  "that  the  mayor  issue  his  procla 
niation.  appointing  the  25th  day  of  the  present 
month  as  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving  for  the 
city  of  Chicago."  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the 
proclamation  as  issued  and  signed: 

••Whereas,  in  accordance  with  the  petition  of 
several  good  citizens,  it  hath  been  unanimously 
resolved  by  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of 
Chicago  that  the  Mayor  appoint  Thursday,  the 
25th  day  of  November  inst..  as  a  day  of  public 
thanksgiving  and  prayer. 

••And  whereas  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  Cod 
to  crown  the  outgoing  year  with  the  abundance 
of  His  Providence,  and  to  have  continued  to  the 
people  of  our  city,  as  well  as  of  our  state  and  na- 


tion, those  dispensations  of  Hisgoi  idness,  whereby 

the  anticipations  of  seedtime  and  the  golden 
promises  of  an  unusually  prosperous  harvest  have 
been  realize. 1  and  gathered  in;  and  as  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  in  the  wilderness  set  apart  days  of  fasting 
and  prayer  in  honor  of  the  Divine  goodness  in 
supplying  them  with  the  means  of  subsistence, 
but  more  particularly  for  the  freedom  they  en- 
joyed in  the  exercise  of  everj  social  and  religious 
privilege,  so  the  hearts  of  their  descendants  must 
feel  a  deeper  gratitude  that  the  blessings  secured 
by  the  toil  of  their  ancestors  have  descended  to 
them,  and  that  every  returning  year  brings  with 
mal  assurances  that  the  fabric  founded 
in  their  wisdom  and  example,  is  now  adequate  to 
perpetuate  similar  blessings  to  their  children. 

"Now.  therefore,  in  view  of  our  many  blessings. 
and  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  aforesaid,  I 
do  hereby  appoint  and  set  apart  Thursday,  the 
25th  inst..  as  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving  and 
praise  to  Almighty  (  ;   d. 

"Given  under  m\  hand   and  the  seal  of  the  City, 
[l.  s.J  this  23d  day  of  November,  Anno    I),. mini. 
on.-  thousand  eighl  hundred  and  forty-one. 
"Francis  C.  Sherman, 

"Attest:  Mayor. 

■•  Thomas  Hoyne,  Clerk." 

About  this  time  Galena  was  having  something 
of  a  boom,  owing  to  her  mining  interests  being  ex- 
tensively developed.  Thedistress  Mr.  Hoyne  por- 
trayed in  his  Memoriat'to  Cot  ■  1  to  have 
1  his  own  spirits,  for  he  suddenly  deter- 
mined to  abandon  Chicago  and  see  what  the  pros- 
pect was  in  Galena,  then  bearing  promise  of  being 
the  great  city  of  the  West.  A  two  years'  trial, 
however,  was  enough,  and  Mr.  Hoyne  returned  to 
(hi  ago,  never  again  swerving  in  his  allegiance 
to  the  first  city  of  his  adoption.  For  some  years 
after  his  return  Mr.  Hoyne's  life  appears  to  have 
been  rather  uneventful.  During  1847-48-49  he 
was  probate  justice  of  the  peace,  and  as  his  duties 
did  not  interfere,  he  continued  the  practice  of  law. 
In  1853  he  was  appointed  by  President  1'. 
the  office  of  United  States  District  Attorney  for 
Illinois,  and  in  1859  was  made  United  States  Mar- 
shal for  the  Northern  District  of  Illinois,  in  place 
of  a  defaulting  incumbent.  The  last  appointment 
was  without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  and  he 
would  not  have  accepted  it  but  for  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  Judge  Drummond.  As  Marshal 
he  superintended  the  census  of  1860,  in  the  North- 
em  district  of  the  State.  The  law  business  in  the 
early  days  of  Chicago  was  necessarily  of  a  very 
general  character:  there  were  no  specialties,  and 
in  the  profession  took  what  he  could 
get  in  either  patent,  criminal  or  admiral!)  cases. 
Mr.  Hoyne  enjoyed  his  full  share  of  the  practice. 
His  forcible  style  of  speaking  and  the  animation 
of  his  whole  figure  always  carried  with  them  the 


64 


i;io<;i;.\rm    OF    ilunois. 


earnestness,  and  was  ever   potent 
well  as  with  an  au  li 

ion   of   the  city   increased,   however,   the 
criminal  >k  on  phases  Mr.  1 l 

nol  like,  and  he  graduall)  dropped  i!  all 
the  field  to  others.     Be  began  to  see  in  the  prac 
tice  many  things  not  agreeable  witl 
as  a  lawyi  latent  with  his  sense  of  right. 

But  his  power  as  an  advocate  <li<l  nol  dimin 
i.~h  and  he  never  yielded  his  place  in  the  front 
rank  as  an  orator.    The  latter  part  of  .Mr.  Boyne's 

devoti  'It"  work  of  much  more  I 
porary  interest,  the  value  of  which  is  least  under 
stood  by  the  world  outside,  but   is 
the  profession  as  the  most  valuable  and  enduring 

part  of   a    law  \    i  .  '..      Hi-   alua.N 

deep  interest  in  politics,  both  local  and 

od  of  Iris  countrj  was  the  foundation  on 
which  he  built ;  he  advocated  the  prosecution  of 
the  Mexican  War.  but  n j ■< .1 1  th 
Wilmot  proviso  prohibiting  the  extension  of  slav 
i -rv  in  an\  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  he  be 
came  what  is  known  as  a  " Free  Soiler  "  and  sup 
ported   Van    Bu  lam     on    the    Buffalo 

platform  in  the  presidential  campaign  of  1848. 
Be  was  a  presidential  elector  on  the  ticket  and 
was  the  leading  advocate  of  it  during  the  campaign 

•  i  i  hern  half  i  if  I  llinois.    As  chairman  of  a 
committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  he  had  pre- 

|i  livered  at  a  mass  m  ill  address 

to  the  people  on  the  issues  of  the  day,  which  was 
widely  circulated,  [n  thai  address  he  protested  in 
bold,  outspoken  language  against  the  further  en- 
croachment ot  human  slavery,  appealing  to  the 
Democratic  masses  of  the  States  with  all 
estnessand  power  of  argument.  Among  th  manj 
valuable  papers  and  documents  Mr.  Boyne  left 
behind  him,  of  which  no  adequate  view  of  the 
d  in  this  sketch, 
the  alo  oned   address  has   been    found. 

Probablj  no  other  production  that  ever  issue! 
from  hit  i  it     uch  full   measure  the  stamp 

of  his  ability  and  genius.  The  breaking  out  of 
the  war  fi  :  i  i)  ne  a  staunch  pat  riot,  and 

;  ccord  with  his  friend,  Stephen  A.  Doug 
las.  as  !■  i  citizen  in  that  crisis. 

During  the  whole  of  that  dark  time  every  emana 
lion  from  his  pen  and  i  his  mouth 

ring  of  patriotism  t 
alt)   to  the  government.     It    is  but   just    to  his 

that  this  should  I mphasized,  because 

is  involving  re- 
construction, he  among  others  wi 
been  tried  as   bj  fire,  incurred  the  odium  of  the 


opposite  party, and  in  the  heat  of  partisan  contest 
ms  as  "copperhead  "  and  "  traitot  "  tell 
thickly  but  harmlessly  about  him.  In  all  Mr. 
Boyne's  active  career  he  seemed  apparently  averse 
to   holding  any   political   office,  unless  he  could 

therebj    ac plish  so special  good.    In  lsTti 

he  was  bj   acclamation  nominated  tor  I 

ined  to  run,  whereupon  the 
B  rohn  Wentworth  was  nominated  in  his  stead. 
In  lsTi;.  however,  he  n  of  ( !hica 

go.    The  circus  ;  irding   t  his   election 

were  peculiar;  it  was  an  emergency;  a  demand 

was  made  upon   Mr.  Boyne's  loyalty  to  the  < 

munity,  which  1 Id  not   refuse,     [n  1876  Chi 

awakened  to  the  fact  that  she  hail  long 
been  ruled  bj  an  unscrupulous  ring  of 
politicians.  She  was  awakened  only  just  In 
time  to  avert  ruin,  but  not  soon  enough  to 
prevent  her  having  a  notoriety  that  has  passed 
into  proverb.     But  she  was  awakened,  and  mostly 

through  the  efforts  of  Tl as  Boyne.    Through 

1 9  the  Municipal  l;  form  ( !lub  was  or- 
ganized, and  a  mass  meeting  was  called  in  the 
Exposition  building.  It  was  attended  I 
50,000  people  of  all  classes  and  of  every  political 
faith.  At  this  meeting  Mr.  Boyne  was  nominated 
for  May<  ron  a  reform  platform,  and  in  the  election 
which  followed  was  almost  unanimously  elected, 
receiving  a  majority  of  over  33,000,  the  largest  ma 
jority  ever  given  a  municipal  magistrate  in  Chicago. 
Only  eight  hundred  votes  were  cast  against  him. 
Mayor  Colvin  contested  the  election,  on  the 
ground  that  the  call  for  an  election  had  not   been 

made    by    the  common    council.     The    courts    de 

cided  it  illegal,  but   Mr.  Hoyne  did  not  appeal,  as 

1 1I3    object    was   to  cleanse  the  city  of    its 

impurities;    and    as    the    Colvin    administration 

agr 1    to    resign    if  another  election    were  per 

milted,  he  acquiesced  but  would  not  be  again 
thi  candidate.  Monroe  Beath  was  elected 
and  Mr.  Boyne  retired  to  private  life 
after  having  been  <l<  facto  mayor  tor  Bix  weeks. 
His  line  of  policy  marked  out  in  his  im 
address  has.  however,  been  followed  bj  his  sue 
cessors,  and  <  Ihicago's  prosperity  and  place  in  the 
nation  is  doubtless  largely  due  to  the  unselfish  and 
wise  action  of  Mr.  Boyne.  In  the  written  histories 
of  that  city  he  should  be  remembered  as  the  man 

!  Chicago.     While,  as  stated.  Mr.  Ho 
appeared  averse  to  holding  political  office,  he  n  as 
not  backward  about  taking  the  had  nor  in  follow- 
in.'  when   the  organization  ot  institutions  for  the 
general  public  good  was  at  issue.    As  ear' 
he  was  elected   president  of    t  he  "  ^  oung    Hi  n'l 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


65 


Association,"  then  the  leading  literary  society  of 
the  city.  He  was  also  a  life  member  of  the  Me- 
chanic's Institute,  the  Academy  of  Sciences  and 
the  Chicago  Historical  Society.  He  tookadeep 
interest  in  the  University  of  Chicago  and  was 
prominent  in  the  formationof  the  law  depart  tnenl 
in  that  seat  of  learning.  Mr.  Hoyne  was  among 
the  first  in  the  movement  to  found  an  astronomi 
cal  society  in  Chicago,  and  to  him  belongs  the 
main  credit  of  securing  for  the  city  the  large  prize 
telescope  made  by  Alvin  Clarke  &  Son.  of  Bos- 
ton. The  telescope  was  set  up  in  1866,  and  has 
since  then  abundantly  demonstrated  the  wisdom 
of  the  action.  For  his  services  Mr.  Hoyne  was 
made  an  honorary  life  director  of  the  Astronomical 
Society.  To  this  untiring  worker  is  due  largely 
the  founding  of  the  Free  Public  Library  of  Chi- 
cago. After  the  great  tire,  when  application  had 
been  made  to  authors  and  publishers  for  books  to 
replenish  the  public  and  private  libraries,  the 
response  was  so  generous  that  it  soon  became 
necessary  to  organize  a  free  public  library.  Mr. 
Hoyne  threw  himself  with  his  usual  energy  into 
the  work;  he  helped  secure  the  passage  of  the 
necessary  legislation  at  Springfield,  and  pre- 
sided at  the  first  meeting  called  to  organize  the 
institution,  and  was  chosen  its  president,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  for  years.  In  1*77  lie  wrote  a 
history  of  the  library  up  to  that  date,  which  will 
be  invaluable  as  a  work  of  reference  in  the  future. 
As  might  be  expected,  Mr.  Hoyne  was  a  man  of 
literary  tastes.  He  was  an  energetic  reader,  ami 
covered  a  wide  range  of  authors  and  subjects. 
Shakespeare  was  a  great  favorite  with  him.  and 
he  read  the  literature  of  Ancient  Greece  and  Rome 
with  interest.  His  study  at  home  was  his  refuge, 
and  there  he  spent  his  hours  from  his  regular 
labors.  He  loved  his  home,  and  at  its  threshold 
dropped  the  natural  impetuosity  of  manner  so 
marked  in  him;  there  he  was  ever  kind,  mild  and 
gentle.  The  few  who  were  privileged  with  an  inti- 
macy close  enough  to  permit  them  to  observe  it. 
know  that  his  wife  was.  to  a  marked  extent,  his  c<  mn- 
selor  and  companion,  and  that  he  took  no  important 
step,  political  or  otherwise,  without  her  full  un- 
derstanding and  approval.  His  love  for  his  home 
was  so  great  that  a  sigh  of  regret  would  escape 
him  on  leaving  for  a  brief  absence,  and  he  seemed 
to  have  a  premonition  that  the  end  would  come 
when  away  from  his  loved  ones.  Had  he  known 
for  a  certainty  the  fate  that  was  to  overtake  him. 
his  farewell  could  not  have  been  more  tender  than 
when    he  started  on    that    fatal   summer   vacation. 

Thursday,  July  26, 1883.  When  next  his  family  saw 


him  he  was  dead.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Ogdens- 
burg.  intending  thence  to  make  a  tour  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  White  Mountains,  and  finally 
an  extended  visit  to  Saratoga.  On  the  evening  of 
Friday,  the  train  on  which  he  was  traveling  dashed 
into  a  freight  car  at  Carlton  Station,  on  the  Rome. 
Watertown  A-  Ogdensburg  Railroad,  and  in  an 
instant  was  a  mass  of  ruin.  Mr.  Hoyne's  dead 
body  was  taken  from  the  debris  a  few  hours  later, 
and  the  following  Monday  it  arrived  in  Chicago. 
being  received  at  the  depot  by  a  committee  of  the 
Iroquois  Club.  The  next  day  the  remains  were  taken 
from  the  late  residence, 267  Michigan  avenue.  toSt. 
Mary's  Church,  where  the  funeral  services  were 
held.  Chicago  had  not  seen  another  such  assem- 
blage as  that  which  gathered  that  morning  in  that 
church  edifice,  and  to  no  other  citizen  of  Chicago 
had  such  a  funeral  been  given,  such  honor  paid, 
as  last  tributes  to  the  revered  dead.  All  the  public 
offices  were  closed,  as  were  many  private  places 
of  business.  All  th.- streets  leading  to  the  church 
were  blocked  with  carriages,  and  the  church  itself 
was  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  friends  and  ad- 
mirers of   the   .1 ased.      The   officials  of  Cook 

County  attended  in  a  body;  the  Common  Council 
was  represented  by  a  majority  of  its  members; 
all  the  directors  of  the  library  board  were  there, 
and  there  was  probably  no  public  body  that  did 
not  add  some  tribute  to  the  significance  of  the  sad 
occasion.  The  leading  lights  of  the  liar  were 
there,  and  the  most  distinguished  judges  of  the 
Chicago  Bench  came  to  pay  the  last  mark  of 
respect  to  their  associate  and  friend.  The  pro- 
fessors of  Hahnemann  College  and  of  the  Chicago 
University,  the  directors  of  the  Chicago  Astronom- 
ical Society,  in  tine,  the  leading  men  from  all  the  in- 
stitutions of  learning  with  which  the  deceased  was 
identified  in  life,  gave  the  silent  testimony  of  their 
regard  by  their  presence.  The  social  organiza- 
tions of  the  city,  the  clubs.  Calumet.  Iro- 
quois, Irish  Americans  and  others,  sent  large 
delegations:  but  more  significant  than  all  were  the 
faces  of  the  early  settlers,  so  deeply  were  they  fur- 
rowed— those  settlers  with  whom  Thomas  Hoyne 

had  st 1  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  those  endeavors 

of  the  past  which  made  possible  the  achievements 
of  the  present.  The  presence  of  this  body  of 
Chicago's  pioneers  was  the  crowning  feature  of  the 
solemn  scene.  The  remains  were  taken  to  Rose- 
hill  for  interment.  Here  the  services  were  very 
simple.  Dr.Burroughs  offering  a  prayer  as  dust  was 
returned  to  dust.  All  the  public  bodies  represented 
at  the  obsequies  held  meetings,  passed  resolu- 
tions and  offered  memorials,  all  of  them  speaking 


66 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    CLLINOia 


i„  the  highest  termaot  the  deceased.  The  meel 
ingot  the  City  Council  was  held  on  the  evening 
0.  \  communication  was  received  from 
the  Mayor,  in  which  he  paid  a  high  tributi  to  Mr. 
Boyne's  character  as  ;i  man  and  as  a  citizen. 
Accompanying  this  were  resolutions  he  had  pre 
pared  for  the  approval  of  the  council.  The  reso 
lutions  were  as  follows: 

•■Win  Ri  \s.  There  was  killed  in  the  late  railroad 
disaster  in  New  Fork  State,  ;i  citizen  of  Chicago, 
whoee  close  connections  with  the  interests  of  the 
citj  and  Faithful  services  in  behalf  of  the  people, 
render  his  death  a  public  misfortune; 

-  Resolved,  Thai  in  the  death  of  Thomas  Hoyne, 

the    city  of  Chicago   has   losl   i  of    its  mosl 

patriotic,  public  spirited  and  honorable  citizens; 
a  Mian  whose  efforts  in  behalf  of  all  that  he  be- 
lieved to  be  best  for  the  interests  of  his  community, 
entitled  him  to  the  respect  and  admiration  of  ail 
g 1  i-ii  izens; 

"Resolved,  That  all  city  offices  be  closed  during 
the  hours  of  the  funeral  as  a  mark  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  the  deceased. 

"Resolved,  Thai  these  resolutions  be  dulj  pub 
lished  in  the  proceedings  of  this  body,  and  copies 
hereof  I"-  furnished  the  press  tor  publication  and 
bi  ni  ti  >  1 1"-  I'aniiU  of  the  deceased." 

A  1 1.  hi  by  Alderman  Sanders,  thai  theresolu 

tions  be  adopted  and  thai  the  council  attend  the 
funeral  in  a  body,  was  unanimously  passed.  The 
Board  of  County  Commissioners  also  met  the  same 
day  and  took  appropriate  action,  similar  to  thai  of 
the  council,  A  meeting  of  the  Chicago  Bar  was 
held  in  Judge  Drummond's  court  room.  After 
some  remarks  by  the  Judge,  he  stated  that  at  a 
previous  meeting  a  committee  had  been  appointed 
t'i  draw  up  a  memorial  to  the  memory  of  Thomas 
Hoyne,  and  thai  the  Son.  J.  Y.  Scammon  had  been 
requested  bj  the  a  immittee  to  prepare  and  pre 
miii  the  memorial.  Tin'  meeting  was  organized 
by  making  the  venerable  John  I).  Caton,  es  chief 
justice  of  the  Supreme  ('"int.  chairman,  and  A. 
M.  Pence  secretary.     In  taking   the  chair  Judge 

Caton   made  a  touching  address.     Mr.  Sci non 

then  read  tin-  memorial,  The  paper  reviewed  tin' 
life  and  character  of  Thomas  Hoyne,  and  was  as 

exhaustive  as  Bucb  an  instn ml  could  well  l"1. 

Every  line  bore  testi uj  ofthe  regard  in  which 

the  deceased  was  held  bj  hi-  legal  brethren,  and 
while  it  was  complimentary  in  the  bjghe  i  sense 
every  word  Innl  the  stamp  of  truth.  The  memorial 
was  follow  i-ii  by  a  number  of  i"  eches  all  couched 
in  language  of  reverence  and  regret.  Hon.  Isaac 
N.  Arnold  Bpoke  first;  he  was  followed  bj  the 
llmi.  .1.  I;.  Doolittle.  A  motion  in  adopt  the 
minute  was  unanimously  carried,  ami  on  motion 
"i  Mi.  Arnold  it  was  voted  thai  the  pr lings  of 


tin-  meeting  !"■  publii  hed,  and  thai  individual 
members  of  the  bar  l«'  appointed  t"  move  the 
various  en  nils  of  the  city  ami  tin-  Supreme  Court, 
that  thej  spread  upon  their  records  a  copy  of  He' 
minute;  and  also  that  a  copj  be  sent  to  the  family 
ofthe  deceased.  At  a  meeting  of  the  [roquois 
Cluli.  on  Tuesday  evening,  August  7th,  appropri 
an  proceedings  were  hail  in  reference  to  the  death 
of  Mr.  Hoyne.  The  president,  Erskine M. Phelps, 
addressed  the  meeting,  after  which  a  memorial 
was  offered  ami  adopted.    'The  Chicago  Histor 

ieal   Soeiely.  at    its   next    meeting    after   the  death 

of  Air.  Hoyne,  appointed  a  commitee  to  prepare 

a    me rial.    I  Hi  t    owing    to    the    ill  health    of   the 

chairman,  John  Wentworth,  the  report  was  not 
In 'aril  until  the  October  meeting,  when  a  memorial 
was  offered  and  adopted.  The  resolutions  of  the 
Public     Library    were    equally    appropriate,    as 

were  those  of  tin'  Union  College  of  Law.  the 
Chicago   University,  the  Calumet   Club,    Astro 

mimical  Society  and  Hahnemann  Medical  College. 
Prof.  Swing  took  occasion,  in  the  "Weekly  Maga 
zine,"  to  speak  of  his  acquaintance  with  .Mr. 
Hoyne.  and   his  estimate  of   his  character.     The 

article  is  one  to  lie  proud  of  as  show  ing  the  regard 
of  one  good    and    learned    man  for  another.      Mrs. 

Hoyne  was  in  receipt  of  numerous  letters  from 
prominent  men.  acquaintances  and  friends  of  Mr. 
Hoyne.  from  all  parts  of  the  country.    Thej  were 

all  kind  and  tender,  revealing  tin'  affection  felt  for 

Mr.  Hoyne,  and  expressing  the  most  sincere  sym 
pathy.  Perhaps  one  of  the  most  touching  incidents 
connected  with  this  sad  affair  was  the  memorial  ser 
vice  held  in  Dr.  Lorimer's  church  in  the  follow  ing 
September.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Hoyne's  death,  it 
being  midsummer,  many  of  his  friends  wen-  away 
from  home.     This  service  was  for  that  reason  post 

poned  until  September,  at  which  timeagreal  eon 
gregation  assembled  in  the  Immanuel  Baptist 
Church.     Dr.  Lorimer  conducted  the  introductory 

services  and  later  addressed   the  audience  in  some 

able  and  exceedingly  complimentarj  remarks  upon 
the  character  of  the  deceased.  Rev.  Dr.  Bur- 
roughs delivered  the  memorial  sermon,  which  was 

touching  in  the  extreme.  e\er\  word  breathing  the 

love,  admiration  and  reverence  which  the  speaker 

till  for  the  departed.    A  i m  written  by  Eugene 

J.  Hall  at  the  time  of  the  dreadful  calamity,  is  a 
lining  close  to  the  biographical  Bketch  of  Thomas 

Hoyne.     The  last  verse  expresses  t  lie  sent  imeiit  of 

it  all: 

"  Here  sleeps,  in  undisturbed  repose, 
Here  with  ii"'  dust  in  silence  blends 
\  ni.ni  whoso  manhood  made  lie  foes 
Hie  strongest  and  most  steadfast  friends." 


4L,  ^fo^-< 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


67 


GEORGE  W.  SMITH. 

GEN.  GEORGE  W.  SMITH  is  equally  notable 
as  a  successful  lawyer  and  the  commanding 
officer  during  the  war  of  the  Eighty-eighth 
Illinois  Infantry  Volunteers,  a  regiment  which 
was  in  continuous,  active  Bervice  and  was  conspic- 
uous for  its  efficiencj  and  heroism.  Gen.  Smith 
was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  V„  January  8, 18.'!T.  His 
parents  were  George  W.  and  Katherine  (Wilder) 
Smith.  His  father  was  a  well-to-do  manufacturer 
and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  electro-plating  busi- 
ness in  the  United  States.  At  the  timeof  his  death 
he  was  a  stockholder  and  officer  in  the  Britannia 
Company,  of  Meriden,  Conn.  Gen.  Smith's  grand- 
father on  the  paternal  Bide  was  Washington 
Smith,  one  of  eight  children  of  the  then  sur 
veyor  general  for  the  British  Government  in  the 
province  of  New  Hampshire.  Washington  Smith 
inherited  from  his  father  a  tine  farm  near  Laconia, 
N.  H..  ami  was  a  prominent  man  in  that  country, 
being  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature, and  holding  other  positions  of  importance. 
The  ancestors  of  Gen.  Smith  on  his  mother's  side 
(the  Wilders)  were  an  old  historic  family  in  Bos 
tun.  the  members  of  which  did  good  service  for 
Mir  cause  of  independence  during  the  revolution- 
ary war.  When  a  liny  Gen.  Smith  attended  a  pri- 
vate si  -In  ml  near  Albany,  N.  V..  and  afterward  wenl 
to  the  Albany  Academy.  When  he  was  seventeen 
years  old  he  concluded,  on  account  of  his  father's 
temporary  embarrassment,  to  abandon  his  prepara- 
tion for  college,  which  was  then  well  advanced. 
and  do  something  toward  earning  his  own  living. 
It  was  not  absolutely  necessary  that  he  should 
do  this,  but  Mr.  Smith  thought  it  best,  and  wenl 

tn  Arkansas,   where  he   began   teaching  scl 1 

After  a  year's  experience  he  established  a  private 
school  of  his  own,  which  was  attended  by  fifty 
pupils,  and  which  he  conducted  with  very  grati- 
fying success.  In  the  spring  of  185(3  he  returned 
to  Albany  and  took  up  the  study  of  law  at  the 
Albany  Law  School.  At  the  same  time  he  entered 
the  office  of  John   H.  Reynolds  and   received   the 

benefit  of  a  valuable  office  training.    He  proved 

to  be  a  competent  man.  and  when  he  graduated 
from  the  law  school  in  January.  IS5K,  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds had  advanced  him  to  the  position  of 
chief  clerk.  In  October  of  the  same  year, 
being  then  in  his  twenty  second  year.  Mr. 
Smith  came  to  Chicago  and  opened  a  law 
office  at  No.  lo  South  Clark  Street.  He  has  been 
in  constant  practice  in  tin-  courts  of  Illinois  ever 
since,  except  for  three  years  (1862-1865),  when  he 


was  in  the  army,  and  for  two  years  llsCT  and  1868) 
when  he  served  as  state  treasurer.  The  Eighty- 
eighth  regiment  of  Illinois  infantry  was  recruited 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Trade,  and  was  mustered  into  service.  900  strong, 
on  August  27,  1862.  Francis  T.  Sherman  was  the 
colonel  in  command,  and  George  W.  Smith  was 
captain  of  Company  A.  The  regiment  left  Chicago 
on  September  1.  1862,  and  did  its  first  service  in 
protecting  Cincinnati  from  a  raid  threatened  by 
the  Confederate  fores  under  (ien.  Kirby  Smith. 
On  the  1st  of  October  it  moved  in  pursuit  of  Gen. 
Bragg,  and  on  the  8th  fought  its  first  battle  at 
Perryville.  The  conduct  of  officers  and  men  was 
so  gallant  that  the  command  was  publicly  com- 
plimented by  Brig.-Gen.  Greusel.  The  regiment, 
which  was  then  in  Gen.  Sheridan's  division  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  bore  its  share  of  the 
heavy  skirmishing  in  front  of  Murfreesboro',  and 
suffered  severely  in  the  subsequent  engagement. 
At  the  battle  of  Stone  River  Capt.  Smith  was 
severely  wounded,  and  was  taken  prisoner.  He  was 
held  under  guard  in  a  house  near  by  the  battle- 
field for  four  days,  when  a  negro  assisted  him  to 
escape,  and  he  made  his  way  into  the  Union  lines. 
Being  unfit  for  duty,  he  was  given  a  furlough, 
and  returned  to  Chicago,  where  he  remained  until 
his  wounds  healed,  when  he  rejoined  his  regi- 
ment. He  participated  in  the  campaign  against 
Bragg  at  Chattanooga.  Longstreet,  taking  ad 
vantage  of  the  withdrawal  of  Wood's  division 
from  the  center  of  the  Union  forces  at  Gordon's 
Mills,  made  a  rapid  attack  on  the  20th  of  Septem 
ber,  1863, and  cut  thearmyin  two.  Capt.  Smith's 
regiment  suffered  terribly  in  this  action,  losing 
about  one-third  its  number.  Capt.  Smith,  who 
was  then  the  senior  line  officer,  was  again  com- 
plimented for  his  bravery  on  this  occasion.  On 
the  25th  of  November.  1SG:S,  the  Eighty-eighth 
was  one  of  the  regiments  that  led  the  attack  on 
Mission  Ridge,  drove  the  Rebels  from  their 
works  and  planted  the  stars  and  stripes  on  the 
top  of  the  ridge.  In  this  engagement  Capt. 
Smith  was  again  severely  wounded.  Inhisofiicial 
report  Lieut. -Col.  Chandler  said:  "Capt.  George 
W.  Smith,  of  Company  A,  acting  Held  officer,  was 
conspicuous  for  his  bravery."  In  December,  1863, 
the  Eighty -eighth  marched  to  the  relief  of  Burn- 
side,  at  Knoxville.  and  assisted  in  driving  Long- 
street  back  into  Virginia.  On  May  'A,  1864,  the 
regiment  drove  Joe  Johnston's  forces  out  of  Buz- 
zard's Roost,  and  the  14th  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Ftesaca.  Lieut.-Colonel  Chandler  was  killed 
in  the  storming  of  Kenesaw  Mountain,  on  June  27, 


68 


i;io<;i;.\i'iiv  OF   Illinois. 


L864,and  the  command  of  the  Eightj  eighth  tell  to 
W.  Siniih  with  the  rank  of  Lieut, 
his  promotion  coming  as  a  reward  for 
braver}  in  the  field.  Lieut. -Col.  Smith  and  bis 
regiment  were  active  in  the  investment  of  Atlanta. 
They  afterward  did  important  skirmish  duty  in 
preventing  Sood  and  Forrest  from  cutting  "IT 
General  Schofield  in  his  efforts  to  reinforce  Gen 

era!  Tl as  at  Nashv  ille,  and  later  took  a  leading 

part  in  the  battle  of  Franklin,  which,  by    many 

historians,  is  called  the  most  bl ly  and  desperate 

conflict  ol  the  war.  In  this  fight  Lieut.  Col. Smith 
was  again  in  the  front  rank  and  led  the  charge. 
An  eye-witness  of  the  Bcene  writes:  "In  all  my 
life   I  never  saw,  in  all  my  readings  I   never  read 

(it.  i e  knightly  scene  than  Colonel  Smith  at 

the  head  of  the  charging  column,  cap  in   hand. 
dashing  hither  and  thither  in  the  while  heal  of 
the  fray,  nerving  the  brave,  shaming  the  coward 
an  m nscious  hero,  every  inch  <>f  him."     After 

this   battle    Lieut.-Colonel    Smith    was    I. revetted 

colonel  and  again  received  the  thanks  of  the  com 
manding  general  for  his  courage  and  intrepid  ex 
ample.  In  December,  1864,  his  regiment  took 
part  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood's  army  from  Nash 
ville,  Tenn,  to  Lexington,  Ala.,  in  the  face  of  ap 
parent u  insurmountable  obstacles.     For  over  one 

hundred    miles   the  ehase  was  kept    up    on    mads 

that  were  almost  unfathomable  in  mud,  and 
which  were  blocked  and  obstructed  in  every  con 
conceivable  manner  by  the  enemy's  rearguard. 
In  the  spring  of  1865  Colonel  Smith  was  brevetted 
Brigadier  General  and  with  the  ssth  participated 
in  an  expedition  to  Lull's  Gap,  Tenn.,  which  was 
successful.  On  June  '.i.  L865,  it  was  mustered  nut 
of  service  at  .Nashville  and  returned  to  Chicago 
on  June  12.     Of    the   '.HHI    mm    whose    names  were 

originally  on  the  mils,  only  209  came  back  the 
rest  having  been  discharged  for  disability  ", 
wounds  "i-  having  died  in  battle,  in  hospital,  or  in 
rebel  prison.  With  the  exception  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  men  who  were  added  t"  it  early  in  its 
history,  the  regimenl  was  never  recruited.     In  its 

three  years  of  Bervice  it   did  s ■  <>f   the  hardest 

fighting  of  any  regimenl  in  the  Union  army,  and 

ird  made  by  its  officers and n  at  Perryville, 

Stone  Liver.  Chicamauga,  Mission  Ridge,  Resaca, 
Adairsville,  Kenesaw,  Peach  Tree  Creek.  New 
Hope  Church,  Pi  inklin  and  Nashville  is  imperisha 
ble.  Throughout  his  military  career)  ieneral  Smith 
displayed  a  high  order  of  courage,  resolution  and 

ildierly  qualities.  Similar  traits  have  won 
access  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  which  he 
resume. I  after  leaving  the  army  in  1865.     He  ehai 


acter  is  well  summed  up  by    an  eminent   lawyer  ..I 

Chicago,  who  has  known  him  long  and  intimately, 

in  the  lull.. w  i ne  words:  "Gen.  Smith's  ambition 
h.e  been  to  he  a  Bound  and  successful  lawyi  i    H< 

is   a    man   of   studious    habits    ami    is    universally 

respected  for  tin-  breadth  as  well  as  accuracy 
of  his  knowledge.  His  learning  is  profound  ami 
copious,  and  he  has  that  quickness  of  apprehen 
sion  which  enables  him  to  apply  his  knowledge  to 
the  practical  solution  of  intricate  problems  in  every 
depart inent  of  professional  life  with  extraordinary 
precision  and  clearness.  The  powers  of  his  mind 
are  admirably    balanced    anil    have    been   severely 

disciplined.  Cautious  by  temperament  and  always 
avoiding  rash  and  vehement  assertions,  he  is  dis 
tinguished  not  only  for  the  spirit  of  candor  and 
fairness  evinced  in  tin'  management  of  he  casei 
and  the  argument  of  legal  questions,  but  for  the 
sobriety  and  solidity  of  his  judgment.  Few  men 
can  argue  a    point   of  law  with  more   learning  or 

astuteness,  or  t  rv  a  case  vv  ith  more  tact  and  ability. 
.No  man  in  professional  life  is  held  in  higher  est] 
inalioii  for  purity  of  character  or   generous   social 

qualities."    To  this  an  ex  chief  justi I   tie   Sn 

preme  Court  of  the  State  of  Illinois  adds:  "Gen. 
Smith  is  in  the  best  sense  an  officer  of  the  courts, 
and  In-  adorns  t  he  position    by   a  life  and    practice 

consistent  with  the  most  exacting  demands  of  his 
profession.    When  trying  a  case  in  any  court   his 

tatementS  as  to  the  facts  and   issues  involved  arc 

always   received    With  the  mOSt    ill  I  Illicit    col  I  tide  lice. 

In  his  capacity  of  counselor  ami  advocate  he  as- 
sists the  courts  in  the  administration  of  right  and 

justice.      Il    is  difficult   I"   col ive  that  there  can 

be  any  higher  privilegefor  a  lawyer  to  attain." 
General  Smith  practices  largely  in  the  Supreme 

Court  of  Illinois,  and  ranks  w  ith  the  ablest  of  the 
many  bright  and  learned  men  who  try  cases  be 
fore  that  tribunal.  He  has  been  interested  in  a 
number  of  \ cry  important  suits,  and  his  industry, 
skill  and  ability  in  their  preparation  have  often 
belli  complimented  from  the  bench  as  aiding  in  a 
careful  and  just  decision.  General  Smith  sue 
cessfully  represented  the  •  lovernor  w  hen  i  he  West 
Park  Commissioners  contested   the  right   of  the 

Governor  to  re ve  its  members;  he  was  one  of 

the  counsel  for  the  city  of  Chicago  in  the  cele 
brated  back-tax  cases  involving  the  re  levy  of 
taxes  of  L873  71;  and  conducted  the  litigation  for 
the  bondholders  ..f  the  Chicago  division  in  the 
Wabash  Railway  suit.  In  1874  he  appeared  for 
the  Chicago <S  Alton  Railway  against  Schoeneman, 
which  involved  a  covenant  running  with  land. 
Two  years  later  he  represented  thcsaiuc  I panv 


/iTplA^ 


UA   Jc^ct 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


69 


in  its  defense  of  the  claim  of  one  Maher.  This 
involved  the  right  of  the  grantee  to  recover  for  a 
trespass  of  a  continuing  nature  committed  when 
the  grantor  was  owner.  In  187(1  he  was  of  coun- 
sel for  Judge  Knickerbocker  in  an  action  I  nought 
in  the  name  of  the  people  to  test  the  validity  of 
the  probate  court  act.  Later,  General  Smith  ap- 
peared for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  in  the  litigation 
with  tin-  Illinois  Central  Railway  over  freight  sta- 
tion grounds  upon  the  Lake  Front.  He  appeared 
for  the  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Chicago  against 
the  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners  in  a  case  involv- 
ing the  title  of  the  state  to  land  in  Lake  Michi 
gan,  andthe  rights  of  riparian  owners.  Froml887 
to  1891  he  was  engaged  in  the  so-called  Hetty 
Green  suit,  resulting  in  the  sale  of  section  "Jl  in 
the  town  of  Cicero,  and  was  successful  in  every 
move.  General  Smith  has  always  been  a  Repub 
lican,  but  is  not  in  sympathy  with  the  high  tariff 
doctrine.  He  has  never  held  office  but  once,  and 
that  was  in  1867  when  he  was  nominated  for 
state  treasurer  in  a  campaign  of  two  hours  at 
Springfield  ami  was  elected.  Since  then  he  has 
refused  to  allow  his  name  to  lie  used  as  a  candidate 
for  any  office.  He  has  not  been  inactive  as  a  citi- 
zen in  endeavoring  to  promote  the  cause  of  good 
government.  Possessed  of  a  high  order  of  intelli- 
gence, cultured  in  his  literary  tastes,  ami  smoothed 
by  contact  with  the  best  minds  of  his  time,  he  is 
a  man  well  equipped  for  a  successful  life.  He  is 
prominent  in  many  social  and  literary  organiza- 
tions, among  them  being  the  Union  League  Club, 
of  which  he  was  president  in  1SS7.  the  Union, 
Germania,  Chicago,  Literary,  and  Columbus 
Clubs.  He  is  a  vice-president  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society,  and  president  of  the  Chicago 
Industrial  School  for  Girls.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders,  and  is  a  trustee,  of  the  University 
School.  Gen.  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army,  and  also  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  of  which  he 
has  been  senior  vice-commander  at  Chicago.  He 
was  married  on  June  8,  1869,  to  Miss  Louise 
Kinney,  daughter  of  William  C.  Kinney,  a  leading 
lawyer  of  Belleville,  111.,  and  a  son  of  Lieut.-Gov. 
William  Kinney.  On  her  mother's  side,  Mis. 
Smith  is  a  granddaughter  of  Elias  Kent  Kane, 
one  of  the  first  United  States  Senators  from 
Illinois,  who  died  at  Washington  in  1836  dur- 
ing his  term  of  office.  Gen.  Smith's  family- 
consists  of  four  children  —  two  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  eldest  son,  Kinney  Smith,  is 
at  Harvard  College,  and  the  eldest  daughter, 
Katherine,  at  the  Visitation  Academy,  George- 
town, D.  C. 


JOHN    M.   SCOTT. 

JUDGE  JOHN  M.  SCOTT,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  August.  1824,  in  the  County  of 
St.  Clair.  Illinois,  and  has  tin-  distinction  of  being 
tin-  first  native  citizen  who  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  His  ancestry 
on  the  paternal  line  were  Scotch-Irish,  in  which 
fact  he  takes  great  pride,  being  a  constant  at- 
tendant at  the  sessions  of  the  Scotch-Irish  Con- 
gress and  one  of  the  vice  presidents  of  the  society. 
He  has  many  of  the  characteristics  of  that  sturdy, 
fearless  anil  talented  race  of  men,  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Nancy  Biggs,  a  daughter  of 
Judge  William  Biggs,  of  Virginia,  who  immigrated 
to  Illinois  at  a  very  early  day,  and  was  identified 
with  the  first  settlement  of  the  state.  His  mother, 
as  a  child,  passed  through  that  fearful  ordeal  inci- 
dent to  the  struggle  between  civilization  and 
barbarism,  as  manifested  in  the  massacres  and 
wars  between  the  Indian  and  white  man.  Edu- 
cated in  that  school  of  suffering  and  danger,  in 
common  with  her  many  other  good  qualities  of 
head  and  heart,  she  became  a  woman  of  heroic 
mould,  and  well  worthy  to  perform  the  delicate 
trust  of  training  children  in  a  courageous  dis- 
charge of  duty.  His  father  was  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  and  afforded  his  son  all  the  facili- 
ties incident  to  a  new  country  for  procuring  an 
education.  Having,  in  connection  with  his  attend- 
ance at  school,  availed  himself  of  the  advantages 
of  private  tuition,  he  acquired  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  English  branches,  besides  a  fair 
knowledge  of  Latin  and  the  higher  mathematics. 
The  bar  at  Belleville  in  the  early  history  of  the 
country  was  the  ablest  in  the  state,  and  well  cal- 
culated to  fascinate  the  mind  of  a  young  man 
with  the  profession  of  the  law;  and  that,  in  con 
nection  with  a  natural  taste  for  the  bar,  induced 
him  to  read  law  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Kinney  & 
Bissell.  then  among  the  most  accomplished  law- 
yers in  the  West.  Like  many  others  who  have 
acquired  distinction  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench, 
as  preliminary  to  his  career  as  a  lawyer,  he  de- 
voted some  time  to  the  profession  of  school  teach- 
ing. He  studied  the  elementary  books  of  the  law 
w  ith  industry  and  diligence,  and  thereby  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  legal  philosophy  which,  through 
his  life  both  as  a  lawyer  and  judge,  fitted  him  to 
deal  with  the  law  as  a  science  and  not  as  a  mere 
aggregation  of  arbitrary  rules.  Upon  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  in  1818  he  removed  to  McLean 
county,  where,  for  more  than  forty  years,  he  has 
resided,  discharging  during  that  time  some  of  the 


JO 


i:io<;i;.\i-iiy   of  ILLINOIS. 


highest  functions  of  a  citizen  of  the  Btate.    At  i hi- 

time    In-    beca identified    with    the    McLean 

Count}  bar,  lawyers  of  distinction  were  among 
its  members.  Judge  l»a\is  and  General  Gridley 
were  of  the  local  bar,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  and 
.luliii  T.  Stuart  were  among  the  a 'eaident  attor- 
neys who  attended  the  courts.  While  Judge  Scott 
had  every  qualification  for  a  successful  trial 
lawyer,  like  his  illustrious  predecessor  on  the  bench 
of  the  Circuit  Court,  Judge  Davis,  he  had  a  pecu 
liar  aptitude  f<>r  the  higher  function  of  judge,  and 
from  his  admission  to  the  profession  the  taste  of 
his  ambition  inclined  to  the  bench.  He  had  but 
little  trouble  in  securing  his  Bhare  of  business, 
and  was  not  subject  to  that  anxious  solicitude 
which  often  intervenes  between  coming  to  the  bar 
and  «-■  -in i ii lt  to  a  practice.  In  1849 he  was  elected 
school  commissioner,  and  served  in  that  office 
until  1852,  superintending  the  educational  inter- 
i-sts  of  the  county  and  distributing  the  monej  of 
the  school  fund.  In  the  winter  of  1852  he  was 
elected  to  the  responsible  position  of  Judge  of  the 
county  court,  which  at  that  time  not  only  hail 
within  its  jurisdiction  probate  matters,  bul  all 
the  public  business  of  the  county.  In  addition 
to  his  official  duties  and  general  practice  he  was 
the  attorn,  \  of  Bloomington,  recently  organized 
as  a  city.  From  boyhood  the  Judge  was  a  great 
admirer  of  Claj  and  Webster,  and  as  a  result  of 
dilection  when   he  rami'  to  the  years  of 

manh 1  he  was  a  whig,  and  continued  an  ardent 

supporter  of  that  party  until  its  dissolution  in 
1852.  Upon  the  formation  of  the  Republican 
party  he  became  a  republican  when  that  party 
was  struggling  for  an  existence  as  a  political  or- 
ganization. In  1856  he  was  nominated  on  the 
Republican  ticket  for  the  State  Senate,  and  made 
a  most  vigorous  and  able  canvass  in  defence  of 
republican  principles  in  a  district  largely  demo- 
cratic in  sentiment;  and  although  defeated,  he 
reduced  the  majority  to  a  point  highly  compli 
mentary  to  himself.  In  this  campaign  Mr.  Lin- 
coln and  he  often  addressed  the  Bame  audiences 
and  between  them  there  was  the  most  cordial 
personal  and  political  relations.  En  the  first  years 
of  the  Judge's  practice  his  clearness  of  thought, 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  law,  services  as  county 
judge  and  his  dignity  of  character  directed  the 
of  the  people  and  the  bar  to  him  as  hav 
ing  tin-  qualifications  for  higher  judicial  duty;  so 
that  in  the  year  1862,  when  Judge  Davis  became 
a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  Judge  Scott  was  selected  as  his  successor 
bj  a  unanimity  of  si-ntimint  of  both  the  bar  and 


the  people.  Be  did  not,  in  the  administration  of 
his  office  as  Judge  of  the  Circuit  <  lourt,  disappoint 
ctations  of  his  most  sanguine  friends,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  unexpired  term  of  .1  m  1i_m-  Davis 
he  was  re  elected  without  opposition.  Be  held 
the  Circuit  Court  in  the  Bth  district,  during  the 
most  troublous  times  of  the  civil  war.  ami  was 
called  upon  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  to  re- 
press the  violence  of  both  sides,  which  he  did  with 
a  fearlessness  and  courage  worthy  of  the  beet  age 
of  the  judiciary.  In  the  year  1870  a  constitutional 
convention  was  held,  and  on  the  2nd  day  of  July, 
1870,  the  constitution  formed  by  that  body  was 
adopted,  which  made  it  necessary  to  elect  addi- 
tional members  of  the  Supre Court.    The  die 

trict  of  which  McLean  county  formed  a  part  was 
entitled  to  one  of  the  new  judges  and  embraced 
within  its  limits  the  central  portion 'of  the  state, 
commencing  at  Tazewell  on  the  northwest  and 
running  to  Edgar  on  the  southeast.  Embracing 
as  it  iliil  Sangamon  and  other  large  and  populous 
counties  of  the  state,  it  necessarily  had  some  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  profession.  When  it 
was  known  that  there  would  be  an  increase  in  the 
membership  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  public 
mind  was  directed  to  Judge  Scott,  as  well  worthy 
of  the  exalted  position.  This  was  especially  so 
among  the  lawyers  of  the  district;  and  in  June, 
1870,  a  convention  of  the  bar  was  held  and  although 
some  of  the  leading  jurists  of  the  district  and  Btate 
were  candidates,  Judge  Scott  was  chosen  by  the 
convention,  and  in  July,  1870  he  was  elected  a  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  term  of  nine  years. 
At  the  time  he  became  a  member  of  that  court, 
many  questions  of  importance  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  state  and  people  were  pending  in  the  Supreme 
and  Circuit  Courts,  incident  to  the  extraordinary 
development  of  the  railroad  interest  in  the  north 
west.  And  Chicago,  with  its  complex,  complicated 
and  diversified  character,  its  extraordinary  and 
Budden  growth,  and  its  many  schemes  or  specula- 
tion and  trade,  made  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois 
one  of  the  most  important  courts  of  the  United 
stairs.  Outside  the  state  of  New  York,  it  may  be 
safel]  assumed,  that  for  importance  of  litigation, 
and  questions  of  difficult  solution,  no  other  in  the 
Union  presented  a  field  more  fruitful  in  legal  con 
trillion  than  the  State  of  Illinois.  At  the  time 
Judge  Scott  became  a  member  of  the  court  he 
was  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  his  life;  and  had 
acquired  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench,  a  capacity 
for  legal  information  which  fitted  him  todeal  intel- 
ligent!] and  ably,  with  all  the  questions  which 
came  before  tin'  court.    Hi'   has  been   identified 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


71 


with  the  judicial  history  of  the  state  for  a   period 
of  Dearly  forty  years,  as  a  lawyer.  County,  Circuil 

ami  Supreme  Judge.  His  name  first  appears  in 
the  3rd  volume  of  Gilman*s  Reports  as  a  practis- 
ing attorney,  and  his  opinions  extend  from  the 54th 
to  the  126th  volume  of  K  >p  irts  as  a  Judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  At  the  end  of  his  first  term  as  a 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  he  was  elected  in 
June,  1879,  by  a  very  large  majority  over  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  lawyers  of  the  state.  His  second 
term  expired  in  June  188S,  when  he  declined  a  re- 
election,  having  served  for  a  period  of  eighteen 
years  with  marked  ability,  and  to  the  entire  satis- 
faction  of  the  people,  and  the  bar  of  the  whole  state. 
During  those  eighteen  years  he  served  asChief  Jus- 
tice three  terms,  and  is  the  first  native  born  citizen 
of  Illin  >is  who  had  held  that  responsible  and  dig 
nified position.  During  the  eighteen  yearswhich 
hi'  held  the  office  of  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  the  litigation  was  larger,  more  complicated 
and  important,  than  in  the  fifty-two  years  which 
intervened  from  the  admission  of  the  state  to  the 
year  1870.  The  legal  controversies  of  the  citizens 
had  changed  from  the  simple  questions  of  law, 
which  were  the  subjects  .if  judicial  discussion  and 
determination  in  the  early  history  of  the  state,  to 
questions  more  abstruse  and  difficult,  depending 
upon  more  enlarged,  involved  and  complex  con 
ditions  of  fact.  The  law  suit  of  1870  and  the  law 
suit  of  1820  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State 
were  very  different  as  legal  controversies.  In 
later  years  immense  records  had  to  be  examined 
and  digested,  in  order  to  present  the  whole  case, 
and  fully  develop  the  real  issue  to  lie  determined. 
In  the  power  to  master  a  voluminous  record,  and 
to  eliminate  the  immaterial  matter  of  a  legal  pro- 
ceeding, Judge  Scott  has  great  ability,  as  shown 
in  his  numerous  opinions  upon  almost  every  con- 
ceivable subject  of  human  contention.  A  supreme 
court  of  the  state  is  much  more  diversified  irj 
its  jurisdiction  than  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  the  court 
of  final  jurisdiction  for  almost  every  wrong 
which  can  be  committed,  and  for  every  right 
which  can  be  protected.  Subject  to  the  lim- 
ited jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  it  is  the  court  of  final  re- 
sort which  settles,  by  the  authority  of  law.  tin- 
many  contentions  and  disputes  incident  to  men 
as  they  form  human  society.  During  his  term  of 
service,  the  labors  of  the  court  extended  through 
seventy-three  volumes  of  reports,  so  that  it  may 
be  safely  assumed,  that  his  contribution  to  the 
body  of  judicial  law  of  Illinois,  is  as  large  and  im- 


portant as  any  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  at 
any  period  in  the  history  of  the  state.  His  services 
in  the  Supreme  Court  covereda  period  which  may 

be  called  formative  as  to  some  of  the  more 
material  interests  of  the  state,  and  from  which  im- 
portant litigation  originated.  The  park  systems 
of  Chicago,  the  railroad  and  warehouse  commis- 
sion, the  modified  special  assessments  methods. 
and  the  many  questions  of  corporation  law  grow- 
ing out  of.  and  dependent  upon,  the  adoption  of  the 
new  constitution.  The  protection  of  the  life  and 
liberty  of  the  citizen  is  the  most  important  and 
delicate  trust  committed  to  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
court;  and  one  of  the  leading  opinions  of  the  court 
on  that  subject,  was  written  by  Judge  Scott  in 
the  case  of  Ker  vs.  The  People  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  reported  in  tin'  110th  volume.  The  ques- 
tion presented  by  the  record  was  one  new  and 
novel,  and  called  for  the  highest  and  best  resources 
of  judicial  reasoning  in  the  determination  of  legal 
question  made  by  the  facts.  The  defendant,  Ker, 
committed  the  crime  of  embezzlement  and  larceny 
in  Chicago,  as  the  cashier  of  a  bank,  and  fled  to 
Peru,  at  the  time  that  country  was  in  military 
possession  of  the  Chileans,  and  it  was  practicably 
impossible  to  proceed  under  the  treaty  for  his 
return.  Owing  to  the  condition  of  the  country. 
the  defendant  was  taken  by  force,  placed  on  board 
a  United  States  ship-of-war,  and  brought  back  to 
the  United  States.  When  he  was  arraigned  in  the 
Criminal  Court  of  Chicago,  he  pleaded  in  defense 
the  illegality  of  his  arrest  and  extradition.  The 
court  below  sustained  a  demurrer  to  the  [ilea,  and 
the  case,  upon  the  correctness  of  that  decision. 
was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  court 
in  a  very  able  opinion  delivered  by  Judge  Scott 
sustained  the  decision  of  the  criminal  court,  and 
from  that  decision  an  appeal  was  taken  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  State 
Court  said:  "A  fugitive  from  justice  has  no  asylum 
in  a  foreign  country  when  he  is  guilty  of  an  offense 
for  which  he  is  liable  or  subject  to  extradition  by 
treaty  between  this  and  the  foreign  government. 
If  he  is  illegally  and  forcibly  removed  from 
such  foreign  country,  that  country  alone  has 
the  cause  of  complaint,  and  he  cannot  complain 
for  it."  In  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  it  is  said:  "The  treaties  of 
extradition,  to  which  the  United  States  are 
parties,  do  not  guarantee  a  fugitive  from  justice 
from  one  of  the  countries  an  asylum  in  the  other. 
They  do  not  give  such  person  any  greater,  or 
more  sacred  right  of  asylum  than  he  had  before."' 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  line  of  argument  pursued 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


bj  Judge  Sr..ti  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois 

was,  in  Bubstance,  followed  by  the  Supreme ( ' i 

,.r  the  United  States,  and  by  a  series  of  uniform 
judicial  determinations,  the  law  upon  an  imporl 
ant  question  of  individual  liberty  and  international 
right,  was  settled  as  far  as  ii  can  be  settled  by  the 

decisions  of  the  highest  courts  of  i  nation.     In 

the  case  "f  Lenfers  vs.  Henkle  (73  111.  R.)  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  was  called  upon  to  de 
cide  a  question  «  hich,  up  to  i  he  time  of  the  decis 
ion,  bad  never  been  passed  upon  by  any  courl 
either  in  England  or  the  United  States.  The  con 
troversy  relates  to  the  dower  interest  of  a  widow 
in  the  mineral  en-  mining  lands  of  the  husband. 

Judge  Scotl  delivered  the  opini f  the  courl  on 

the  question  involved  in  a  remarkably  clear,  orig 
inal.  and  well-reasoned  argument,  Bhowing  his 
ability  to  deal  with  questions  upon  the  broad 
ground  of  original  thought,  unaided  by  express 
authority.      During   lus   term  of   service   in   the 

Supre Court    he   wrote    man)    opinions    u] 

the  subject  of  municipal  taxation  and  the  law  of 
real  estate  property,  growing  out  of  the  great  value 
of  land  in  Chicago;  but  the  compass  of  this  arti- 
cle will  not  permit  special  reference  to  them. 
They  will  si  a  ml  as  limitation  to,  and  qualifications 
upon,  municipal  authority  and  the  law  of  realty 
throughout  the  entire  history  of  that  state  which 
has  to  deal  with  the  most  remarkable  municipal 
corporation  that  lias  ever  appeared  in  the  history 
of  time.  The  Judge  has  great  respect  for  the 
dignity  cf  judicial  place  and  power,  and  no  man 
ever  presided  in  a  court  with  more  respect  for  his 
environments  than  did  Judge  Scott.  As  a  result 
of  that  m  him,  the  proceedings  were  always  orderly 
upon  the  part  of  every  one,  bar,  audience  and  the 
..Minis  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  His  opin- 
ions are  fine  specimens  of  judicial  thought,  always 
clear,  logical,  and  as  brief  as  the  character  of  the 
case  would  permit.  He  never  enlarged  beyond  the 
necessities  of  the  legal  thought  in  order  to  indulge 
in  the  drapery  of  literature.  His  mind  during  the 
entire  period  of  his  course  at  the  bar  and  on  the 
bench  had  been  directed  in  the  line  of  his  profes 
and  his  duty,  and  as  a  result,  he  has  not  given 
much  time  to  speculation  and  money  making. 
But  by  the  judicious  investments  of  the  reward 
of  his  toil,  he  is  now  in  independent  and  prosper 
..us  cii  I  taring  his  term  of  sen  ice  as 

county  judgeinthe  year  ls">:i  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Charlotte  A.  Perry,  daughter  of  Rev.  David 

J.  Perry, of  Bloomington.     His  marriage  was si 

happy.  Mrs.  Scott  is  a  lady  of  culture  and  refine 
ni.'iit.  ami  enjoys  with  grace  and  w  iihmit  ostenta 


ti.. n  the  assured  place  given  her  by  the  public 
service  and  life  of  her  husband.  They  have  had 
two  children  who  died  in  their  infancy,  but  have 
an  adopted  daughter  to  whom  they  are  devoted  in 
the  most  fervent  attachment.  The  Judge  is  the 
owner  of  many  fine  farms  in  the  vicinity  of 
Bloomington,  and  to  the  care  "f  these  he  devotes 

siderable    attention,    renting    them    t.i    good 

tenants  at   not   i e  thai hall'  the  ordinary 

rent  of  other  farms  of  like  improvements  and  sit 
uation.  He  takes  great  delight  in  the  success  and 
welfare  of  his  truants,  and  as  an  inducement  t<> 
them  for  their  toil  he  gives  them  the  lowest  renl 
he  can  afford.  He  is  of  fine  literary  taste,  and  as 
a  result  "f  that  inclination  he  has  one  >.f  the 
choicest  libraries  in  central  Illinois,  abounding  in 
books  of  standard  quality  and  highest  excellence 
of  authorship.  His  tastes  are  simple,  but  refined 
and  delicate,  and  whatever  he  has  isof  the  best 
quality.     Since  his  retirement  from  the  bench  his 

time  has  I n  devoted  to  looking  after  his  private 

interests  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  home  and 
library.  Conspicuous  among  the  many  good  traits 
i.f  his  character,  is  his  fearless  devotion  I"  what 
ever  he  thinks  comes  within  the  pale  of  public  or 
private  duty.  He  has  moral  courage  lit  for  any 
emergency,  and  although  he  has  always  been  a 
pronounced  Republican,  he  is  without  partisan 
prejudice,  and  in  his  candidacy  he  has  been  sup 

ported  with   enthusiasm    by    many   leaders   of   the 

opposition,  He  is  now,  as  he  has  been  for  many 
years,  a   devoted   member    cf    the    Presbyterian 

Church  and  a  constant  attendant  upon    its  minis 

trations.     His  judicial   term,  extending  through 

twenty  six  years  of  uninterrupted  service,  is  all 
honor  to  the  Stale,  and  his  character  as  a    man  is 

well  worthy  the  admiration  of  the  whole  people. 


ANSON  STAGER. 

GENERAL  ANSON  STAGES  was  born  in  (in 

tari iinty.  New  York,  April  20,  L825.    His  pa 

rents  were  Henry  W  and  Ahnira  (Anson)  Stager. 
His  grandfather  emigrated  from  Holland  to  this 
country  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen 
tury,  and  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  He 
subsequently  settled  in  New  York,  where  he  died 
in  the  year  L834.     His  father  was  a  manufacturer 

Of  edge  tools  at  Rochester,  in  the  same  state. 
Which  business  he  carried  on  till  the  time  of  his 
death,  which   occurred    in    1843.      His   mother  was 


,,'..    .       ... 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


73 


of  English  extraction.  She  was  a  most  amiable 
and  highly  accomplished  lady,  and  lived  revered 
and  esteemed  by  a  large  circle  of  friends  to  the 
ripe  old  age  of  eighty  two  years.  She  died  in  1871. 
Like  a  large  majority  of  those  who  entered  early 
into  the  telegraph  service,  Mr.  Stager  was  "of  the 
fourth  estate,"  having  at  sixteen  years  of  age  en 
gaged  in  printing  under  the  instruction  of  Henry 
O'Reilly,  himself  afterward  a  pioneer  in  the  build- 
ing and  ( iperating  of  telegraphs.  In  October,  181(>. 
Mi.  Stager  commenced  work  as  an  operator  in 
Philadelphia.  He  shortly  after  removed  to  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  and  upon   the  extensi f 

the  line  across  the  Alleghanies  was  the  first  oper- 
ator who  worked  in  Pittsburgh,  In  the  spring  of 
lsis  he  was  made  chief  operator  of  the  "National 
Lines'*  at  Cincinnati,  in  which  position  he  served 
so  acceptably  that  in  1852  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  superintendent  of  the  lines  of  the  Missis 
si]i]ii  Valley  Printing  Telegraph  Company.  In 
July  of  the  same  year,  through  the  absorption  of 
the  New  York  State  Printing  Telegraph  Com 
pany's  lines  by  the  Mississippi  Valley  Printing 
Telegraph  Company,  his  supervision  was  extended 
over  that  state.  Mr.  Stager  was  prominent  in  or- 
ganizing the  various  lines  and  interests  leased  by 
and  consolidated  with  the  Western  Union  Tele 
graph  Company,  and  upon  the  organization  of 
that  company  he  assumed  the  position  of  its  gen 
era!  superintendent.  The  extensive  and  elaborate 
system  of  railroad  telegraphs  at  present  in  use  on 
all  the  railroads  in  the  West  and  Northwest  is  his 
work.  The  intimate  connection  existing  between 
the  telegraph  ami  the  railroads  of  the  country, 
combining  two  great  and  distinct  interests  that 
of  the  telegraph  company  in  the  revenue  earning 
business  of  the  railroad  lines,  and  that  of  the  rail- 
road companies  in  the  transmission  of  their  own 
messages,  the  moving  of  trains,  comparison  and 
adjustment  of  accounts  between  stations,  and  all 
t  tie  detail  of  correspondence  that  attaches  to  rail- 
roading is  one  affording  ample  opportunity  for 
(dashing  and  confusion.  By  the  admirable  sim- 
plicity, complete  adaptability  and  perfection  of 
detail  of  Mr.  Stager's  system  of  contracts  and  plan 
of  operating  railroad  lines,  these  interests  work 
together  in  entire  harmony.  Telegraphic  facili- 
ties are  always  at  the  disposal  of  the  railroads  in 
emergency,  and  have  again  and  again  given  most 
vital  aid.  while  a  reciprocal  promptness  to  assist 
the  telegraph  is  invariably  shown  by  the  railroads 
when  occasion  arises.  The  days  of  the  growth  of 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  from  its 
little  nucleus  of  a  single  wire  from   Buffalo  to 


Louisville.  Ky..  to  its  full  and  perfect  stature. 
were  anything  but  days  of  idleness  to  its  officers, 
and  Mr.  Stager  was  a  busy  man  all  those  years. 
Riding  by  stage-coach,  steamboat  and  rail  (and 
there  were  no  sleeping  cars  in  those  times),  by- 
night,  consulting,  directing,  making  contracts  and 
executing  the  work  they  called  for  by  day.  In-  oc- 
cupied the  time  until  I860— to  what  practical  ef- 
fect the  growth  and  success  of  the  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company  in  the  territory  over  which 
his  supervision  extended  lust  testify.  When 
Sumter  was  tired  on  the  Governors  of  Ohio,  Illi- 
nois and  Indiana  took  possession  of  the  telegraph 
lines  in  those  States  for  military  purposes,  put- 
ting them  at  once  in  charge  of  Mr.  Stager  as  rep- 
resenting themselves  in  their  official  capacities. 
This  trust  was  not  transferred  during  the  war. 
Mr.  Stager  accompanied  General  McCiellan  in  his 
West  Virginia  campaign,  during  which  he  estab- 
lished the-  rirst  system  of  Held  telegraphs  used 
during  the  rebellion.  When  General  McCiellan 
was  transferred  to  Washington  Mr.  Stager  was 
called  by  him  to  that  department  to  organize  the 
military  telegraph.  This  he  accomplished,  re- 
maining in  charge  thereof  until  November,  1861, 
at  which  time  he  was  commissioned  captain  and 
assistant  quartermaster,  and  by  order  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  appointed  chief  of  United  States 
military  telegraphs  throughout  the  United  States. 
He  was  subsequently  commissioned  colonel  and 
aide-de-camp,  and  assigned  to  duty  in  the  war  de- 
partment, and  was  also  placed  in  charge  of  the 
cypher  correspondence  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 
The  cryptography  used  in  this  correspondence 
through  the  entire  war,  which  baffled  the  most 
persistent  efforts  of  tin-  rebel  telegraphers  and 
officers  to  translate  it.  was  in  all  its  details  his. 
though  he  laid  no  claim  to  its  germ.  Colonel 
Stager  remained  in  the  service  until  September. 
1865,  and  was  breveted  brigadier  general  for  val- 
uable and  meritorious  services.  Following  the 
close  of  the  war  the  consolidation  of  the  South 
western  and  American  Telegraph  companies  with 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  necessi- 
tati-d  a  reorganization  of  the  latter.  At  this  time 
the  general  superintendency  of  the  consolidated 
company  was  ottered  to.  and  urged  upon.  General 
Stager.  For  reasons  of  his  own.  preferring  to  re- 
main in  the  West,  he  declined  the  appointment. 
A  result  of  this  was  the  creation  of  the  present 
three  grand  divisions  -the  Central.  Eastern  and 
Southern— General  Stager  accepting  the  general 
superintendency  of  the  central,  which  left  him  in 
charge  of  the  same   territory  as  before   the  reor 


74 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLIXois. 


ganization,  with  his  headquarters  established  at 
Cleveland.  Four  years  later  the  business  of  the 
telegraph  company  had  bo  largelj  increased  in  the 
ppi  valley  thai  Cleveland  was  found  t"  be 
i  a  central  point,  and  during  the  summer 
ol  1869  headquarters  were  transferred  to  Chicago. 
Here  General  Stager  found  an  ample  field  in  the 
development  of  an  admirable  system  to  meet  the 
constantly  increasing  wants  of  a  marvelously  ac 
live  business  community.  The  men  who  were  i  d 
gaged  in  building  up  the  NorthweBl  had  already 
discerned  the  importance  of  telegraphic  facilities 
to  their  work,  luit  it  was  onlj  after  I  leneral  Stager 

had    i 'e  thoroughly  organized   the  work   that 

thej  tullj  comprehended  what  a  tree  use  of  those 
facilities  could  do  tor  them.  They  learned  that 
the  business  thai  patronized  the  telegraph  mosl 
prospered  mosl  rapidly.  General  Stager's  execu 
tive  ability  received  the  must  marked  recognition 
in  this  city.  He  was  widely  consulted  and  his 
judgment  was  held  in  high  esteem.  It  was  under- 
stood thai  if  he  took  a  share  in  any  enterprise  it 
was  safe  tor  others  to  do  so,  and  was.pretty  sure 
to  succeed.  He  was  president  of  theWestern  Elec- 
tric Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago.  He  was 
also  president  of  the  American  Electric  Society  and 
\  it -«-  president  of  the  Babcock  Manufacturing  Co. 
General  Stager  introduced  the  telephone  business 
in  Chicago  and  vicinity.  He  was  also  the  origin 
ator  of  the  Western  Elect  ric  Company,  and  organ 
ized  the  Western  Edison  Light  Company.  He 
was  also  connected  with  the  Vanderbill  railroad 
interests  centering  in  Chicago,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  at  his  new  residence 
corner  of  Michigan  Avenue  and  18th  street,  March 
26,  1885,  he  was presidenl  "f  the  Western  Electric 
Company,  the  Chicago  Telephone  Company,  the 
Central  (Jnion  Telephone  Company,  the  Western 
Edison  Light  Company,  and  vice  presidenl  of  the 
Michigan  Telephone  Company.  He  was  also 
director  in  the  Chicago  £  Northwestern  Railroad 
Company,  New  York.  Chicago  &  St.  Louis  (Nickel 
Plate),  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad,  and  the 
Cantilevei  Bridget  lompanyand  the  North  Western 
National  Bank.  Of  clear,  quick  and  accurate  judg 
mc-nt.  full  of  vital  force  and  energy,  self  reliant 
and  persistent,  General  Stager  stood  in  the  front 
rank  of  his  profession,  a  man  of  distinguished 
administrative  and  executive  ability.  Not  less 
quick  in  action  than  in  conception  and  decision, 
his  errors  were  more  liable  to  be  those  of  commis 
sion  than  omission,  though  few  of  either  sort 
stand  against  him.  In  controversy  he  greatl} 
preferred  the  initiative.  ha\  ing  an  abiding  faith  in 


the  proverbial  first  blow  as  the  best  hair  of  the 
battle.  What  he  was  in  business  he  was  in  Bocial 
life.  He  was  faithful  in  friendship,  and  his  genial 
disposition  and  high  spirits  made  him  an  especial 

favorite  both  in  the  club  and  the  drawing  t n. 

t  ieneral  Stager  was  a  vest  ryman  of  Trinity  Parish 
Protestant  Episcopal  ( ihurch  of  ( Ibicago,  and  was 
a  liberal  contributor,  not  only  to  the  institutions 
of  in-  own  denomination,  but  to  religious  and 
benevolent  enterprises  generally.  He  was  not  a 
politician  in  the  accepted  Bense  of  that  term,  but 
always  voted  the  Republican  ticket.  He  was 
married  November  11.  1*17.  to  Miss  Rebecca 
Sprague,  daughter  of  the  late  William  Sprague, 
Esq.,  of  Buffalo,  X.  V.  Of  five  children  Lorn  or 
this  union,  three  are  still  living,  viz.:  Mrs.  I".  S. 
Gorton,  of  Chicago;  Mrs.  K.  W.Hicox,of  Cleve 
land.  Ohio,  and  the  Lady  Arthur  Butler,  oi 
London,  England.   Mrs.  Stager  died  October,  1883. 


SAMUEL    M.   NICKERSON. 

S  \  \1  UEL  M.  NICKJERSON  was  horn  in  Chat- 
ham. Mass.,  June  14th,  1830.  Hecomesofa  lone 
lived  race.  His  father.  Ensign  Nickerson,  was 
horn  in  L  790,  and  lived  to  be  eight}  nine  years  old, 

while  his  mother,  who  was  Rebecca  Mayo,  was 
horn  17'.^,  and  died  in  Is74  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two.    In  1872  this  old  couple  celebrated,  at  North 

Chatham,  Mass..  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  their 
wedding.  Ensign  Nickerson  was  a  poor  man  and. 
though  he  realize. I  the  advantages  of  a  thorough 
education,  was  unable  to  give  his  son  Samuel  all 
he  could  wish  in  the  way  of  facilities  for  acquir- 
ing one.    He  did  the  best  he  could,  however,  and 

when  his  hoy  was  seven  years  of   age  he  removed 

to  Boston,  that  the  advantages  of  a  public  school, 

at  least,  might  be  attained.  Samuel  took  full 
advantage  of  his  opportunities,  both  at  the  public 
school  in  Boston,  and  later  at  an  academy  in  Xew 
Hampshire.  Of  the  latter  the  late  John  Went 
worth  wrote  in  a  pamphlet,  a  few  years  before  his 

death,  as  follows:    "1    have  recently  ascertained 

that  Samuel  M.  Xiekerson  of   this  city,  one  of  the 

wealthiest  men  in  the  Northwest,  and  president 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago,  and  its 
largest  stockholder,  was  a  student  at  Xew  Hamp 
ton.  N.  H.,  and  a  member  of  the  Social  Fraternity 

in  ls|7.  He  took  his  start  in  t he  world  with  no 
other  capital    than  a  Xew  Hampshire  education. 

Having  obtained  what   schooling  his  father  was 


t*&4 


3LkJL  7/ i  Ac 


az^€e>-< 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


75 


able  to  give  him,  Samuel  began  to  think  of  what 
he  should  do  in  the  great  world  before  him.  He 
had  a  brother  in  Florida  who  was  the  proprietor 
of  a  country  store,  and  receiving  an  offer  to  go 
there  as  a  clerk  he  accepted  it,  his  father  purchas- 
ing him  a  passage  from  Boston  to  his  new  home 
in  the  South.  He  did  some  hard  thinking  during 
the  voyage  and  some  of  the  resolves  made  at  that 
time  have  been  his  watch-words  in  maturer  years. 
One  thing  was  very  plain  to  him;  he  would  be 
obliged  to  make  his  own  way,  to  fight  his  own 
battles,  and  he  determined  to  do  his  duty  and  to 
do  right  at  any  cost.  The  very  day  of  his  arrival 
at  Appalachicola,  the  town  where  his  brother 
lived,  he  began  his  work  behind  the  counter.  He 
had  not  been  there  long  before  he  realized  that 
a  position  as  clerk  in  a  small  country  town  was 
not  in  any  manner  an  approximation  to  the  air 
castles  his  brain  had  conjured  up,  but  being 
steadfast  of  purpose  he  remained  until  he  felt 
certain  he  could  improve  his  condition  by  mak- 
ing a  change.  In  three  years'  time  he  had  saved 
some  money,  and  he  concluded  to  go  into  business 
for  himself.  His  own  capital  was  not  by  any 
means  sufficient,  but  he  had  by  courteous  treat- 
ment made  friends  with  some  New  York  parties, 
and  they,  liking  his  zeal  and  having  faith  in  his 
abilities,  volunteered  to  back  him  in  his  wished- 
for  enterprise.  Dame  Fortune  could  not  spare  him 
all  her  smiles,  and  in  1857  she  turned  away  her  face. 
His  store  took  fire  and  his  stock  of  goods  was 
destroyed.  Although  he  had  been  careful  and  had 
never  indulged  in  speculations,  the  fire  left  him 
unable  to  meet  certain  obligations  which  he  had 
incurred  in  good  faith  when  trade  was  prosper- 
ous. After  due  deliberation  Mr.  Nickerson  de- 
cided that  he  could  never  hope  to  retrieve  his 
losses  in  Florida.  The  conduct  of  his  business 
had  given  him  a  knowledge  of  the  great  commer- 
cial centers,  and  he  finally  selected  Chicago  as  the 
scene  of  his  next  endeavors.  He  went  there  in 
the  spring  of  1858  and  with  the  assistance  of  some 
friends  he  engaged  in  the  distilling  business  in  a 
small  way.  His  success  met  his  highest  expecta 
tions  and  his  first  act  when,  in  1861,  he  found  him- 
self upon  a  firm  footing,  was  to  liquidate  all  his 
Florida  obligations,  principal  and  interest.  It  was 
the  voluntary  act  of  an  honest  man,  for  his  cred- 
itors had,  in  1859,  cancelled  all  his  obligations  upon 
payment  of  fifty  per  cent,  of  his  indebtedness. 
He  continued  in  the  distilling  business  until  1863, 
when  he  retired  and  invested  his  money  in  the 
Chicago  City  Railway  Company  and  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Chicago.     In  1865  he  was  made 


president  of  the  Railway  Company,  and  on  the 
the  organization  of  the  First  National  Bank  in 
1863,  he  became  the  vice-president  of  that  con- 
cern. He  served  in  this  capacity  until  1867  when 
he  was  elected  president.  This  position  he  re- 
tained until  June,  1891;  when  he  resigned.  The 
following  correspondence  which  passed  between 
Mr.  Nickerson  and  the  Board  of  Directors  fully 
explains  his  reasons  for  this  step,  and  testifies  to 
the  confidence  and  high  regard  in  which  he  was 
held  by  the  Board  of  Directors  throughout  the 
quarter  of  a  century's  service  as  executive  head  of 
that  great  financial  institution: 

"  Chicago,  Jan.  22, 1891. 
"  To  the  Directors  of  the  First  National  Bank 
op  Chicago: 

"  Dear  Sirs: — Before  proceeding  to  the  election 
of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year,  I  wish  to  state 
that,  should  you  decide  to  clcrt  me  president,  it 
must  be  with  the  understanding  and  notice  that  I 
shall  resign  the  office  whenever  Mr.  L.  J.  Gage 
shall  be  relived  from  his  duties  as  President  of 
the  World's  Fair,  and  can  devote  all  of  his  time  to 
the  affairs  of  this  bank;  and  when  that  time  ar- 
rives I  shall  take  pleasure  in  co-operating  with 
you  in  electing  him  to  take  my  place,  if  you  then 
decide  to  do  so.  It  would  be  my  desire  to  con- 
tinue as  a  director  of  this  bank,  and  co-operate 
with  you  in  working  for  its  interests  and  success. 
It  is  not  my  intention  to  engage  in  any  other  busi- 
ness. 

"I  have  arrived  at  a  time  in  life  when  I  feel  it 
to  be  my  duty  to  delegate  to  younger  heads  and 
hands  the  responsibilities  and  duties  that  are  in- 
volved in  the  position  I  have  held  in  this  bank 
for  the  past  twenty  four  years  as  president,  and 
four  years  previously  as  vice-president,  which 
covers  the  entire  time  since  its  organization  in 
1863.  The  success  which  has  attended  this  bank 
is  known  to  you  all.  For  this  I  have  to  thank  the 
directors  and  other  officers,  who  by  their  advice 
and  labors  have  made  this  success  possible. 

"Thanking  you  fur  your  many  evidences  of  con- 
fidence and  good- will,  and  Imping  that  the  future 
success  of  this  bank  may,  under  your  direction, 
be  equal  to  or  better  than  the  past,  I  await  your 
decision  as  indicated  above. 

■■  Yours  very  respectfully, 

"  1  Signed)     Sam'l  M.  Nickerson." 

"  Chicago,  Jan.  22, 1891. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  communication  of  Mr. 
Nickerson,  just  presented,  be  spread  upon  the 
records. 

"While  we  deeply  regret  the  suggestion  that  he 
may  feel  compelled  to  resign  the  office  before  the 
expiration  of  the  current  year,  we  feel  that  it  is 
for  the  interest  of  the  bank  that  he  should  con- 
tinue his  wise  and  judicious  guardianship  as  its 
chief  executive  so  long  as  circumstances  will  per- 
mit. 

"We  recognize  the  fact,  however,  that  twenty- 
five  years  of   constant  direction   over  affairs   so 


7" 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


large  and  important  as  are  here  implied,  entitle 
aim,  when  he  shall  finalh  demand  it,  to  the  en 
nt  of  that  real  and  leisure  to  which  we  all 
look  forward  as  the  jus!  reward  ol  long  con 
tinued  and  faithful  work." 

••Chi,  x,,«,.  June  30th,  L891 
"To  the  Directors  op  th]  First  National  I!\m* 
iicago: 
■■(  ientlemen:     Referring  to  mj  communication 
of  Januar}  22d  last.in  which  I  stated  thai  if  then 
of  tins  bank    it  would   be   «  ith 
the  understanding  and  notice  thai   1  should  nave 
the  privilege  of  resigning  at  anytime  during  the 
ensuing  year.    Thai  time  lias  now  arrived  and  I 
herebj  tendet  mj  resignation,  and  ask  its  accept 
ance  t',,  take  effect  on  an, I  after  .Inly  8th,  next. 
••  Yours  \  erj  respectfully, 

"(Signed)    Sah'l  M.  Nickerson." 

"Chicago,  June  30,  1891. 
"Resolved,  Thai  thethanksof  the  stockholders 

,,f  this  hank  air  justly  due  I,'  Mr. Samuel  M .  Nick 
erson  for  the  efficienl  and  faithful  manner  in 
which  tor  so  many  years  he  has  discharged  the 
duties  ,,t  president  of  this  institution. 

-In  accepting  his  resignation  this  day  tender*  d, 
this  Board  desires  to  place  on  record  its  high  a], 
preciation  of  his  administration.  We  congratu 
late  ourselves,  however,  thai  in  his  retirement 
from  the  office  "i  president,  tin-  hank  will  still  re 
tain  in  him  as  a  director,  the  wis,-  counsel  which 
his  lon^  experience  lias  s,,  well  qualified  him  t,, 
give." 

'I'lir  First  National  Bank  of  Chicago  was  the 
eighth  national  hank  organized  in  the  United 
States.  The  growth  of  this  institution  has  been 
rather  plan nal  in  the  history  of  financial  or- 
ganizations. 'I'll''  paid  in  capital  i-  {3,000,000, 
surplus  $2,000,000,  deposit  825,000,000,  and  it  cer 
tainly  stands  at  the  head  of  all  banking  institu 
tions  in  the  West.  Its  Battering  success  is  due  hi 
the  wise  counsels  that  have  always  prevailed  in 
its  management.  Edmund  Aiken  was  its  firsl 
president  ami  original  founder,Mr.  Nickerson  he 
ing  vice-president  under  his  administration.  At 
present  the  clearings  of  this  hank  are  about  one 

I,, nilli    the   am, amt  ol'  all   the  Chicago   hanks  put 

I  her.    Th,'  stork  is  distributed  among  ninet} 

n.    They  are  all  well-known  ami  careful 

business  men.    The  ai I  th,'  president  ami  the 

officers  has  been  t,,  ,1,,  a  careful  business,  increas 
ing  w  ith  i  he  di  mandi  of  t  he  city  .  No  especial 
branch  of   business   nor  any    particular  interest 

has  any  claims  on  this  institution.  Its  patrons 
arc   from    all    classes   ami    the    policy    has   been  to 

cater  t,,  all   regular  legitimate  interests,     [ndeed, 

th,-  Firsl  National  Hank  is  essentially  the  hank 
,,f  hie  I,. i       in,  ii.    Thi  i  bat  i-  ,,i  its 

tram  e  :  i      ii  above  all   tear  of  financial 


or  depressions  in  trade,  When  the  panic 
of  1873  su.pt  over  the  country  this  hank  was  pre 
pared  for  it.  It  is  altogether  likely  that  the  far- 
sighted  officers  had  seen  the  cloud  gathering  in 
the  distance  long  before  its  presence  was  fell  in 
.New  York.  At  any  rate,  they  wen-  ready  to  meet 
it.      When    the    proposition    was     made    bj    other 

banks  of  Chicago  to  suspend  payment  for  afew 
.lays.  Mr.  Lyman  J.Gage,  then  cashier  i.Mr.  Nick 
erson  being  at  the  time  ahsent  in  Europe),  for  anil 
on  behalf  of  the  directors,  opposed  it.    The  doors 

were  not  Closed    tot   a    -iiil'Ic  day,  nor  was   any  ,le 

mand,  however  large,  refused.  The  record  made 
during  those  trying  times  is  one  to  be  proud  of. 
In  1867  Mr.  Nickerson  organized  the  Stock  Yards 

National  Bank  ami  was  president  of   it  until    1ST.'!. 

S.ns   a   contemporary   writer  of    Mr.   Nick: 

"The  man  who  stamls  at  the  head  of.  aral  owns  a 
large  interest  in  such  an  institution  as  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Chicago  might  he  pardoned  if 
he  should  act  the  autocrat .  hut  Mr.  Nickerson  is 
as  far  removed  from  one  as  can  !„•  imagined.  He 
is  extremely  democratic  in  his  dealings  with  his 

fellow   men.     There    is    no    red    tape  to   he  encoiin 

tered  in  the  desire  to  see  Mr.  Nickerson  in  his 
office;  no  herald  of  the  coming  ever  presents  him 

self  for  a  card  with  which  to  give  notice  that  an 
audience  is  desired.      If  a  gentleman  desires  to  see 

Mr.  Nickerson  at  the  hank  he  is  mere!}  obliged  t,, 

walk  into  his  office,  for  the  door  is  always  open 
and  latch  string  out.  not  only  during,  hut  after 
business  hours.     If  Mr.  Nickerson  is  not  engaged 

he  ei\,s  his  immediate  attention   to  the  visitor;   if 

he  is.  the  \  isitor  is  graciously  requested  to  take  a 
seat,  lie  listens  with  attention,  and  if  the  busi- 
ness is  of  a  nature  to  warrant  it.  he  enters  into 
the  heart  of   it  at  once  and  lets   his  caller  depart, 

feeling  that  he  is  welcome  to  come  again,  lie  has 
never  shown  the  least  desire  to  court  publicity, 
n,,r  is  there  about  him  any  shadow  or  sign  of 
mock  modesty.  Be  gives  With  a  free  hand  to  all 
deserving  charities  and  is  not  ashamed  to  put  his 
name  to  a  list  of  subscriptions  for  fear  it  may  he 
said  that  he  is  courting  notice."  If  any  one  has  a 
righl  to  possess  a  hobby  it  Would  seem  to  he  such 
a  man  as  Samuel  M.  Nickerson.  He  has  one,  and 
it  is  art.      Perhaps  this  is  due    in  some  measure  to 

the  influence  of  his  estimable  w  ife.  He  was  mar 
rid  in  December,  l*.>s.  to  Miss  Matilda  P.Crosby, 
daughter  of    Isaac  Crosby,  of   Brewster;    Mass. 

Mrs.  Nickerson  is  a  great   lover  of  art. 1  !  of 

the  most  accomplished  ladies  in  the  West.  She 
has  traveled  extensivelj  and  has  many  ,l,\oted 
I,  i,  nds  at  home  and  abroad.      Mr.  and    Mrs.  Nick 


X^spw, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


11 


erson  have  a  beautiful  home  on  the  North  Side. 
It  is  a  mansion  in  its  richness  and  elegance;  bul  a 
home  in  the  taste  with  which  it  is  arranged  and 
appointed.     Mr.  Nickerson  is  an  enthusiast  in  arl 

matters.  He  is  a  leading  director  in  the  Art  In  - 
stitute  and  lias  always  been  a  hearty  supporter 
of  every  local  art  movement.  Genuine  lovereof 
pictures  can  always  obtain  admission  to  his  pri- 
vate gallery,  which  contains  one  of  the  finest  pri- 
vate art  collections  in  the  West,  the  fruits  of  many 
trips  abroad  and  unlimited  expenditure.  The 
prominent  artists  of  Europe  ami  America  are  rep 
resented  upon  its  walls.  His  pictures  have  been 
loaned  freely  for  public  exhibition  and  the  gallery 
is  thrown  open  from  time  to  time  to  the  art 
6chool.  The  Hue  picture  of  the  "Interior  of  St. 
Mark's"  by  David  Neal,  was  presented  by  Mr. 
Nickerson  to  the  Art  Institute.  This  well-known 
work  was  saved  from  the  tire  of  1871,  together  with 
its  companion  picture.  "Westminster  Abbey."  bj 
the  accident  of  being  loaned  for  exhibition  in  New 
Haven.  Conn.,  at  the  time.  It  afterwards  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Nickerson  and  hung  in  his 
gallery  until  it  was  presented  to  the  Art  Institute. 
Something  like  sixty  pictures  adorn  the  walls  of 
Mr.  Nickerson's  gallery,  many  of  them  almost 
priceless.  There  maybe  seen  the  works  of  Roe 
seau.  Corot.  Diaz.  Dupre,  Rosa  Bouheur,  Detaille. 
Gustave  Dore,  I  taubigny,  Van  Ma  ike.  Bouguereau, 
.1.  F.  Millet,  Vibert,  Promentine,  Bierstadt,  Meyer 
von  Bremer,  Ziem,  Inness,  Gabriel  Max,  Gerome 
and  many  others.  When  balls  are  given  by  Mrs. 
Nickerson  this  beautiful  gallery  is  thrown  open 
and  used  as  a  ball  room  and  it  makes  a  grand, 
magnificent  one  indeed,  when-  the  guests,  amid 
such  a  bewildering  cluster  of  genius,  are  at  a  loss 
which  picture  to  devote  themselves  to,  feeling  that 
each  single  one  is  worthy  the  study  of  a  night. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nickerson  have  but  one  child,  a  son. 
Roland  C,  who  is  married  to  Miss  Addie  Daniels, 
the  daughter  of  William  V.  Daniels  of  Chicago. 


GEORGE  L.  DUNLAP. 

Tlier.-  arc  few  men  who  have  attained  greater 
success  or  become  more  prominent  in  their  chosen 
calling  than  Mr.  George  L.  Dunlap,  now  a  leader 
in  Chicago  business  circles  and  for  many  years  an 
active  railway  operator.  Mr.  Dunlap  was  I  "in,  at 
Brunswick,  Maine,  in  1828,  and  is  the  son  of  John 
and  Mary  (Robinson)  Dunlap.     Hiseducation  was 


acquired  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  state 
and  was  supplemented  with  an  academic  course  in 
mathematics  and  engineering  at  the  Gorham 
Academy.  Thus  equipped,  Mr.  Dunlap  began 
active  tield  work  as  a  civil  engineer,  a  calling  for 
which  he  evinced  a  great  liking,  lb-  was  engaged 
in  the  engineering  corps  of  the  Boston  &  Maine 
Railway  when  twenty  years  of  age.  and  continued 
in  the  employ  of  the  company  until  1851,  when  he 
became  identified  with  the  X,-v,  ¥ork<&  Eric  Rail- 
way. Pour  years  of  service  with  this  corporation 
were  concluded  by  Mr.  Dunlap's  removal  to  the 
west,  early  in  1853,  and  his  acceptance  of  tin- 
position  of  assistant  engineer  of  the  Chicago,  St. 
Paul  £  Fond  du  Lac.  which  was  re-organized  in 
1858  as  the  Chicago  a.  Northwestern  Railway. 
About  four  years  later  he  was  tnadi 
superintendent  of  the  road,  a  position  which  he 
til  led  with  signal  ability  tor  fourteen  yi  ars,  resign- 
ing in  1S7-J  to  bring  into  being  the  then  projected 
Montreal  &  Quebec  Railway.  The  seventeen  years 
from  1855  to  IsT'J  cover  an  eventful  and  important 
period  in  Mr.  Dunlap's  life,  and  the  work  he  ac- 
complished during  that  time  has  been  of  great  and 
lasting  benefit  to  the  people  ami  the  business 
interests  ol  the  west.  An  enthusiast  in  his  calling 
and  in  the  prime  of  a  vigorous  manhood,  Mr. 
Dunlap  gave  to  his  work  such  intelligent  and  en- 
ergetic direction  as  not  only  enabled  him  to 
accomplish  great  results,  but  gained  for  him  a 
name  as  a  successful  engineer  and  railway  mana- 
ger. Judge  Blodgett,  who  at  that  time  was  the 
general  counsel  of  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern 
Railway  Company  and  had  intimate  relations  with 
Mr.  Dunlap.  says:  "He  was  probably  the  peel  in 
ability,  energy  and  intelligence  of  any  railway 
operator  in  the  country.  His  relations  with  the 
employees  of  the  companj  under  him  were  very 
happy,  and  enabled  him  to  accomplish  much 
which  would  have  been  impossible  to  a  man  less 
popular.  All  of  Mr.  Dunlap's  subordinates  felt 
that  lie  had  an  honest  interest  in  their  welfare  and, 
having  served  in  minor  positions  himself,  he  had  a 
knowledge  of" their  duties  and  rights  which  were 
never  lost  sight  of."  At  the  time  Mr.  Dunlap  be- 
came associated  with  the  Chicago  A-  Northwestern 
Railway,  the  company,  as  Judge  Blodgett  admits, 
was  very  much  embarrassed,  but  under  his  man- 
agement it  secured  a  large  and  profitable  business 
and  before  he  left  it  had  attained  prominence  as 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  roads  in  the  west.  It 
was  during  Mr.  Dunlap's  administration  that  a 
consolidation  with  the  Chicago  a-  Galena  Railway 
was  affected,  and  many  vital  improvements  were 


78 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


made.  One  of  the  lines  running  to  the  west  wan 
extended  to  Council  Bluffs  and  tor  some  years  was 
the  onlj  eastern  connection  of  the  Union  Pacific. 
Under  bis  supervision  the  Chicago  &  Nortl 

aded  its  line  trom  Janesville,  Wisconsin, 
t.i  the  rich  iron  producing  region  in  the  Northern 
Peninsula  of  Michigan,  and  thus  secured  a  territory 
which  has  ever  since  furnished  the  road  a  very 
remunerative  business.  Mr.  Dunlap  also  con- 
structed the  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  I 
which  were  the  tore-runners  of  the  extensive 
system  which  now  covers  the  states  of  Minnesota 
and  the  Dakotas.  On  leaving  the  company  in 
isT'J.  Mr.  Dunlap  wenl  to  London  in  the  interest 
of  the  Montreal  &   Quebec  Railway,   and  having 

i  i  he  plans  of  construct  ion,  ret  urned  to 
Canada  and  gave  personal  direction  ti>  the  build 
ingot  the  road.  In  lsT'.i.  Mr.  Dunlap  again  en 
gaged  in  railroading  in  Illinois,  where  he  com 
pleted  the  construction  of  the  Wabash   System. 

The  next  year  b instructed  the  road  between 

I  o  and  Strawn,  and  then  retired  trom  the 

active  work  of  engineering  and  railroading.  Earl} 
in  L881,  be  began  business  on  his  own  account,  bj 
erecting  the  Wabash  grain  elevator,  on  the  south 
branch  ot  the  Chicago  river,  near  33rd  street. 
This  is  one  of  the  largest  elevators  in  Chicago,  li 
has  a  storage  capacity  of  1,500,000  bushels  of  grain, 
and  cost  $400,000.  He  sold  this  property  in  1887 
to  a  corporation.  Mr.  Dunlap  is  the  possessor  of 
a  handsome  fortune  as  a  result  of  thirty  years  of 
arduous  labor,  lie  has  practically  retired  [rum 
active  business,  and  during  the  summer  months 

spends  most  "I'  his  time  mi  his  tine  I  arm  near  Lake 

( teneva  in  Walworth  County,  Wisconsin,  which  is 
his  summer  home,  and  in  the  interchange  of 
social  courtesies  in  the  city.  -Mr.  Dunlap  is  a 
member  of  Blanej  Lodge,  No.  271,  LPJ  \..M. 
..i  Chicago,  has  the  degree  of  Master  .Mason,  and 
takes  an  active  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Order. 
He  has  never  entered  tin'    political  arena,  but   IS  a 

pronounced  democrat,  and  by  his  membership  in 
(uois  Cliih,  and  in  other  ways,  contributes 
to    the  bis   party.    .Mr.    Dunlap  was 

married  in  L853,  to  .\li~s  Ellen  M.  Pond,  sme,    de 
ceased.     Bj   this  union   he  has   two  daughters 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Hopkins  of  New  York,  and  Mrs.  Dr.  P. 

Boston  in  Is7'j  he  married  Miss 
Emma  Blanche  Rice,  daughter  ot  Hon.  John  I;. 
Rice  or  Chicago.  .Mr.  Dunlap  is  a  man  of  fine 
address  ami  thorough  culture,  ami  occupies  a  high 
iii  the  soeial  circles  of  Chicago,  a--  well  as 
iii    the  commercial  and   railway   busim 

West. 


JOHN     D.    (ill. 1. KIT. 

There  is  sneh  ii  ii  ii  orin  i  i  j  in  the  lives  of  the  great 
bodj  ot  men.  but  little  profit  could  result  trom  the 
study  of  most  of  them.  Occasionally  an  extraor- 
dinary character   is  developed,  either  physically, 

allj  or  intellectually,  and  so  impresses   itself 

upon  the  people  within  the  reach  of  its  influence, 
that  it  deserves  to  be  Doted  and  studied.  The  Bub- 
ji  ctof  this  brief  sketch  was  such  a  character.  He 
combined  in  a  remarkable  degree  physical,  m 
and  intellectual  superiority.  As  it  seems  to  I" 
necessary  to  give  the  birth  and  something  of  tin' 
lineage  of  all  who  deserve  a  written  biography,  it 
is  proper  to  state  John    Dean   Gillett  descended 

IV a  French  Huguenot  family,  which  emigrated 

I,,  this  country  in  L631,  and  settled  at  Leba 
aon,  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut.  His  grand- 
father Benoni  and  his  father  Eliphaz  Gillett  were 
the  immediate  descendents  of  thii  i  [uguenot  tarn 
ily.  His  father.  Eliphaz  Gillett,  was  horn  iii  1791, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-one  in  1822.  His 
grandmother,  Pheba  Dean,  died  at  the  i 
ninety  two.  His  mother.  Amarilla  Sanford.  lived 
totheage  of  seventy -five,  a  woman  of  great  strength 
of  character.  It  is  proper  to  stale  that  both  of 
his  grandfathers  were  soldiers  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war  and  drew  pensions  for  their  faithful  and 
patriotic  services  in  that  war.  John  Dean  Gillett, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  horn  April  28th, 
1819.  His  lather  died  when  he  was  three  years 
old.  His  mother  overlooked  his  education  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  his  moral  character  up- 
on a  lirm  hasis.      lie  attended   tie'  Lancast  rean 

School  in  New  Haven,  where  he  mastered  the  ,  li 

ments  of  a  good  English  education.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  went  in  a  ship  to  Georgia  to  visit 

an  uncle.  He  supplied  himself  with  various  small 
articles  of  trade,  an. I  during  the  two  years  he 
lived  in  Georgia  he  gave  his  attention  to  merchan- 
dizing in  a  limited  way.  acting  part  of  the  lime  as 
clerk  in  his  uncle's  store.     He  put  himself  at  once 

on  the  side  ot  law  and  order  and  volunteered  to 
join  the  sheriff  of  the  county  in  the  pursuit  and 
arrest  of  one  of  the  most  noted  criminals  of   those 

early  days,  "Murrell  the  forger,"  who  had  bee 

the  tenor  of  the  community.  In  the  Bpring  of 
ls:;s  he  returned  to  Connecticut,  and  for  three 
months  attended  Pearl's  Academy,  in  New  Haven. 

In  the  autumn  of  hs:;s  lie  left  his  native  state  and 
turned  his  face  to  the  far  west.  In  tort)  two  days 
he  made  the  journey  Iron,  New  Haven  to  Illinois. 
going  down  the  Ohio  river  from  Pittsburg  tot 

t henee  up  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis,  and  thence 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


79 


by  stage  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  A  walk  of  twenty 
miles  brought  him  to  Bald  Knob,  where  another 
uncle,  John  D.  Gillett,  resided  on  a  largo  farm  in 
Logan  county.  Next  morning  he  went  to  work 
for  his  uncle  at  $8  a  month.  It  was  hard  work, 
felling  large  oak  trees,  splitting  them  into  rails, 
hauling  the  rails  oul  of  the  woods  to  be  laid  in 
long  lines  i >f  fences  around  new  fields  to  be  broken 
up  with  large,  heavy  prairie  plows,  and  cultivated 
in  corn;  the  corn  all  to  be  cut,  shocked  and  hauled 
out  in  the  dead  of  winter  to  be  fed  to  stock.  Two 
years  of  such  labor  enabled  young  Gillett  to  lay 
up  money  enough  to  enter  at  $1.25  an  acre  forty 
acres  of  rich  prairie  land.  He  was  now  twenty- 
one  years  old,  and  then  and  there  began  that 
career  which  he  uniformly  followed  through  life. 
In  two  years  more  he  increased  his  entries  of 
lands  to  160  acres,  built  a  comfortable  bouse  on 
it,  and  by  184:2  was  the  owner  of  240  acres.  In 
1810,  one  day.  while  crossing  the  Sangamon  river 
on  his  way  from  Springfield  to  his  home,  he  met 
Miss  Lemira  Parke,  a  handsome  young  lady  of 
far  more  than  usual  attainments.  This  interest- 
ing and  attractive  young  lady  at  once  arrested  his 
attention.  She,  too,  lived  in  Logan  county.  He 
very  soon  thereafter  paid  court  to  her,  and  on  the 
31st  day  of  March,  1842,  they  were  married,  and 
next  day  moved  into  his  new  house  and  began  in 
earnest  the  race  of  life.  His  wife  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Elisha  Parke,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Logan 
county,  a  contractor  and  builder  of  excellent  rep 
utation,  both  in  New  York  and  Canada  as  well  as 
in  Illinois,  but  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  of 
his  daughter  to  Mr.  Gillett,  was  living  on  a  fine 
farm  in  Logan  county.  Soon  the  neighbors  and 
the  traveling  public  began  to  make  calls  upon  the 
young  married  couple  in  their  very  comfortable 
home  at  Willow  Point,  on  the  highway  from 
Springfield  to  Bald  Knob  and  Mt.  Pulaski,  the 
county  seatof  Logan  county  one  mile  from  where 
is  now  the  village  of  Cornland,  a  station  on  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad.  At  that  time  Illinois 
was  still  noted  for  the  vast  amount  of  public  and 
unoccupied  lands  to  be  entered  at  $1.25  an  acre. 
Cornland  is  the  center  of  a  vast  territory  of  the 
richest  agricultural  lands  in  the  world.  Young 
Gillett  was  quick  to  perceive  this  great  fact,  and 
at  once  made  up  his  mind  to  cultivate  everj  possi 
ble  acre  he  could  acquire.  Corn  was  worth  from 
six  to  eight  cents  a  bushel.  This  would  not  pay, 
but  corn  fed  to  cattle  and  hogs  would  pay — at 
least  pay  better.  So  at  once  the  young  farmer 
turned  his  attention  to  cattle,  hogs  and  horses. 
In    1850  Mr.   Gillett   had   the   largest   farm,   the 


greatest  number  of  cattle,  hogs  and  horses  of  any 
farmer  in  Logan  county.  He  was  intensely  fond 
of  stock,  but  gave  his  attention  chiefly  to  cattle 
raising.  He  gave  employment  to  large  numbers 
of  men  and  tenants  who  now  performed  most  of 
the  manual  labor  in  raising  crops  and  feeding  and 
herding  the  stock.  Mr.  Gillett  was  a  diligent,  pains- 
taking and  practical  student  of  every  feature  of 
farming  and  stock  raising.  He  studied  carefully 
every  point  in  a  cow  ami  steer,  and  omitted  no 
opportunity  to  purchase  all  the  cattle  his  neigh- 
bors had  to  sell.  He  took  many  risks,  but  his  tine 
discriminating  eye  and  unerring  judgment  ena- 
bled him  almost  always  to  make  sate,  and  gen- 
erally very  remunerative,  investments.  He  soon 
formed  the  purpose  of  creating  a  line  of  graded 
stock  for  the  Chicago  trade  which  would  excel 
anything  in  the  market.  He  bought  the  best 
bulls  and  cows  in  the  available  markets,  but 
never  indulged  in  what  he  considered  the  non- 
sense of  high-priced  animals.  His  keen  and  prac- 
ticed eye  could  at  once  decide  between  a  tine  and  a 
less  fine  or  inferior  animal.  He  had  developed 
into  a  man  of  immense  physical  strength.  In 
his  younger  days  he  personally  took  care  of  his 
stock,  was  always  on  the  alert,  looking  after  their 
wants.  Day  or  night,  rain  or  snow,  his  watchful 
eye  was  ever  over  them.  The  least  unusual  move- 
ment would  arouse  him  from  his  bed;  he  would  go 
out  into  the  herd  and  stay  with  it  until  all  were 
quieted.  Many  a  time  has  he  been  seen  to 
rush  into  the  midst  of  an  alarmed  herd  of  cattle, 
run  up  to  tin-  foremost,  and.  seizing  the  leader  by 
the  horns  and  nostrils,  halt  and  turn  him  back 
into  the  field,  and  compel  all  the  rest  to  follow. 
He  soon  discovered  the  merit  of  blue  grass,  and 
turned  hundreds  of  acres  of  corn  land  to  the 
growth  of  this  fattening  grass.  Very  soon  he 
adopted  the  policy  of  feeding  corn  all  winter,  and 
corn  and  blue  grass  all  summer.  Immense  troughs 
were  kept  filled  with  corn  the  year  round.  It  was 
not  long  until  Mr.  Gillett  became  the  recognized 
head  of  all  that  class  of  Illinois  farmers  who  feed 
cattle  in  this  manner  for  the  Chicago  market.  He 
kept  up  farming  operations  on  the  largest  scale, 
and  omitted  no  opportunity  to  enlarge  the  Held  of 
his  operations.  Tin- writer  has  seen  Mr.  Gillett  go 
into  his  fields  and  in  twenty  minutes  call  around 
him  by  that  wonderful  and  peculiar  voice  to  which 
he  alone  could  give  utterance.  500  head  of  as  fine 
cattle  as  any  eye  ever  looked  upon,  ranging  in 
weight  from  1,800  to  2,400  pounds  each.  In  the 
latter  years  of  his  life  he  shipped  many  hue  cattle 
to  the  English  market.    He  established  and  main- 


8o 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


tsined  for  twenty  live  years  a  line  of  graded  Btock 

ncit  equaled  in  the  United  States.     Be  took  n 

remiums  a1  the  Chicago  fat  Btock  show, 
and  yel  it  is  the  truth  t « .  state  he  never  kepi  in 
Btablee or  under  shelter  cattle  for  exhibition  at 
any  fair,  lie  Frequently  had  cm  his  (arm  twelve 
tci  fifteen  hundred  e,  .us.  and  of  all  kinds,  including 
fat  cattle,  4,000  head.  It  is  not  permissible  in  a 
brief  sketch  c.r  this  character  to  give  in  cletail  the 
many  inti  ta  which  united  tec  make  up 

the  life  of  this  remarkable  man.  Land  was  still 
cheap  in  Illinois,  and  the  best  [and,  too,  for  rais 
ing  corn  and  st...-U  to  !"•  found  in  the  world. 
I  '.\  en  dollar  that  he  could  earn  from  hie  business, 
or  that    he  could   honestly  lay  his  hands  cm.  was 

invested  in  land.      His    faith    in    the    rich  lands  c.f 

central  Illinois  had  no  bounds.  Lov.  prices, 
panics,  dullness  in  trade,  none  of  th dinary  re- 

:  business,  had   the  slightest    effect  U] 

his  predominant  belief  that  investments  in  Illinois 
land-  w c .ul.l  ultimately  pay.  Sometimes  he  would 
sell  lands  he  had  entered, at  an  advanced  price,  for 

purpose  of  entering  still  larger  tracts.  The 
writer  of  this  sketch  once  heard  him  say  that  he 
sold  t"  an  anxious  purchasers  half  section  •  >r  land 
and  then  entered  within  two  miles 
.if  the  tract  sold  a  whole  section  at  $1.25 
month.  In  1852  he.  in  company  with  Robert 
Latham,  his  friend  and  neighbor,  entered  over 
6,000  acresof  land.  Mr.  Gillett  was  a  plain,  un- 
pretentious A rican  boj  of  French  descent   and 

New  England  birth.  Ee  took  hold  of  life  with  a 
firm  hand  and  noble  heart,  determined  to  moveon 
to  the  end  within  the  sc.  .pe  and  range  of  the  social 
inline  lues  an  mi  ml  him.  Throw  n  continually  into 
the  society  of  men  of  worth  and  action,  he  reso 
lutely  conformed  t"  th.-  highesl  standard  the  busi 
ness    relation    requires.     This    deportment    was 

always  consistent  u  ith  the  highest  plane  .if  i a  I 

requirement;  wonderfully  discreet,  of  str 

dignified  will,  so  Btrong  indeed  that  no  s  who 

ever  knew  him  ever  thought  of  trying  l.>  check  or 

it:  self  reliant,  so  thoroughly  so  that  he 
never  was  known  to  ask  anj  an  opinion 

u| my  subject;  he  lie  via-  consulted  any  cine  upon 

business  matters,  never  offered  his  own  opinions 
to  others,  but  always  modestly  refrained  from  in 
with  th.-  affairs  c,f  other  people.  If  his 
opinion  was  sought  by  a  friend  it  was  frankly 
given.  Equipped  with  a  strong  mind  and  form- 
idalile  will,  he  was  well  qualified  tor  anj  station 
in  lire;  In-  wai  capable  of  tin-  largest  ent 

beolutel]  w ithout  fear,  despised  a  mean 
act,  and  always  shunned   the  society  cif  coarse 


in.n.     He  was  frequentl)  urged  to  become  a  can 

didate  for  political  honors,  but  always  dec-lined, 
lie  was  an  ardent    Republican,  an  earnest     patriot 

an. I  was  tin-  persona)  friend  "f  Abraham  I. 
Be  went  to  Washington  t"  see-  Mr.  Lincoln  in 
augu rated  President  of  the  United  States  in  1861. 
Mr.  Gillett  was  a  modest,  even  a  diffident,  man, 
He  uniformly  bore  himself  as  a  gentleman;  he 
was  never  heard   to  give  expression   t'.  a  vulgar 

phrase-    or    sentiment.      .Mentally    he    greVi     t"    I"- 

very  strong,  without  becoming  a  great  student  of 
books;  was  quick  c.f  apprehension;  the 
tii.-ate   business  affair   was  comprehend, 
moment.     Be  was   not    a   l.''""I  conversationalist, 
Imt  was  brief  and  clear  as  a  writer.    Be  would 
compress  upon    a  sheet    c.f    paper    transactions 
covering  thousands  of  dollars.     In  his  later  years 
he  became  president  of  a  national   Lank    in    Lin 
coin,  III..  I  nit  as  a  general  rule  he  adhered  through 
life  to  farming  and  stock  raising.    At  the-  time  of 
his  death,  August  27, 1888,  he  owned  and 
cultivation  16,500  acres  oi  land.  1,000  acres  of  i1  in 

blue    grass,    and    vast     herds    .  .f    tine    cattle     and 

horses.  Mr.  Gillett  was  highlj  domestic  in  his 
feelings  and  habits,  fond   of  and  devoted   t..  his 

family.  He  aimed  to  provide  liberally  for  his 
wife  and  children,  and  he  did  s...  His  widow,  now 
seventy  years  of  age,  survives  him,  and  still  pre 
set  ves  t  he  sprightliness  and  \  ivacity  of  youl  h  as 
remarkable  as  a  woman  as  her  husband  was  a-  a 
man.  Seven  daughters  and  a  son  Burvive  him. 
and  now  own  and  occupy  the  lands  their  father 
wisely  selected  tor  t  hem. 


CHAUNCEY   B.    BLAIR. 

CHAUNCE1     BUCKLEY    BLAIR,  hit.-   presi 
dent  of  th.-  Merchants  National  Lank  of  Chicago, 

and    for    many    years    past    one    of    the    financial 

powers  of  that  city,  was  born  in   Blanford,  Mass., 

June  18,  1810.  His  parents.  Samuel  and  Hannah 
I'rai  \  i  It  lair  were  Loth  natives  of  that  tow  n.  He- 
was  tin-  third  child   of  a   family  of  seven  children 

[n  the  year  1814  the  family  moved  into  Cortland 
County,  New  York,   when-  Chauncej    remained 

until  he  was  eleven  years  old.  He  then  returned 
to  his  native-  town  to  live  with  an  uncle,  a  farmer, 
and  there-  In-  remained  employed  on  tin-  farm  un- 
til I..-  had  attained  his  majority,  when  he  went 
Lack  to  Cortland  County,  where  his  family  still 
resided.    He  remained  there  until  1835,  when  he 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


8l 


determined  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  West.  Up 
to  thai  time  Chauncey  had  received  no  business 
education.  His  life  thus  far  had  been  spenl  in 
thoroughly  agricultural  districts  and  his  work 
only  such  as  pertained  thereto.  If  his  pursuits 
had  not  tended  to  give  him  a  first  class  education, 
they,  at  least,  had  built  up  for  him  a  rugged  and 
healthy  constitution,  which  enabled  him  I"  enjoj 
excellent  health  through  the  long  and  arduous 
career  upon  which  he  subsequently  entered.  His 
early  life  also  was  free  from  the  evil  associa- 
tions and  consequent  vices  which  so  frequently 
beset  vnung  men.  His  character  was,  therefore, 
built  upon  the  strong  and  enduring  foundation 
of  strict  honesty  and  industry;  and  these  were 
prominent  factors  in  the  Long,  useful  and  honora- 
ble career  of  Chauncey  B.  Blair.  The  splendid 
success  of  this  gentleman  as  a  financier  was  rather 
remarkable  when  it  is  noted  that  he  had  reached 
his  twenty  seventh  year  before  he  became  engaged 
in  even  a  mercantile  business,  to  say  nothing  of 
banking,  in  which  pursuit  he  afterwards  displayed 
such  marked  ability.  Coming  West  I 
menced  a  series  of  land  speculations  iii  Mil  bigan, 
Indiana  and  Illinois,  and  his  naturally  keen  Eon 
sight  and  sound  judgment  enabled  him  t'  i  I  ><'<■<  >me 
uniformly  successful  in  his  ventures.  He  became 
wonderfully  expert  in  locating  and  selecting  wild 
land,  aided  only  by  the  imperfect  maps  furnished 
at  the  land  offices  at  that  early  day.  He  spent 
months  at  a  time  traveling  on  horseback  through 
those  states,  locating  tracts  which  he  afterwards 
sold  to  settlers  at  a  gooil  profit.  It  was  these  suc- 
cessful land  speculations  that  gave  Mr.  Blair  his 
first  start  in  life,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  serious 
regret  to  him  that,  in  lS.'iT.  bj  an  act  of  President 
Jackson,  an  end  was  put  to  a  business  that  had 
become  exceedingly  profitable.  He  had,  however, 
accumulated  sufficient  capital  to  go  into  another 
line  ol'  enterprise.  In  the  fall  of  1837  he,  with  his 
brother,  Lyman,  opened  a  store  at  Michigan  City, 
Ind..  under  the  firm  name  of  C.  B.  &  L.  Blair. 
This  concern  became  very  widely  known  through 
out  the  northwestern  states.  They  dealt  ex- 
tensively in  grain,  and  as  the  prosecution  <•(  this 
business  demanded  it.  they  erected  large  ware- 
houses for  storage.  In  the  buying  and  selling  of 
cereals  the  firm's  operations  covered  a  large  terri- 
tory, for  which  Michigan  City  was  the  only  ship- 
ping poinl  to  eastern  markets.  Their  operations 
became  very  large  and  proportionately  profitable, 
but  were  at  laststopped  by  the  railroads  which 
wen-  finally  built  to  Chicago.  The  firm  very  ma 
terially  aided  in  the  development  of  the  internal 


resources  of  the  section  in  which  they  were  ope- 
rating by  many  public  improvements.  C.  B.ifc  L. 
Blair  constructed  the  first  pier  bridge  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  they  built  miles 
upon  miles  of  plank  roads  into  the  interior  of 
Michigan  and  Indiana.  At  that  time  these  were 
the  only  avenues  of  commerce,  and  they  continued 
to  be  such  until  the  hand  of  progress  swept  them 
awaj  to  give  place  to  the  greater  facilities  afforded 
by  the  iron  track  and  the  locomotive.  While 
still  at  Michigan  City.  Mr.  Blair  obtained  his 
first  experience  in  banking.  By  the  provisions 
of  hiseharter  to  the  Union  Plank  Road  Co.  he  or- 
ganized a  bank  and  became  its  president.  This 
financial  concern  operated  on  a  par  with  tin-  other 
interests  with  which  Mr.  Blair  was  then  connected. 
Its  organization  was  made  necessary  by  these  very 
.  and  its  influence  was  felt  throughout  a 
wide  expanse  of  territory.  The  notes  of  this  bank 
became  extensively  circulated  through  the  West 
and  the  South.  Mr.  Blair  also  became  largely  inter- 
ested in  the  old  State  Hank  of  Indiana,  of  which 
the  Hon.  Hugh  McCullough  was  the  president. 
This  concern,  together  with  its  branches,  was  an 
extensive  institution,  and  when  later  it  was  re- 
chartered  under  the  name  of  the  Bank  of  the 
State  i  >f  Indiana,  Mr.  Blair  purchased  a  controlling 
interest  in  the  Laporte  branch  and  was  elected 
president.  Mr.  Blair  conducted  tin- affairs  of  these 
Indiana  concerns  with  much  success  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  these  operations  developed  in 
him  the  desire  for  greater  opportunities  than 
were  possible  iii  the  agricultural  districts  to  which 
his  lianking  business  had  been  thus  far  confined. 
While  canvassing  the  matter  of  a  better  location. 
Chicago  was  suggested  to  him  by  his  friend.  Hugh 
McCullough.  Mr.  Blair,  with  his  inherent  mod- 
esty, replied  that  his  capital  was  too  small  and  his 
banking  experience  too  limited  to  cope  with  the 
large  banking  houses  of  that  city.  He  was  finally 
persuaded  by  Mr.  McCullough  tomake  the  change 
and  went  to  Chicago  in  1861  and  there  opened  a 
private  banking  house.  But  the  war  of  the  Re- 
bellion had  begun,  and  many  and  great  changes 
were  about  to  be  inaugurated  in  the  financial 
systems  of  tin-  country.  This  event  caused  the 
introduction  of  national  banks.  The  famous 
greenback  became  the  money  <Jf  the  country.  Its 
issue  was  one  of  the  exigencies  of  the  war.  and 
the  vast  quantities  of  this  currency  which  Hooded 
the  country  inaugurated  an  era  of  rare  prosperity 
for  the  debtorclass.  Theypaid  thedebts  incurred 
during  ante-war  times.  But  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence of  such  a  profusion  of  money,  gold  appre- 


Sj 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    [LLINOIS. 


dated  as  compared  with  paper,  and  when  the  reac 
tion  came,  and  this  inflated  currency  began  slowly 
but   steadily   to  appreciate   I"  a   f_r< > 1 . 1   value,    it 
caused  a  reduction  of  wages,  a  reduction  oi  pi  ic< 
and    finally     broughl    on    the     financial     panic 
wepl      ill"    country    in     1873.      These 
national    banks    were    the    medium  of    circula 
ii..ii    of    this   greenback   money.      In    i 
Blair  organized   the    Merchants'  National    Bank 
o(  Chicago.     He   was  the   principal  stockholder 
and  became    its  president,  a    position   which    he 
held  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.     I  te  d 
its  affairs  w  ith  the  most  absolute  and  unqualified 
Buccess.     He  carried  it   through  trial  by  fire,  and 

st 1  at   the  helm  through  the  terrible  storm  of 

financial  panic.  Mr.  Blair's  was  the  mind  that 
at  every  cted  its  affairs  and  outlined  its 

[.. .li<-\ ;  his  hum  highly  prospet 

ous  career  and  maintained  it  in  ils  rank  among  the 
most  reliable  moneyed  institutions  ..f  the  North 
west.  So  rapidly  did  the  business  increase  that, 
though  only  organized  in  1865,  its  deposits  reached 
00  in  1876  and  1877.  During  the  natural 
financial  crisis  which  followed  the  lire  in    1871, 

■.  i nt  of  nineteen  banks  remained 

standing,  Mr.  Blair  strongly  dissented  from  the 
proposition  ol  mosl  ol  the  bank  presidents  I"  si  is 
pen. I.  and  he  announced  his  intention  I"  keep  his 
doors  widi  "pen  and  pay  dollar  for  dollar.  His 
firmness  in  this  trying  time  averted  whal  might 
have  become  a  disastrous  panic  and  have  caused 
greal  suffering.  Matters  were  naturally  in  a 
greatly  di  turbed  state,  ami  the  banks  could  nol 
tell  who  were  depositors  and  who  were  not.  Thou 
sands  of  attempts  were  made  to  impose  upon  them 
by  taking  advantage  ol'  the  confusion.    Although 

the    hanks  would    not.  and    in  fact    could    not    paj 

..ut  large  sums,  by  the  firm  stand  taken  by  Mr. 
Blair  and  by  the  example  ho  set,  small  sums  for 

in. diate  use  were  paid  to  depositors.    This  ac 

tion  afforded  great  relief;  it  saved  the  | pie  from 

much  Buffering;  it  saved  the  credit  of  the  banks 

n  in  business  circles  which, 

already  disorganized  and  in  dire  confusion,  might 

have  1. .en  driven    to   total    rout.      As   it   wa 

look  th.-  place  of  despair  an. I  confidence  checked 
the  rapidly   increasing  feeling  ol'  distrust;  order 

cai t  "f  chai  ■-  and  i  lusinei  -    I  >egan  i  mce  ■■ 

t..  move  in  regular  channels.  Bui  iliis  trial  was 
trivial  wl  d  with  that  which  struck  the 

I  o   hanks  in   Septembi  i.  1 B73.     Vboul    i  he 

middle  of  that  month  the  linn  ..I    i 

..f  New  York,  went  down,  carrying  with  il  thou- 
sands of  smaller  houses.    Two  days  wenl   by  and 


a  feelini  began  to  prevail  thai  the  trouble  would 
not  be  so  great,  nor  the  effecti    bo  far-reaching  as 

ai  lirst  supposed.    Confidence  was  rapidly  being 

restored    when    tie     news    Mashed    over   the    wires 

that  the  bouse  of  Henry  Clews  a  Co.  of  New  STork, 

had  also  sue. -u  i  n  I.e.  I.  Again  w  .re  financial  circles 
shaken  t..  th.ii  foundations  and  a  general  panic 
seemed  inevitable.    Chicago  banks  looked  on  and 

Calmly    noted  the  strife  in  her  sister  cities.       \   I.  .'. 

ol   her  banking  institutions  trembled;  the  Union 

National  tottered  and  fell.  The  presidents  held 
meetings  and  propositions  were  made  I.,  suspend 
by  some  of  the  more  fearful.  Bui  the  stronger 
institutions  scouted  the  idea.    One  of  the  daily 

papers,  however,  precipitated  the  crisis  all  were 
anxious  to  avert.      It  came  ..ut   in  the  issue  of  Sep- 

tembei    26,  with    the   broad  statement    that    the 

hanks  had  decided  to  suspend.  The  confusion 
which  ensued  that  day  will   never  lie  forgotten  by 

1 1  lose  who    Bl I  w  here  h     effects  cui hi    he  noted 

and  were  able  to  appreciate  them.  A  meeting 
was  called    thai    evening  and    there   were    present 

all  ..f  t  he  hank  presidents,  or  their  representatives. 
There  was  a  strong  element  in  favor  of  temporary 

suspension,     ('haiineey  II.  Blair  stood  alone  in  the 

determination  to  stand  firm  and  meet  all  obliga 

tions.    He  w  as  a  little  late  in  arriving  af  the  meet 

iiiLT.  lull  on  his  cut  ranee  some  words  caught  his 
ear  which  brOUghl    him  to   the    Hour.      He  made  a 

stirring  speech  and  was  the  strongest  fa. -tor  in 
preventing    Hie  others  from   deciding  upon   the 

weaker  course.  He  said:  "The  hanks  of  Chicago 
an-  in  good  Condition  and  I  caii  see  no  reason  yet 
for  either  temporary  or  permanent  suspension. 
V.8  loi   me,  1  shall   not  close   my  hank  as  long  as  I 

have  a  dollar  left  to  pay  ..ut.    I  believe  we  can  gel 

out  of  (he  present  difficulties  and  that    the   hanks 

will  come  out  all  right.  New  York  has  not  bee 

I  ml  led  to  shut  her  hank  doors  entirely,  and  I  do  nol 
believe  there  is  any  necessity  nor  any  wisdom  in 
shutting  ours  a!  all.    1  am  sorry  to  see  a  disposi 

ti ii  the  part  ..f  some  hanks  to  force  others  to 

this    measure        It    is  all   wrong  to    keep    money 

locked  up  in  th.   vaults."    Mr.  Blair  said  much 

more  to    the    same    purpose,  and    the    meeting  ad 

jou rn eil  without  any  definite  action  being  taken. 
The  presidents  met  again  the  following  evening 

and  decided  that    DO  Suspension  should  take  place. 

Subsequent  events  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  ac- 
tion. Money  began  to  How  int..  the  city  in 
amounts  reaching  fro,,,  si. i  ii  k  i.i  ii  in  to  - 
daily.  Confidence  quickly  became  restored  and  the 
run  on  the  banks  was  topped  and  business  soon 
d    its  normal  condition.     The   principle  on 


dc^, 


tZ/l/yu*-^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


which  Mr.  Blair  managed  his  bank,  as  shown  by 
the  reports  to  the  comptroller  of  the  currency  for 
the  past  twenty  years,  lias  been  remarked  upon 
by  many  of  the  best  bankers  of  the  country.  The 
cash    reserves    held    by  the    bank    have    probably 

been  larger  than  those  of  anyother  bank  in  the 

country  in  proportion  to  its  liabilities,  with  pos- 
sibly   o ixception  -the    Chemical     National 

Bank  of  New  York.  There  has  never  been  a  day 
during  its  existence  that  the  bank  could  not 
meet  its  obligations  to  its  depositors  promptly, 

and    it    has    thus    been    enabled    to   pass  through 

everj  period   of   panic  and   money  string. 
safety.     Although  the  bank  always   paid   regular 
dividends,  the  policy  of  Mr.  Blair  was  to  create  a 
large  surplus  fund,  which   for  several  years  pasl 

has  been  three  times  the  amount  of  the  capita] 
stock.     In  an  account  of  the  complications  in  the 

political  affairs  of  the  city  in  the  spring  of  1876, 
in  Andreas'  History  of  Chicago,  it  is  stated:  "The 
heavy  taxes  and  threats  of  repudiation  on  the  part 
of  citizens,  and  the  consequent  critical  financial 
state  of  the  city,  were  among  the  leading  causes 

that  la-ought  about  the  political  revolution.  The 
fiscal  year  was  changed;  the  expensive  office,  of 
tax  commissioner  was  abolished;  the  tax  levies 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  county  collector 
for  collection;  and  efforts  were-  made  to  meet 
matured  interest  and  unpaid  protest  obligations, 
as  well  as  to  create  a  surplus  fund  which  would 
do  away  with  the  necessity  of  issuing  tax  war- 
rants. Many  wealthy  merchants  and  several  of 
the  banks,  notably  the  American  Exchange  Bank 
of  New  York,  and  C.  B.  Blair,  president  of  the 
Merchants'  National  Bank,  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  city.  Mr.  Blair  at  this  time  may  safely  be 
accredited  with  saving  the  credit  of  the  city  of 
Chicago."  Mr.  Blair  was  far  too  much  engrossed 
in  his  business  duties  to  give  much  tine- to  the 
social  world;  he  was  all  his  life  a  thorough  busi 
ness  man.  All  through  his  business  career,  being 
prompt  in  keeping  engagements,  he  expected  the 
same  ci  insideration  from  others.  He  gave  a  read) 
hearing  to  all  who  desired  to  see  him.  ami  dis- 
posed  of  the  matters  that  came  before  him  quietly 

and  quickly.    Not  a  few  of  those  who  wet 

ciated  with  him  can  testify  to  his  kindness  of 
heart  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  They  have 
proven  his  steadfast  friendship,  and  found  in  him 
not  only  a  safe  adviser,  but  one  whose  counsel 
did  not  always  end  in  words  alone.  He  was  ever 
a  liberal-handed  citizen,  and  many  a  worthy 
charity  holds  him  in  kindest  remembrance.  He 
was  married  in   ISil   to   Caroline  O.  De  Groff,  of 


Michigan  City.  Ind..  who  died  in  1S07.  A  family 
of  six  children  was  born  to  them,  live  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Two  of  the  former.  George  <  I.  and 
William  S.,  have  died,  but  the  others  all  survive 
and  reside  in  Chicago.  The  sons  living  are 
Chauncey  J..  Henry  A.  and  Watson  P.  The 
daughter,  Harriet,  is  the  widow  of  the  late  John 
J.  Borland,  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Blair  died  in  Chi- 
cago, January  30, 1891.  As  a  fitting  tribute  to 
his  memory,  the  Chicago  Clearing  House,  at  a 
special  meeting  called  for  that  purpose,  passed  the 
following  resolutions: 

•■Realizing  that  in  the  death  of  Chauncey  B. 
Blair  this  community  has  lost  a  valued  citizen 
and  tile  banking  fraternity  a  most  honored  rep- 
resentative. 1  his  association  desires  to  record  its 
tribute  to  his  virtues.  The  record  of  his  life  is 
unsullied.  His  business  career  was  conducted 
along  the  line  of  strict  integrity,  justice  and 
equity.  Perceiving  the  value  of  a  true  principle, 
he  adhered  to  it  inflexibly.  We  recognize  in  his 
connection  with  banking  in  Chicago  an  influence 
of  immense  value  in  the  past,  one  which  will  not 
soon  be  lost  in  the  future.  Ordinarily  conserva- 
tive in  his  methods,  in  times  of  financial  peril  he 
showed  high  courage  and  fortitude.  We  shall 
cherish  him  in  our  memory,  and  will  try  to  emulate 
his  example.  To  his  Eamily  we  extend  our  sym- 
pathy in  the  loss  of  so  kind  a  father  and  friend. 
In  respect  to  his  memory,  and  as  some  token  of 
our  appreciation,  we  will  attend  his  funeral  in  a 
body." 


EDWIN  C.   LARNED. 

EDWIN  CHANNINli  LAKNED,  a  distin- 
guished citizen  of  Chicago,  widely  known  as  a 
lawyer,  orator  and  philanthropist,  was  born  at 
Providence,  Rla.de  Island,  on  July  14th,  1820,  and 
died  al  ids  son's  home,  at  Lake  Forest.  Illinois,  on 
September  18th,  1SS4.  In  the  so-called  New  Eng- 
land States,  the  original  home  in  America  of  the 
Lamed  family,  a  number  of  its  members  have 
risen  to  distinction.  Among  those  of  note  may  be 
mentioned  Colonel  Simon  Larned  of  Connecticut, 
who  in  his  youth  served  as  an  officer  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  was  afterwards  a  member  of  Con- 
gress and  later  an  officer  in  the  war  of  1812;  the 
Rev.  Sylvester  Larned,  his  son,  noted  during  the 
first  half  of  the  present  century  as  an  orator  and 
philanthropist:  the  Rev.  Win.  Augustus  Larned, 
an  educator  and  author  of  considerable  fame  in 
the  last  generation;  and  Colonel  Benjamin  F. 
Larned,  Paymaster-General  of  the  L'.  S.  Army, 
who  died  in  1862.     The  grandfather  of  tin-  subject 


Si 


BIOGRAPHY    OF   ILLINOIS 


..f  this  sketch  was  William  Lamed,  w  bo  served  in 
the  war  of   the   Revolution,  and   his  father   was 
John  S.  Larned,  a  respected  and  influential  mer 
chant  of  Providence.    The  latter  no 
Martin.    Tbislady  was  highly  educated  and  was 

the  author  of  several  published  I ks.     I 

Larned  was  reared  amid  refined  sui  roundings  and 

© id  \\  itli  him  through  life  the  delicacy  of  sen 

timenl  inherited  from  his  gentle  and  scholarly 
mother,  with  whom,  consequent  upon  the  earl) 
death  of  his  father,  his  youthful  relations  were 
more  than  ordinarily  close.  His  education,  begin 
ning  at  his  mother's  knee   was  continued   in  the 

hrsi  private  schools  al  Provid ,  and  was  finished 

•  i;  ..  I  Ivereity,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
ism.  Referring  to  the  early  years  of  Mr,  Larned, 
i  teorge  William  Curtis,  his  boy  ish  companion  and 
life-long  friend,  once  wrote:  "Prom  the  first  his 
taste  for  study  and  his  intellectual  interest* 
very  evident,  and  the  early  necessity  of  earning 
his  living  did  not  relax  his  devotion  to  l»m Us  nor 
interrupt  hi  i  ing  to  college.     Hisi 

ful  and  equable  temper  turned  all  his  tasks  into 
play,  and  some  of  the  pleasantest  hours  that  I 
recall  are  those  which  1  spent  with  him  upon  Ins 
rounds  of  duty.  His  mother  encouraged  and  de 
veloped  Ids  literary  tastes  and  stimulated  his  gen 

erous  ambition,  and  the  atmosphere  of  his  b 

was  always  that  of  plain  living  and  high  thinking, 
sweet,  healthful  and  serene."  For  a  year  after 
graduation  Mr.  Larned  was  Professor  of  Mathe 
maties  at   Kemper  College,  Missouri,  but   feeling 

that    he    had  a    vocation    in    the   law   he  gave    up 

teaching  and  began  legal  study   under   tin    Hon. 
Albert  C.  Greene,  a  leading  lawyer  of  Pro\  idi 
who  was  afterwards  Attorney  t  leneral  tor  Rhode 

Island,  and  at  one  time  a  United    States    Senator. 

From  his  entry  upon  professional  duties  Mr. 
I. aiued  displayed  a  high  order  of  mental  ability 
as  well  as  great  sUill  in  the  law.  Be  first  d 
guished  himself  by  preparing  the  evidence  and 
briefs  in  the  celebrated  Lexington  case,  6  How. 
U.  S.  344,  in  which  Richard  W.  Greene  and  Daniel 
Webster  were  of  counsel.  Che  former  was  very 
much    impressed    l>>    young    Larned's   work    in 

this  case  and  invited  him  to  bet le  his  partner. 

Mr.    Lamed    practiced  at   the    Providence    bar. 
associated  with  Mr.  R  W.  Greene    who  was  alter 

wai  d  Ft    fclo    of  B li    Island     until  Sep 

tember,  1*17.  when  he  removed  to  t  ihicago.    "  1  [e 
was  at  that  time,"  writes  a  distinguished  content 

porary,  " very  tall  and  slender,   but   enjoyed  g I 

health;  had  a  voi i  great    volume  and   power, 

and  ex tdingly  rich  and  mellow   in  tone;  and  was 


possessed  of  an  exuberant  imagination  and  great 
command  of  languagi  Hi  arrived  in  Chicago  at 
a  fortunate  period  in  its  hiBtory.  [ncorporated  in 
1837,  the  city  began  its  municipal  lire  under  the 
financial  depression  of  that  year,  but  during  the 
ming  decade  it  bad  struggled  on  with  un- 
faltering hope,  and  at  the  period  referred  to  was 

beginning  to  emerge  from  the  cl I.    There  was 

a  decided  improvement  in  business  generally,  and 
the  great  tide  of  emigration,  which  has  si  nee  tilled 

up  the  western  prairies  with  homes  and  tai  ms,  w  as 

at  full  flood.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  city  worked 
wonders  in  every  trade  and  profession,  and  the 
young  lawyer  instead  of  having  to  wait  months. 
possibly  years,  for  practice  to  come  to  him.  had 
all  he  could  attend  to  from  the  outset.    His   first 

ease     at     the     bar      demonstrated     that      he     was 

splendidly  equipped  for  his  chosen  work.  His 
business  increased  at  a  rapid  rate  and  soon,  by  its 
volume  and  importance,  gave  him  a  leading  rank 

in  his  profession,  which  he  maintained  with  ease 
until  his  death.  Mr.  Larned  was  by  nature  and 
education  an  avowed  opponenl  of  slavery  and  his 
first  celebrity  was  acquired  by  a  vigorous  attack 
upon  it  in  a  speech  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law 
passe, 1  iii  is:.n    delivered  at  the  old  market  house 

on  State  street.  Chicago,  ill  L851.       It  was  made  in 

answer  to  one  by  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  may  be 

called    Mr.    Larned's   maiden    effort     as    a     public 

speaker.  The  -Little  Giant  "  was  profoundly  im- 
pressed by  his  speech,  and  openly  declared  that  it 
was  the  i, est  he  had  beard  on  the  ami  slavery  side 
of  the  question.  The  excellence  of  this  speech  was 
I, nt  the  precursor  of  that  excellence  which  char 
actcri/.ed  all  his  subsequent  efforts.  A  prominent 
lawyer  once  said  of   Mr.    Lamed   that   he   never 

heard  him  in  a  case  when  he  did  not  seem    to  him 

to  make  the  best  speech  which  the  subject  ad 
miticd.     Be  exercised  the  same  care  in  the  pub 

lication  of  all  his  public  utterances  and  his  fame 
as  an  orator    soon    became    national.     One  of    his 

most  remarkable  efforts  was  his  speech  in  the 
famous  fugitive  slave  cases  tried  before  Judge 
Drummond,  in  Chicago,  in  March,  L860.  The 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  not  being  enforced  to  the 

satisfaction   of  the   pro-slavery   element   and   the 

entire     South     and    the    conservative    men    of  all 

parties  in  the  North  were  clamoring  for  convic- 
tions under  it.  Southern  slaveholders  and 
Southern  newspapers  were# a  unit  in  declaring 
that  Northern  juries  would  not  sustain  the  law 
which  Chief  Justice  Taney  ami  a  majority  of  the 

Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  had   decided 

wasconstitutional;  and  in  consequence  a  bitter  feel 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


85 


ing  on  the  subject  prevailed  throughout  the  entire 
South  and  was  shared  by  a  sympathetic  minority  in 
the  North.  On  the  other  hand  the  Abolitionists  and 
their  sympathizers,  already  forming  a  numerous 
party,  opposed  the  execution  of  the  law  on  high 
moral  grounds;  and  in  Illinois  they  were  backed 
up  by  the  opinion  of  the  venerable  Justice  Mc- 
Lean, the  presiding  justice  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court,  to  the  effect  that  the  law  was  un- 
constitutional. When  the  cases  referred  to  came 
to  trial  the  United  States  marshal  for  the  district 
was  a  Democrat,  and  the  members  of  the  jury, 
with  two  exceptions,  were  of  similar  political 
faith.  The  first  case  tried  resulted  in  a  conviction. 
although  the  defendant  had  the  advantage  of 
such  eminent  counsel  as  Isaac  N.  Arnold.  Stephen 
A.  Goodwin  and  Joseph  Knox,  all  of  w  1  . 
ing  that  momentous  issues  were  at  stake,  and 
that  the  eyes  of  the  country  were  upon  them, 
made  remarkable  speeches.  The  second  case  was 
that  of  Joseph  Stout,  indicted  for  rescuing  a 
fugitive  slave  named  Jim  from  the  United  Stat'-s 
deputy  marshal,  at  Ottawa.  111..  October  'Jo.  1859. 
Mr.  Lamed,  who  had  taken  no  active  part  in  the 
preceding  case,  now  took  the  lead.  Major  Daniel 
Goodwin,  Jr..  an  eminent  lawyer  of  I 
whose  experiences  at  the  liar,  both  I. 
West,  have  been  most  comprehensive,  and  who 
heard  Mr.  Larned's  speech  on  this  memorable 
occasion,  says  of  it:  "No  epitome  or  description 
of.  or  extracts  from.  Ids  argument  could  do  any 
justice  to  the  fervor  of  his  appeal  or  the  thrilling 
effect  of  his  eloquence,  held  in  control  ever  by  his 
loving  respect  for  Judge  Drummond  and  his 
absolute  command  on  all  occasions  of  his  own 
temper  ami  his  own  reason.  It  was  an  elabora- 
tion of  his  old  speech  at  the  Market  House,  where 
he  had  first  exhibited  his  remarkable  powers  with 
the  same  kind  of  eloquence  which  first  notified 
>  natives  of  Faneuil  Hall  that  the  times 
demanded  and  had  created  a  Wendell  Phillips, 
who  there  thundered  forth  the  rights  of  man  as 
James  Otis,  and  Joseph  Warren,  and  John  Adams 
had  done  in  1775."  Mr.  Lamed  at  this  time  was 
less  than  forty  years  of  age.  His  whole  heart  was 
in  his  subject,  and  his  moral  and  emotional  nature 
was  stirred  to  its  profoundest  depths.  He  was 
conscious  that  he  was  doing  battle  for  a  great 
principle,  and  no  soldier  on  the  field  of  carnage 
ever  employed  the  weapons  at  his  command  with 
more  vit;or  and  skill.  In  length  the  argument  re- 
ferred to  did  not  exceed  20,000  words,  yet  it  seemed 
to  cover  every  phase  of  the  question  at  issue,  and 
it  was  as  brilliant  in  its  eloquence  and  as  touching 


in  its  pathos  as  it  was  unanswerable  in  its  logic. 
The  time  of  its  delivery  and  the  effect  it  produced 
throughout  the  country  made  it  historical.  It  is 
justly  considered  Mr.  Larned's  masterpiece,  and 
deserves  embodiment,  so  far  as  appropriate,  in 
any  sketch  of  his  life.  The  few  extracts  from  it 
here  introduced  are  given  not  only  as  specimens 
of  Mr.  Larned's  style,  but  also  as  revelations  of 
the  inner  nature  of  the  man  himself,  as  well  as  of 
the  sentiments  of  that  unselfish,  heroic  and 
.ing  band  of  men  and  women  styled 
Abolitionists,  through  whose  noble  and  philan- 
thropic labors  and  agitation,  the  foul  blot  of 
slavery  was  eventually  removed  from  the  national 
escutcheon.  Mr.  Lamed  began  in  a  gently  sar- 
castic  v.in  by  excusing  the  attorney  for  the 
United  States  li.  e..  Judge  Arlington,  "whose 
massive  intellect,  exuberant  fanc\  and  fascinating 
oratory  were  used  at  their  best  "  on  this  occasion) 
for  attacking  the  declaration  of  independence  and 
seeking  to  strengthen  his  position  by  citations 
from  Washington.  Jefferson,  Webster,  Clay  and 
others,  on  the  ground  that  the  illustrious  counsel 
for  the  prosecution  could  not  find  it  a  pleasant 
duty  to  ask  a  jury  to  convict  a  man  as  a  criminal 
for  "an  act  which  has  no   guilt  save  that   which 

is  found  on  the  pages   of   the   statute) k."     He 

then  said: 

"Only  in  the  letter  of  the  statute,  only  by  the 
force  of  the  enactments  of  a  law  made  by  men. 
and  binding  upon  courts  and  juries,  and  not  by 
the  force  of  any  considerations  of  what  is  just  and 
right  under  the  higher,  everlasting  laws  which 
are  written  by  God  in  the  conscience  and  moral 
nature  of  man.  can  he  find  any  sanction  for  a  ver- 
dict against  the  defendant  at  the  bar.  Gentle- 
men, in  the  nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian 
era.  in  the  republic  .if  the  United  States,  in  the 
tie,-  state  of  Illinois,  a  man  of  unblemished  char- 
acter, a  man  known  and  beloved  in  a  city  which 
his  intelligent  industry  has  aided  to  build  up,  and 
his  high  moral  qualities  have  contributed  to 
adorn,  sits  at  the  felons'  bar  of  this  court,  and  is 
on  trial  as  a  criminal.  And  tin-  offense,  the  crime, 
alleged  against  him.  and  for  which  he  is  thus 
arraigned,  is  that  he  has  aided  a  fellow  man  in 
his  efforts  to  obtain  his  liberty.  It  is  charged  to 
be  a  crime  in  that  republic  whose  foundations 
were  laid  in  those  great  principles  of  liberty, 
equality  and  the  rights  of  man.  of  which  the 
declaration  of  American  independence  is  the 
fullest  and  noblest  national  expression,  to  aid  a 
fellow  man  in  seeking  to  secure  for  himself  that 
blessed  boon  of  liberty  to  which  every  human 
being  is  by  virtue  of  his  manhood  entitled.  Re- 
garded outside  of  and  independent  of  the  statute 
book,  viewed  by  the  light  of  those  principles  of 
conscience,  that  higher  law  of  universal  right  and 
justice,  which,  however  it  may  be  scoffed  at  and 
despised,  every  true  man  reverences  as  far  above 


86 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


all  more   human    enactments,  the  act    which    is 

charged  againsl  the  defendant  would  be  approved 

as  a  virti  a  crime.     f'<  ir  surely 

I  .1  helping  hand  to  tin-  oppressed,  1"  aid 

ndless  and   despised   outcasts  of  human 

society,  to  e.iw   the  word  of  sympathy  and   the 

hand  of  kindness  to  the  forsaken,  forlorn,  friendless 

slave  on  his  way  to   liberty,  would   be  an   act   of 

humanity  and  of  Christian  charity  which  would 

bespeak  a  generous  and   coble   nature,  and  com 

elf  i"  tli>'  besl  and  holiest  instincts  of  the 

human  heart." 

□g  Judge  Arrington's  claim  that  the 
slave  had  qo  right  to  liis  liberty,  and  thai  the  acts 
of  those  who  aided  him  to  secure  il  were  no  better 
than  highway  robbery,  he  said: 

"  Gentlemen,  did  the  idea  occur  to  you  v 
learned  gentleman  was  discoursing  up.ni  those 
compromises  and  compacts,  in  behalf  of  which  he 
sought  to  awaken  your  patriotism  and  love  of  the 
Union,  that  the  slave  is  no  party  to  your  constru- 
cts, 1  hat  he  lias  aey er  given 
his  assent  to  your  ordinances  or  your  legislation? 

"  Did  it  occur  to  you,  when  the  learned  coun 
sellor  was  discoursing  upon  the  Bacredness  and 
antiquity  of  the  great  right  of  property,  and  in 
yoking  your  sense  of  justice  and  right  against  the 
violation  "i  this  right,  that  t  Inn-  was  a  right  older 
and  more  sacred  than  the  right  of  a  master  to  a 
slave      the  right  of  tkeslavt  to  himself  t 

"  1'lir  righl  of  a  master  to  a  slave  is  "the  right  of 
power.  It  is  the  right  of  the  strong  over  tie 
weak.     It  is  might,  Dot  right. 

"  P  i   ii   I  I  oi  a  iii.iii  to  himself  is  by  a  deed  of 
m  the  great  God  who  created  him.  and  of 
which  no  human  power  or  authority  can  rightfully 
deprive  him. 

••It  is  written   by  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  on 

the  brow  Of  every  human  being  whom  he  has 
formed  int..  his  own  image,  into  whom  he  has 
breathed  an  imi  and  who,  by  \  irl  ue  of 

beci  ime  a  man. 
■•There  is  no  right  of  propertj  as  ancient  as 
this,  for  it  dates  back  to  the  first  moment  of  crca 
tion.  There  is  none  so  sacred,  for  it  is  conferred 
by  Him  who  is  the  Maker  of  all  things,  and  to 
whom  all  belong. 

****** 

" I  know,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  that    it    is  the 
fashion  of  the  day.  and  especially  with  tl 
represent  the  Government  of   the   United   States, 
to  sneer  at    liberty,  to  ridicule  those  great  rights 

of  man  w  Inch  have  been  won  from  tyranny  by  the 

struggles  of  brave  and  i  mm   men  through  the  cen 

the  past,  and   especially  to  cast  the  most 

contemptuous  obloquy  upon    thus.'    who   contend 

earnestly    for    the    freedom,    humanity    and    just 

men  whose  skin  is  darker  than  their  own. 

■•  Hut    I  have  learned    from    tic  study  oi 

the  lesson  thai    :  p  to  lie    loss    J    a   pi  0 

I  lies   is  to  cease    |,,    prize  them,  and  that 

the  Bret  effort  of  those  w  ho  desire  to  steal  away  a 
people's  rights  js  to  infuse  into  the  popular  mind 
an  indifference  to  all  questions  ol  right  and  tree 
dom;   to  I. rine  over  it  that  cold  and    hari 


ness  which    regards  DOthing    as    important  which 

does  not  a  licet   the  special    personal    • ifort  and 

■  i  the  individual;  to  i  I  husiasts 

i  ici  all  men   n  ho   hai  i  faith  in  principle, 

in  duly.   111    religion      all  men  who  believe   i  hat 

humanity,    the    rights    of    man    are   -real 

realities  and  not  unmeaning  words.     Ian. -.nil. 

M  il  ■  ,  I  care  not  for  the  ridicule  or  the  reproach  of 
mill  like  these.  Call  me  by  what  name  they 
please.       fanatic,    enthusiast,   or    that    other    word 

which  seems  to  them  to  comprehend  the  sum  total 
of  human  depravity,  Abolitionist,    [will,  whenever 
ami   wherever   the  occasion  offers,  stand  up  and 
vindicate  the  great   rights  of  humanity,  tl 
of  a  man  to  himself,  the  'inalienable   right'  or 

every  man  created  in  the  image  of  God,  with 
Which  lie  was  -endowed  bj  Ids  Creator,'  and  which 
is  as  indestructible  as  that  nature  itself  to  ■  life. 
liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.'" 

Denying  the  aspersion  that  the  people  of  the 
North  were  unwilling  to  carry  out  in  good  faith  the 

compact  of  the  Constitution,  he  pointed  out  the 
reasons  why  the  law  in  question  was  so  objection 
able  to  them.  sa\  ing  : 

"  It  is  because  they  regard  the  provisions  of  this 
law  as  most  dangerous  to  the  rights  of  freemen. 
1 1  i  because  this  law  violates  ail  those  great  safe 
guards  for  the  security  of  personal  liberty,  which 
thej  regard  as  no  less  sacred  and  important  than 
the  Constitution  itself,     it    is   because   this   law 

permits  a  subordinate,  inferior  class  oi 
trates.  w  hose  only  right  to  act  at  all  is  la 
thi'  shallow  pretence  that  they  do  not  act  as  judges, 

to  give  a  judgment  which  decides  final)}  and  tor 
ever  thi-  great  question  of  man's  liberty,  It  is 
because  t  hat  highest  of  all  human  rights,  the  right 
of  a  man  to  himself,  is  allowed  to  be  taken  away 
and  a  man  made  a  slave  upon  ex  part  i  evidence, 
given  in  a  summary  way  without  even  the  sanc- 
tion of  a  curt  or  judicial  officer.  It  is  because 
the  right  of  trial  \>\  jury  that  greatest  of  all 
the  securities  of  lite,  lil lerty  and  property  of  the 
citizens       is  denied  under  this  law." 

With  a  knowledge  of  the  temper  of  the  North, 
amounting  to  prevision,  he  indicated  the  dangers 

which  must  necessarily  follow  the  enforcement 
ol'  this  law,  sa\  ing: 

"Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  it  is  suit  1  that  the  exe 
CU tion  of  this  oppressive  and  odious  law  in  the 
North  will  tend  to  the    preservation  of   the  Union, 

and  your  love  of  country  is  sought  to  be  enlisted 
in  a  ill  of  a  conviction  of  t  he  defendant  at  the  bar. 

'•  I  deny  the  assertion.  1  say  thai  DOthing  tends 
more  to  weaken    the    bonds  of  the    Union    at    the 

North    than    such    prosecutions    as    these.      Make 

men  feel  by  the  execution  of   this  tueiti 

act  on  the  soil  of  the  free  states.  Ii.m   all  the  great 

securities  of  personal  libertj  are  daily  violated  in 

behalf  of  slavery;  pursue  with  tine  and  imprison 
incut  men  of  stainless  character  and  unsullied  life 

.1  ml  or  a  kind  w  ord  to  a  ( r 

fugitive  on  his  wax   to  lil. city,  and  you  will  till  the 

hearts  of  freemen  at  the  North  with  reclines  of 
bitterness  ami  discontent.    Better, far  better, were 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS, 


87 


it  feu-  the-  Union,  tor  the  peace  of  the  country,  for 

the tinuance  of  those  fraternal   feelinge   and 

relations  which  should  bind  together  the  citizens 
of  these  states,  if  this  fugitive  slave  law  of  1850 
had  lain,  like  the  law  of  17'J.'!.  dormant  upon  the 
statute  hook.  The  law  of  1793  was  the  only  law 
on  this  subject  for  more  than  titty  years.  It  is 
well  known  that  that  law  was  practically  a  nullity. 
and  that  so  few  attempts  to  enforce  it  were  made 
that  it  was.  to  all  intents  ami  purposes,  the  same 
as  it  there  wen'  no  law  in  existence;  ami  that  was 
the  period  of  the  utmost  peape  and  harmony 
throughout  the  whole  country. 

****** 

••There  are  other  provisions  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  as  binding  as  that  on  which 
this  law  is  based,  and  which  are  also  in  themselves 
just,  which  are  every  day  violated;  andyel  the  gi  v 
eminent  does  not  take  any  action  in  respect  to 
such  violations, and  thedignityof  the  Government 
seems  not  to  Ik-  at  all  disturbed  by  them. 

"The  property  of  citizens  on  the  free  soil  of  one 

of  the  Territories  of  the   United  States  has  I a 

destroyed  by  tin-  most  wanton  violence]  men  have 
been  assaulted  and  murdered  for  no  crime,  and  in 
the  open  light  of  day;  om-  of  the  great  navigable 
rivers  of  the  Nation  has  been  blockaded  bj  armed 
men;  free  citizens  are  daily  being  exposed  to  in- 
sult and  outrage  in  other  states  for  exercising  the 
rightof  free  speech  and  of  a  free  press,  guaran- 
teed to  them  by  tli.'  Constitution.  All  these 
things  are  matters  of  public  history  which  are 
knnii  n  to  all. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  prosecutions  of 
these  men  by  the  Government?  Was  the  law  en- 
forced against  these  violators  of  the  rights  of  per- 
son and  property  '.' 

•■  Why  must  this  law.  which  punishes  what  is 
not  a  crime  except  by  the  statute  which  makes  it 
so,  be  selected  and  all  the  power  of  the  Govern- 
ment he  given  to  its  enforcement,  while  tin-  guar- 
antees of  the  Constitution  against  unreasonable 
seizures  and  searches  and  its  securities  for  the 
great  rights  of  personal  liberty,  the  freedom  of 
speech  and  of  the  press,  are  trampled  upon  with- 
out notice  and  without  punishment?" 

Such  was  the  effect  of  tin-  logical  and  thrilling 
speech  upon  the  jury  that  though  they  were'  kept 
out  for  parts  of  three  days  and  two  whole  nights 
they  would  not  return  a  verdict  of  guilty.  The 
speech  was  published  in  the  Chicago  Press  and 
Tribune  on  the  19th  of  March,  and  was  read  by 
thousands  of  people  all  over  the  great  Northwest 
less  than  two  months  ln-fore  the  assembling  at 
Chicago  "1  the  convention  which  nominated  Lin- 
coln for  the  Presidency,  and  adopted  a  platform 
which  declared  that  slavery  was  local  and  not 
national  -the  creation  of  local  law  alone — and 
should  not  be  extended  into  any  free  territory  of 
the  United  States.  In  the  Lincoln  campaign  Mr. 
Larned  took  a  most  active  part;  and  during  the 
terrible  years  of  the  civil  war  "he  was  one  of  the 
powers  which  upheld   our  great   fabric  of  consti- 


tutional liberty  and  saved  the  nation."  In  con- 
nection with  such  distinguished  associates  as 
Judge  Thomas  Drummond,  Judge  John  M.  Wil- 
son. Judge  Manierre.  Isaac  X.  Arnold,  Thomas 
Hoyne,  George  Schneider  and  others,  he  labored 
with  untiring  zeal  upon  the  famous  Union  De- 
fense Committee,  which  was  in  constant  commu- 
nication with  Lincoln.  Seward,  Cameron,  Trum- 
bull. Arnold,  Washburne,  Fremont  and  other 
leading  actors  in  the  struggle, guiding  and  direct 
ing  popular  opinion,  formulating  proper  legisla- 
tion for  the  new  order  of  things,  raising  and 
equipping  troops,  creating  defenses  for  the  North- 
ern frontiers,  selecting  proper  embassadors  to 
undeceive  the  people  of  Europe  taught  to  believe 
that  the  Southern  Confederacy  was  lighting  only 
for  liberty,  and  in  furnishing  supplies  and  nurses 
for  the  sick  and  wounded  Union  soldiers,  lie  was 
in  Washington  in  May.  1861,  when  Ellsworth  was 
shot,  and  was  one  of  those  who  reverently  es- 
corted the  remains  of  the  gallant  young  officer  to 
their  last  resting  place.  He  was  singularly  indif- 
ferenl  to  public  honors,  and  though  repeatedly 
urged  by  li i.-  friends  to  permit  his  name  to  be 
brought  forward  for  the  congressional  nomination 
in  his  district,  where  his  election  was  a  foregone 
conclusion  had  he  consented  to  run,  he  could 
never  be  persuaded  to  agree  to  do  so.  It  was  not 
through  indifference  on  his  part,  but  from  a  be- 
lief that  there  was  ample  work  close  at  hand  to 
engage  his  fullest  attention.  In  March.  1861,  Mr. 
Larned  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  United 
States  district  attorney  for  the  northern  district  of 
Illinois.  He  was  reluctant  to  accept  theoffice,  but 
was  persuaded  to  do  so  in  the  warmest  manner  by 
the  bar  and  the  press  as  well  as  by  the  personal 
solicitations  of  his  closest  friends.  He  served  four 
years,   and    President   Lincoln,   failing   to   induce 

him  to  continue  in  office,  a pted  Ins  resignation 

with  expressions  of  deep  regret.  While  the  war 
lasted  he  never  relaxed  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
Union.  His  earnest  labors,  performed  both  day 
and  night,  finally  impaired  his  health  and  he  went 
with  his  son  to  Europe  in  1863,  for  a  brief  period 
of  rest;  but  even  while  absent  he  maintained  his 
connection  with  events  at  home  by  letter-  to  the 
public  press  and  to  the  clubs  with  which  he  was 
in  affiliation.  After  resigning  his  official  position 
he  resumed  private  practice  for  several  years. 
When  his  son,  Walter  C.  Larned,  had  been  two 
years  at  Harvard  College  he  went  to  Cambridge. 
Mass..  and  was  residing  there  when  the  great  fire 
of  1871  laid  Chicago  in  ashes.  He  was  a  heavy 
loser  by  this  catastrophe  but  he  seemed  to  think 


88 


l.loiiKAI'in     OP    [LLINOIS. 


little  of  liis  personal  loss,  his  large  h<;iri  being 
filled  to  overflowing  with  the  profoundest  pity  tor 

■  masses  t"  w  bom  the  conflagration  meanl 
absolute  ruin.  Hurrying  to  Chicago  he  devoted 
Mis  entire  time  tor  Beveral  months  to  the  aoble 
and  enduring  work  of  the  Relief  and  Aid  Societj 
proving  one  of  its  ablest  and  most  useful  mem 
bere.  Indeed,  Mr.  Larned  drew  »i |>  the  bill  in- 
corporating this  society,  and  served  as  a  i 
of  Bame  until  within  a  few  years  "f  his  death.  He 
was.  wit!     i  II'-        one  oi    the  first   mo^  ers 

tor  the  establishment  of  the  Chicago  Public 
Library,  and  likewise  tor  the  introduction  ol  the 
present  water  supply  and  the  Bewage  sj 

In  1>7'J  7:;  Mr.  Larned  again  visit)  I  Eu 
rope  h  iili  his  family.  He  wrote  man}  letters  from 
abroad  tor  the  press,  and  even  after  his  return  to 
America,  although  admonished  bj  ill  health  to 
abandon  active  labors,  he  continued  t<>  write  and 
produced  a  "  Life  of  Swedenborg  "  (still  in  manu- 
script), and  wrote  many  articles  for  thenewspa 
pers  and  magazines.  Mr.  Larned  possessed  a 
keen  sense  of  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  not 
only  did  he  labor  well  in  discharging  th 
he  lived  with  a  delicate  regard  tor  the  effect  of 
his  example  upon  others.  Alluding  to  his  rela- 
tions with  the  Citizens'  Association  of  Chicago, 
when  in  1--7I  and  L875  it  was  set  to  do,  with  its  un- 
tried Btrength,  a  great  political  work,  Mr.  Franklin 
MacVeagh,  one  of  his  associates  in  thai  body, 
said:  "No  co  laborer  of  his  in  the  work  will  ever 
r< >r<r<-r  the  value  his  character  lent  to  his  service. 
He  had  become  so  Bne  a  figure  in  our  community 

that  his  nominal  i lection  with  the  move ni 

was  itself  an  important  aid;  but  to  this  he  added 
freely  of  his  labor,  his  wisdom,  his  knowledge." 
yer,"  Judge  Henry  \V.  Blodgett,  of  Chi- 
cago, bears  testimony  that  "Mr.  Larned  was  up 
\<<  the  best  standard  "f  his  profession."    The  same 

an  further  adds:  "In  the  best  sense  of 
the  word  he  was  a  full  measured  man  and  citizen; 
filling  all  the  places  of  political,  social  and  profes- 
sional life  with  rare  ability  and  a  conscientious 
zeal,  and  an  earnest  and  manly  purpose,  which 
made  his  influi  i        ago  at  the  time  w  hen 

such  influence  was  most  needed,  a  constant  torce 
in  behalf  of  justice  and  good  government."  Not 
withstanding  the  gravity  "f  nearly  all  of  his  labor 
and  his  active  sj  mpathy  for  the  unfortunate  and 
Buffering,  trom  whatever  cause,  Mr.  Larned  was  a 
marvel  "f  amiabilit)  and  cheerful] 
perament  was  sunny  and  his  Bpeech  and  manner 
always  bright  and  cordial.  He  was  by  nature 
candid  and  generous  ami  was  incapable  of  injus- 


tice. Il^-was  a  man  lit  rare  purity  "f  character. 
The  Righl  [lev.  Dr.  B.S.  Harri  Episcopal  Bishop 
of  Michigan,  at  one  time  bis  pastor,  said  of  him: 
••  In  all  my  (."'im.'*  to  and  fro  in  this  world's  busy 
caravansary,  where  so  man]  meet  and  part,]  have 
met  no  one  whose  friendship  has  been  a  richer 
blessing  I"  me  than  that  of  Edwin  Channing 
Larned."  Mr.  Larned  was  married  in  1849  t.. 
Miss  Anne  Prances,  daughter  "f  the  Hon.  Albert 
il  ! ."  ■  i  Island,  a  lady  who  by  natural 
refinement,  high  culture  and  philanthropic  motive 

-  ially  lit  ted  to  be  the  life  pari  i  i 
worthy  and  able  a  man  as  her  husband.  Their 
familj  consisted  of  four  children,  Walter  Cran 
ston,  Pranci  Greene,  Julia  and  Edwin  Channing. 
Their  home  was  an  ideal  one,  "where  absolute 
purity  and  religion  were  made  attractive  by  lib- 
eral hospitality,  the  heartiest  humor,  the  tendei 
esl  courtesy  and  the  highest  range  of  poetical 
thought  and  culture."  Mr,  Larned  died  of  an  af 
fection  of  the  heart.  His  demise  awakened  a  pro 
found  feeling  of  grief,  not  only  in  the  city  which 
was  the  sceneof  so  much  of  his  activity,  but  in 
many  distant  parts  of  the  country  where  he  was 
kimw  n  and  honored.  Appropriate  notice  of  bis 
death  was  taken  in  Chicago  by  a  number  of  the 

societies  with  which  he  had  I n  i nected.no 

tablj  bj  the  Historical  Society,  before  which,  on 
December  16th,  1884,  the  Hon.  B.  B.  Washburne, 
president,  in  the  chair,  addresses  on  his  life,  char 

i   labors  were  delivered  bj  Major  Daniel 

(I Iwin,  Bishop  Harris.  Judge  Henry  W.  Blod 

getl   and   Mr.   Franklin    Mar  Veagh.    '1 
dresses,  with  other  interesting  matter  touching 
the  life  and  labors  of  Mr.  Larned,  were  published 
in  a  memorial  volume  in  1886,  and  trom  the  pages 
of  that  work  have  been  derived  many  of  I 

itained  in  this  biographical  sketch,  which  may 

fittingly  close  with  an  extract  trom  thei 
eulog)  of  Major  Goodwin,  an  early  law  partner  of 
the  deceased: 

"Twenty  years  have  elapsed  Bince  my  partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Larned.  If  I  had  been  called  upon 
at  that  time  t"  pronounce  a  eulogj  upon  his  char- 
acter and  services  it  might  have  been  though!  by 
Borne  whose  knowledge  of  him  was  limited,  that 
the  sentiments  expressed  were  colored  by  the 
warm  friendship  engendered  by  daily  courtesies 
and  mutual  interests, and  that  the  judgment  was 
blinded  by  t he  t<»'  near  influi  brilliant 

lion.  But  the  years  which  have  passed 
sinci  then  have  brought  many  other  brilliant  and 
able  men  upon  the  stage  before  the  view;  and. 
take  him  all  in  all,  I  i  i  «  in  ('.  Larned 

as  the  peer  of  the  best  and  noblest  nun  our  era 
has  produced." 


^-^/P^/yC  ^ 


y  f 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


Sq 


VAN  H.   HIGGINS. 

HON.  VAX  HOLLIS  HIGGINS.  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  distinguished  lawyers  and  business 
men  of  Chicagi  >,  and  for  some  years  a  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court  of  that  city,  was  born  in  Genesee 
county,  N.  Y.,  on  February  20, 1821.  His  father, 
David  Higgins,  a  native  of  East  Haddam,  Conn., 
was  a  farmer,  who  in  1S14.  seeking  a  new  Held  of 
activity,  emigrated  to  Cayuga  county,  N.  Y„ 
later  removing  to  Genesee  county,  but  returning 
to  Cayuga  county,  where  he  died  in  1S"27.  His 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Eunice  Sackett, 
was  the  daughter  of  William  Sackett,  and  was 
herself  a  native  of  Vermont.  She  was  a  sister  of 
the  1  !• 'ii.  William  A.  Sackett,  formerly  a  member 
of  Congress  from  Seneca  county,  N.  Y..  and  now 
a  resident  of  Saratoga.  She  died  in  1847.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  fifth  of  eighl  sons. 
His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  village 
schools  of  Auburn  and  Seneca  falls,  and  was  as 
thorough  as  the  locality  permitted.  At  the  age  of 
twelve  he  made  his  how  in  the  business  world  as  a 
clerk  in  the  store  of  his  eldest  brother,  at  Seneca 
Palls,  N.  Y.  Without  giving  up  his  personal  at- 
tempts at  self -improvement,  he  continued  in  this  ca- 
pacity until  the  close  of  hissixteenth  yearwhen  he 
yielded  to  the  irresistible  fascination  which  drew 
thousands  of  ambitious  youths  from  the  more 
densely  settled  districts  of  the  East  to  the  newly- 
opening  Northwest,  in  which  the  eye  of  prophecy 
already  discerned  the  promise  of  empire.  His 
brother,  A.  D.  Higgins,  had  been  established  in 
Chicago  since  1835,  and  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
small  but  flourishing  general  store  in  that  place, 
then  a  thriving  village  of  between  four  and  the 
thousand  inhabitants.  Here  "Van."  upon  his  ar- 
rival in  the  summer  of  1837,  was  duly  installed  as 
assistant.  By  persistent  study  and  reading  he 
qualified  himself  for  teaching,  and  during  the 
winter  of  1837-38  he  had  charge  of  a  district 
school  in  Vermillion  county.  111.  The  ensuing 
year  was  similarly  divided,  with  profit  to  all  con 
cerneil.  In  the  sprint;  of  1839  young  Higgins 
went  to  St.  Louis,  then  a  rapidly  growing  city  of 
about  15,000  inhabitants,  where  his  brother  was 
publishing  a  daily  newspaper  called  the  Missouri 
Argus.  After  a  year  of  general  reportorial  work 
on  this  journal  he  engaged  in  commercial  pur- 
suits, and  for  a  time  conducted  in  St.  Louis  a 
successful  business  on  his  own  account.  Not- 
withstanding that  the  prospects  were  unusually 
good  in  this  venture,  he  deliberately  sold  out  his 
establishment  to  secure  the   necessary  freedom  to 


devote   his  w  hi  ile  time  and  attention   to  the    stlld\ 

of  law.  for  which  from  his  early  boyhood  he  had 
entertained  a  more  than  sentimental  fancy.  When 
he  took  this  step  he  had  just  completed  his  twenty 
first  year.  Removing  to  Iroquois  county  in  the 
spring  of  1842, he  devoted  a  few  months  to  assidu- 
ous legal  study,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  that  county  and  to  practice 
in  all  the  other  counties  of  the  state.  In  1845,  after 
a  twelvemonth  of  active  practice  in  Middleport,  he 
removed  to  ( ialena,  111.,  and  in  the  following  year 
formed  a  partnership  there  with  O.  C.  Pratt.  Esq., 
afterwards  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Oregon,  and  later  a  judge  of  one  of  the  District 
( 'oiirts  of  San  Francisco.  Cal.  This  partnership 
was  continued  until  1849.  While  residing  in 
Galena,  Mr.  Higgins  held,  during   two   years,  the 

offi if  city  attorney.      His  prospects  at    the    bar 

were  extremely  promising  at  this  place,  but  he 
was  cast  in  a  mental  mold  that  fitted  him  for  a 
larger  and  more  varied  Held  of  effort.  Chicago 
held  out  the  greatest  inducements  to  him,  and  in 
1852  he  returned  to  the  city  —  the  population  of 
which  already  exceeded  30,000  and  established 
himself  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  Within 
a  year  after  his  arrival  he  had  formed  a  partner 
ship  with  the  Hon.  Corvdon  Beckwith  and  15.  P. 
strotlier.  umler  the  style  of  Higgins,  Beckwith  & 
Strother.  Many  cases,  including  a  number  of 
the  very  tirst  importance,  were  entrusted  to  this 
firm,  which  in  a  short  time  became  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  successful  in  the  city.  From 
his  earliest  entrance  upon  professional  duties  Mr. 
Higgins  had  taken  an  earnest  interest  in  politics, 
but  for  some  years  lie  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
neglect  his  practice  to  seek  the  honors  or  emolu 
ments  of  office.  About  the  time  of  the  disintegra- 
tion "f  the  ol.l  parties  lie  had  attained  such  a 
degree  of  prominence  at  the  bar  that  his  fellow- 
citizens  naturally  looked  upon  him  as  a  leader. 
In  common  with  the  mass  of  the  intelligent  citi 
zens  of  the  Northwest,  he  was  opposed  to  tlic  re- 
peal of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  to  the  ex- 
tension of  slavery  into  free  territory;  and  when  the 
Republican  party  was  formed,  in  1856,  he  became 
one  of  its  most  active  members.  In  1S5S  he  was 
nominated  by  his  fellow-citizens  of  that  party  (or 
the  Illinois  Legislature,  and  was  elected.  In  this 
body  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  manly  and 
patriotic  course  on  all  public  questions,  and  made 
his  mark  as  a  clear  headed,  broad  minded  and 
impartial  legislator.  At  tin-  close  of  his  term  he 
was  honored  by  the  nomination  [or  a  judgeship  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  Chicago,  and    at    the    .ice 


BIOGRAPm'    OF    ILLINOIS. 


tion  which  fallowed  was  chosen  to  thai  office  bj  a 
which  gave  convincing  evidence  of  the 
popular  belief  in  liis  fitness  far  this  high  judicial 
position.  During  the  long  and  trying  period  of 
the  civil  war  Judge  Biggins  was  conspicuous  far 
his  zealous  support  of  the  Federal  government. 
Never  far  a  moment  during  this  bitter  struggle 
iliil  he  Falter  in  his  allegiance  or  relax  his  efforts 
in  behalf  of  the  Union  cause.  "A  staunch  friend 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  before  his  nomination,"  sins  a 
writer  who  speaks  from  intimate  personal  know  I 
edge,  "after  his  election  In-  stood  by  him.  ex 
hibiting  in  his  support  tin-  same  patient  common 
idapt  means  to  in. Is  which 
characterized  our  great  President.*'  Mis  tabors 
i  mosl  practical  nal  lire,  and  n  ere  "i  ex 
treme  value  all  through  tin-  struggle,  but  espe 
cially  during  tin-  earlier  days  when  excitement 
and  want   of  judgment    hampered,  ami  in   sonic 

I,  a  great    'leal    that  was 

done  bj  other  equall)  patriotic,  but  i 
headed  Union  men.  Judge  Biggins  was  one  of 
thciirst  in  Chicago  to  appreciate  the  value  of 
I  nion  men.  and  he  labored 
unceasingly  to  eflfect  it.  Largel)  to  his  patriotic 
zeal  was  iluc  the  formation  of  the  Union  Defense 
Committee  of  the  citj  ol  Chicago,  an  organization 

coniplished  wonders  in  aiding  t  he  Federal 
government,  and  which   lives   in    history  side  bj 

side  with  the  Union   League,  the  Sanitary  C 

mission,  and  the  other  leading  civilian  bodiei 
which  contributed  so  greatly  to  secure  the 
strength  and  success  of   the   Union  arms.    As  a 

ol  the  executive  committee  of  the  lirst 
named  '  Biggins   mad 

practical  suggestions  w  Inch  were  at  mice  adopted. 

In    the    greal     work    of    recruiting,    equipping 

and   transporting  troops;  in   that   of   furnishing 

supplies  anil  medicine;  in  that  of  aiding 

uncled   and   c farting   the   bereaved,  he 

a  i  never  be  forgotti  d  03  his 
fellow  citizens  of  Chicago.  Through  the  untiring 
services  of  himself  ami  his  colleagues  the  city 
was  enabled  to  till  its  quota  of  troops  substan 
tially  without  a  draft;  and  indeed  the  State  ol 
Illinois  was  likewise  under  heavy  obligations  to 
them   in   the  same  direction.    To   their   lasting 

I  may  be  said  that  their  labors  were  inva 

od  noli  partisan 

spirit.  In  the  autumn  of  1865  Judge  Biggins  re 
ugned  In- seat  upon  the  bench  and  resumed  the 
practice  of  law,  forming  a  partnership  with  tin 
Bon.  Leonard   Swett  and   Colonel    Davii 

style  ol    Biggins,  Swett  a  Quigg.    In 


lsT-J.  Judgi    1 1  i  gii      ha>  ing   been  1  li  cted   to  the 

presidencj  of  the  Babcocb  Manufactt 

pany,  dissolved   his  connection    with  thi 

his   new    duties.      These   he   discharged 

without  intermission  until  .Ian nary   1st,  1876,  when 

he  retired  from  icipation   in   I 

pam's  a  Hairs  to  accept  the  financial  agenc}  of  the 

Charter  Oak  Life  Insurance  Company  for  the 
Western    states.     Since    L880  Judge    lliu-ins    has 

been  president  ol    the    Nat al    Life    Insurance 

Company  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the 
only  life  insurance  company  in  existence  char 
tcreil  hy  Congress.  He  has  held  the  controlling  in 
ten 'st  in  the  Rose  Hill  Cemeterj  Co.  since  1  -^Ti".  Be 
is  the  president  of  i  he  Fidelity  Safe  Deposit  Com 
pany  of  t  Jhicago.  I  h-  is  a  member  i  if  t  In  I 
Bar  Association,  the  American  Bar  Association  and 

of  the  American   Acadi  mj    ol  Politit I  Social 

Science,  lie  hail  I. ecu  a  member  of  I 
Lodge  of  A.  0.  P.  Masons  of  Chicago  since  about 
1855;  a  Knight  Templar  Tor  about  thirty  years 
ami  has  attained  a  thirtj  second  degree  in  the 
Ancient  Order  of  Scottish  Kite  Masoi 
might  he  expected  with  oneol  his  genial  nature  lie 
has  found  time  for  social  duties  and  pleasures.  He 
is  the  president  of  the  Byde  Park  Suburban  Club 
and  a  member  of   the  Union    League,  the   Wash 

ingtoi     Park  Club  and  the  K.-uw 1   Club.     Be 

has  I n  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Historical  So 

cietj  since  its  organization,  having  been  one  of  the 
charter  members.  Judge  Biggins  has  become 
widel]  known  asan  inventor,  and  has  secured  sev 
eral  important  patents  on  original  inventions  ami 

improvements.     He  is  a  line  theoretical,  as  well  as 

practical,  mechanician  ami  his  judgment  upon  the 
merits  of  any  new  mechanical  discover}  is  equal  to 

that  of  thi'  besl   pracl  teal    mechi •   in  the  West. 

Hi-  love  of  mechanical  pursuits  absorbs  no  small 
portion  of  his  busj  life.  No  estimate  of  the  charac 
1 1  i  of  Judge  1 1  il- in-  won lil  be  either  complete  or 
just  unle-s  it  considered  him  in  his  three  fold  ca 
pacity  of  citizen,  lawyer  and  business  man.  ••  First 
ol  all.  as  a  citizen,"  to  quote  the  Hon.  Kmor\  A. 
Storrs,  "he  is  a  man  of  great  public  spirit,  ami 
i     iii  feeling  and  character  a  typical  Western  man. 

Prom    the   beginning   Judge    Biggins    ha 

with  a   \  isioii  clearer  than  most   men,  ii"t  "lily    the 

probabilities   but    the   possibilities  of   thi 

West;  ami  what  a  quarter  of  a  century  or  more 
ago  he  so  clearly  saw  .  ami  what    he  -..  col 

prophesied,  he  has  diligentlj  worked  to  realize'' 

.1  In   nature  with  what    has    been    happily 

termed  "a  legal  mind,"  his  mentalit}  is  such  that 
the  law  alone  seems  to  afford  it  the  fullest  intel- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


91 


lectual  scope.     A  diligent  student    from    the  be- 
ginning of  his  career,  he  has  acquired  an  unusually 
profound   knowledge   of   statutory   law,  which   a 
well-disciplined  memory  places  absolutelj  at    his 
command.     In    the  practice  of   law    he  was  noted 
for  the  great  can-  given  to  the  preparation  of  his 
cases.     Prom    his  first  appearance  at  the  Chicago 
bar   down  to  the  close  of   his   active   practice,  he 
maintained  the  reputation   of   being   the  equal  of 
the    best    of    his  colleagues    in    his   mastery    of 
the  law  as  well  as  statutorj   enactments.     There 
was   an  ease  and   method    in  his  pleadings  which 
gave  them  wonderful  effectiveness  and  stamped 
him  as  a  master  of  his  profession.     When  he  was 
elevated  to  the  bench  he  found  Ids  painstaking, 
methodical   habits   of    the   highest    value.      His 
memory,  likewise,  proved   of  giant   service.     The 
more   complicated    cases    wen-   easily    unraveled. 
decisions   were  quickly  arrived   at.  and   the  busi- 
aess  of  the  court  was  disposed  of  with  dignity  and 
yet    with    remarkable   rapidity— all  due   to    , -har- 
ness of  perception,  habits  of   logical  analysis   and 
familiarity  with  precedent,  aided  and  completed  bj 
that  judicial  demeanor  in  which  learning,  impar 
tiality  and  humane  consideration  of  extenuating 
circumstances  are  happily  blended  with  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  the  principles  of  law  and  a 
scientious  regard  for  the  obligations  of  office.    His 
judgment  was  seldom  at  fault,  his  decisions  rarely 
reversed.     Not  the  least  valuable  knowledge  he 
brought  to  his  judicial  position  was  his  thorough 
acquaintance  with   business,  particularly  in   the 
department  of  finance.    His  attitude  toward  the 
younger  members  of  the  bar  who  practiced  before 
him.  especially  to  those  who   were  painstaking  in 
the  preparation  of   their  cases,  was   gently  pater- 
nal   and   always   encouraging.      In   consequence, 
leu    of   the  judiciary  had  warmer  friends   among 
the   younger   generation   of    lawyers   of   the  city. 
Set  la- had  no  favorites  ami  justice  in   his  court 
was  absolute.     All.  whatever  their  age  or  acquire- 
ments,   respected     him.      When    he    put    off    the 
ermine  to  triumph   in  the  world  of   business  and 
finance  he  still  retained  many  of  the  judicial  char- 
acteristics.    His  personal  appearance  contributed 
largely  to  this,  for  he  was  of  a  tall,  commanding  fig 
ure.  and  bore  in  his  countenance  and  air  a  certain 
natural   dignity    which    rested    easily    upon    him. 
The  thinness  an.l  decision   of  character  for  which 
lie  is  noted  an-  risible  in  his  features,  yet  softened 
by  culture  and   great    amiability  of   manner.     In 
the  conduct  of  business  he  derived  decided  assist- 
ance from  his   intimate   knowledge  of   law  in  the 
same  way  that    his  extended   knowledge  of   busi- 


ness had  served  him  when  he  was  acting  in  a 
judicial  capacity.  In  either  case  it  was  the  ready 
application  of  knowledge  that  proved  of  service. 
and  it  is  this  ability  on  his  part  to  at  all  times 
command  tic-  resources  of  mind  and  experience 
that  makes  him  the  virile  factor  he  has  proved  in 
every  position  and  undertaking  with  which  he 
has  been  connected.  It  is  in  no  w  ise  extravagant 
praise  to  assert  that  .Judge  Higgins  is  one  of  tin- 
most  honored  of  those  who  have  labored  to  build 
up  and  strengthen  the  city  of  Chicago,  nor  to 
claim  that  the  giant  strides  which  the  ■•  wonder 
citj  of  the  West "  has  taken  within  the  last  de- 
cade or  two  have  been  rendered  possible  by  the 
:l (  such  men  as  he  and  his  optimistic  asso- 
ciates of  the  antebellum  period.  The  sagacity 
andenergyof   its   merchants,  the   success   of   its 

enterprises,  the  broad  lines  upon  which  all  its  1 1 

mercial  and  financial  undertakings  are  projected 
and  carried  out,  had  their  origin  in  these  courag 
eous,  far  seeing  and  liberal-minded  men.  And  it  is 
pleasant  to  record  that  the  community  in  which 
Judge  Higgins  resides  is  in  no  way  backward  in 
recognizing  these  facts  and  in  giving  honor  u  here 
honor  is  due.    The  private  life  of  Judge  Higgins 

potless.     F lof  the  pleasures  of  home 

and  of  tin-  retirement  there  possible,  which  per- 
mitted him  to  gratify  to  the  fullest  his  cultured 
tastes,  he  has  been  an  exemplary  husband.  His 
.to  whom  he  was  married  in  1847,  was 
Mrs.  E.S.Alexander,  of  Jacksonville,  Illinois.  This 
lady  died  in  1882.  In  1883  he  married  his  present 
Wife,  formerly  -Miss  Lena  Isabel  Morse,  of  San 
Rafael,  Cal.,  daughter  of  A.  CM. use.  Esq.,  of  that 
city. 


J.   RUSSELL  JONES. 

JOSEPH  RUSSELL  JONES  was  bornatCon- 

neaut.  Ashtabula  comity.  Ohio,  on  the  17th  of 
February.  18^3.  His  father.  Joel  Jones,  was  bom 
at  Hebron.  Connecticut,  May  14th.  lT'.rJ.  and  after 
marrying  Miss  Maria  Dart,  the  daughter  of  Joseph 
Dart,  of  Middle  Haddam,  Connecticut,  removed 
with  his  young  family  to  Conneaut,  Ohio,  in  1S19. 
Joel  Jones  was  the  sixth  son  of  Captain  Samuel 
Jones  of  Hebron.  Connecticut,  who  was  an  officer 
in  the  French  and  Indian  war.  and  also  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  The  latter  held  two  commis- 
sions under  George  II.  of  England.  He  returned 
from  the  wars  and  settled   in   Hebron,   where   he 


[SI0GRAPH1     OP    ILLINOIS. 


married  Mine  Lydia  Tarbox,  by  whom  he  had  siv 
sons  and  tour  daughters.  Nine  of  the  ten  lived  i" 
reach  maturity.  Samuel,  the  eldesl  bod,  was  a 
lawyer,  and  practiced  his  profession  tor  man) 
years  at  Stockbridge,  Mass.  He  was  a  man  <>f  fine 
cultivation.  In  1842  he  published  ;i  treatise  on 
the  "Right  of  Suffrage,"  which  is.  probably,  the 
.mis  work  of  the  kind  ever  published  by  an  Ameri 
can  author.  Prom  another  brother  descended  the 
late  Hon.  Joel  Jones,  the  first  president 
College,  the  late  Samuel  Jones,  M.  D.,  ol  Phila 
delphia,  and  Mathew  Hal(  Jones,  of  Eat 
sylvania.  Prom  a  third  brother  descended  Hon. 
A  us.  hi  .1  president  of  the  Republic  of 

Dexas.  The  family  are  now  in  possession  "I  a 
letter  written  bj  Captain  Samuel  Jones  to  his  wife 
;it  Fori  Edward,  dated  Augusl  L8th  L758  Om 
hundred  and  ten  years  previous  to  the  date  pf  this 
letter,   his  ancestor,  Captain  John.  Jones,  sal   al 

Westminster  as i  of  the  judges  of  King  I 

1.  Colonel  John  Jones  married  Henrietta  Cathe- 
rine, the  sit.  mil  sister  of  t  (liver  Cromwel 
and  was  put  to  death  October  17th,  L660,  on  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II.  His  son,  Hon.  William 
Jones,  survived  him,  and  one  year  bel 
father's  death,  married  Miss  Hannah  Baton,  then 
of  the  parish  of  St.  Andrews,  Holden,  Epenton. 
He  subsequently  came  to  America  with  his  father 
in-law,  the  Hon.  Theophilus  Baton,  flrsl  <  lovernor 
of  the  colon]  ol  New    Haven,  Connecticut,  where 

pied  the  office  of  Deputy  Governor  for 
Borne  years,  and  died  October  17th.  17(h;.  Both 
himself  and  wife  are  buried  in  New  Haven,  under 
the  same  stone  with  Governor   Baton.     Prom  the 

g  it  will  be  seen  that  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  connected  by  direct  descent  with  the 
best  blood  of  the  puritan  fathers,  and  came  hon- 
estly bj  the  virtues  which  have  characterized  and 
adorned  his  private  and  official  life.  His  father 
died  whin  he  was  but  an  infant,  leai 
mother  with  a  large  family,  and  but  Blender  means 
for  their  maintenance.    At    the  age  of   thirteen, 

i  tnes  was  placed  in  a  store  at  Conneaut, 
his  mother  and  other  members  of  the  family  at 
time  remov  ing  to  R  ickton,  \\  innebago 
county,  Illinois.  This,  his  first  clerkship,  gave  t.i 
his  employers  great  satisfaction.  He  remained 
with  them  for  two  years,  when  he  decided  to  follow 
ins  family,  ami  Beek  his  fortune  in  the  west. 
When  the  leading  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  were  apprised  of  his  determination  to  de 
part  from  them,  they  endeavored  to  prevail  upon 
him  to  remain,  offering  to  provide  for  his  educa 
lion  for  the  ministry .     He, however, declined  their 


generous  offer,  but  not  without  sincere  and  grate- 
fnl    acknowledgements    of  their  great    kindness 

ted  towards  him,  and  taking  pai 
board  the  schooner  J.  G.  King,  he  made  his  tirst 
landing  at  Chicago,  on  the  19th  of  August,  L838. 
proceeded  to  Rockton,  when-  he 
remained  with  his  family  for  the  next  two  years. 
rendering  such  Bervice  to  his  mother  as  his  tender 
years  and  slight  frame  would  permit.  In  lsi".  he 
went  to  Galena,  then  the  largest  and  most  floui 
ishing  city  in  the  northwest,  determined  to  better 
his  condition,  but  as  his  entire  available  capital 

aly  on.-  dollar,  his  tirst  app 
>i]  io 1 1  the  scene  of  his  future  successes  was  not  en 
couraging.     Hi  accept  at  a  very  small 

salary,  a  clerkship,  which  he  Billed  tor  about  Bix 
months,  after  which  he  entered  the  employment 
..f  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Galena.    Young 

J s  f.  hi  n.l  in  this  assoeiat  ion  appreciative  friend- 
ship, agreeable  surroundings,  hearty  encourage 

I  ample  seope  for  his  business  talents  and 
ambition.  Contact  with  enterprising  spirits  ..r 
that  region  soon  developed  in  him  those  qualities 
which  ha'  bighly  distinguished  him  as 

a  man  of  sterling  worth  ami  remarkable  ability. 
His  employer,  percsiving  his  supen  r  qinliii-.  ;.i 
tions,  his  read)  adaptability  to  the  requirements 

of  his  position,  his  imperturbable g 1  natt 

on,  foresight  and  sagacity,  advanced  him 
rapidly,  and  finally  to  a  partnership  in  the  business, 
which  was  continued  successfully  and  profitabl) 
until  L856,  when  the  co  partnership  wasdi 
In  1846,  while  still  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi 
Mr*  lie  was  appointed  secretarj  and  treasurer 
..I' the  Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Company. 
This  highly  important  position  he  held  for  fifteen 
years,  giving  entire  satisfaction  to  the  company. 
In  I860,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican 
party,  and  elected  member  of  the  twenty  Becond 
General  Assembly  from  the  Galena  district,  com 

1 1 mties  of  -l"   l>a\  iess  and  ( !arroll. 

lie  soon  became  one  of  the  most  active  and  influ 
ential  members  of  the  Legislature,  and  was  prom 
inently  identified  « ith  many  measures 
public  interest,  so  that  his  conduct  as  a  n 
tative  received  the  high  approval,  not  only  of  his 
own  district,  but  of  the  whole  state.  In  1861,  Mr. 
Jones  was  appointed  bj  President  Lincoln  to  the 
office  of  United  States  Marshal  for  the  Northern 
district  ..r  Illinois.  This  appointment  required 
him    t..  change   his   residence   to    Chicago,  ami 

him  in  contact  with  other  and  larger  in 
terests  than  those  which  had  previouslj  claimed 
In-  attention-     In  1863  he  organized  Thi  • 


r.TOCKAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


03 


W.'st  Division  Railway  Company,  was  elected  its 
president  and  by  his  systematic  and  skillful 
management,  shod  brought  it  to  a  high  condition 
of  prosperity.  In  the  midst  of  his  exacting  duties, 
he  f..und  time  to  take  part  in  various  other  com- 
mercial and  manufacturing  enterprises,  all  of 
which  added  to  his  ample  fortune,  and  brought 
him  into  notice  as  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful and  influential  men  of  Chicago.  Withal 
he  discharged  his  duties  as  marshal  so  efficients 
and  with  such   satisfaction    to   the   Government, 

that    upon    th mmencement  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 

s nd   term    he    was  re-appointed  and  held  the 

office  till  General  Grant  called  him  to  fill  a  higher 
and  much  more  conspicuous  position.  Mr.  Jones 
was  one  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  most  trusted  friends  and 
enjoyed  his  fullest  confidence.  He  was  summoned 
by  the  latter  upon  several  occasions  to  Washing- 
t  m  for  consultation  upon  matters  of  public  inter- 
est, and  at  least  once  to  confer  upon  a  subji 
great  personal  concern  to  the  President.  Shortly 
after  the  crushing  victory  of  the  Union  forces, 
commanded  by  General  Grant,  over  the  Confed- 
erate army  at  Chattanooga,  a  movement  was  set 
on  foot  by  a  number  of  influential  men  in  New 
York  to  give  the  successful  <  ieneral  an  independ- 
ent nomination  for  the  presidency.  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  too  astute  and  watchful  a  politician  to  re- 
main long  in  ignorance- of  this  hostile  movement, 
and  as  a  matter  ,.r  course,  soon  discovered  thi 
plans  of  his  enemies.  Perceiving  at  once  that  the 
Nation's  victorious  chieftain  would  prove  a  dan- 
gerous competitor,  if  he  really  were  ambitious, 
In-  regarded  it  as  of  the  first  importance  to  satisfy 
himself  on  that  point.  Recalling  the  intimacy 
which  had  grown  up  between  (Ieneral  Grant  ami 
Mr.  Jones,  he  telegraphed  for  the  latter  to  come 
to  Washington.  Mr.  Jones  lost  no  time  in  obey 
in.;  tie-  President's  summons.  On  reaching  Wash 
ington  he  reported  his  arrival  to  the  President. 
stating  that  he  would  call  whenever  it  would   be 

most  convenient  for  the  President  to  receive  him. 
and  was  requested  to  call  at  8  o'clock  thai  evening, 
which  he  did  and  was  conducted  to  the  President's 

private  office,  and  closing  the  doors.  Mr.  Lincoln 

said:  "Jones.  I've  sent  for  you  to  tell  me  whether 
or  not  Grant  wants  to  lie  President."  Mr.  Jones 
replied  promptly,  in  accordance  with  what  he 
knew  to  lie  the  fact:  " Certainly  not;  he  would 
not  take  the  office  if  it  were  offered  to  him.  So  far 
from  being  a  candidate  himself.  I  know  him  to  !„■ 
earnestly  in  favor  of  your  re-election."  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's countenanced  relaxed,  and  the  habitual 
shade  of  sadness  faded  from  his  face,  as  he  leaned 


forward,  and  putting  his  hand  upon  Mr.  Jones' 
shoulder,  said:  "My  friend,  you  don't  know  how 
gratifying  that  is  to  nit  adding  reflectively  "  "v. 
man  can  ever  tell  how  deep  that  Presidential  grub 
gnaws  until  he  has  had  it  himself."  Immediately 
after  (ieneral  Grant's  election,  four  years  later, 
he  nominated  Mr.  Jones  to  the  Senate  as  min- 
ister h.  Belgium,  in  grateful  appreciation  of 
his  patriotic  support  of  the  government's  policy 
during  the  civil  war.  and  in  recognition  of  his 
services  as  a  member  of  the  National  Repub- 
lican executive  committee  during  the  political 
contest  which  had  just  terminated,  and  of 
his  high  qualities  as  a  gentleman  and  citizen. 
He  proceeded  quietly  to  his  post,  accompanied 
by  his  family,  took  possession  of  the-  legation 
on  the  "Jlst  of  July.  1869.  was  continue, 1  in 
due  time  and  addressed  himself  at  once  unosten- 
tatiously but  industriously  to  tlie  mastery  of  the 
situation.  One  of  his  first  duties  was  to  make  an 
elaborate  report  upon  the  cereal  productions  of 
Belgium,  by  order  of  the  State  department,  and 
the  manner  in  which  he  did  this  left  nothing  to 
lie    desired.       Shortly     afterwards    he    was    called 

upon  to  interpose  his  g I  offices  in  behalf  of  an 

American  citizen  who  had  been  condemned  to 
imprisonment.  He  did  so  quietly,  and  without 
display,  and  succeeded  speedilj  in  effecting  the 
release  of  his  countryman.  Wine  the  difficulty 
arose  with  Great  Britain  in  reference  to  the  con. 
struction  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  no  minis 
ter  was  more  active  than  he  in  disseminating  cor- 
rect information,  and  in  giving  public  opinion  a 
turn  favorable  to  our  interests.  In  the  final  ex 
tinguishment  of  the  Scheldt  dues  he  served  the 
government  with  marked  capability  and  intelli- 
gence. He  also  materially  assisted  in  bringing 
about  an  understanding  between  Belgium  and 
the  United  States,  which  enabled  them  to  agree 
upon  the  terms  of  an  extradition  treaty:  and  has 
more  recently  furnished  for  the  use  of  the  Senate 
committee  on  transportation  an  admirable  report 
upon  the  Belgium  railways  and  canals.  In  lsfs 
-Mr.  Jones  married  Miss  Scott,  the  daughter  of  the 
late  Judge  Andrew  Scott,  of  Arkansas.  She  is  a 
most  excellent  and  accomplished  lady,  and  has. 
with  her  interesting  children,  given  the  American 
Legation  at    Brussels    an   enviable  reputation  for 

elegance  and    hospitality.     It  is  1 xaggeration 

to  say  that  Mr.  Jones  and  his  family  have  won 
the  respect  and  affection  of  everybody  who  have 
felt  the  influence  of    their  home,  or  come   within 

tie- reach  of  their  kindly  offices.     In  the  s mer 

of   L875  Mr.  Jones  resigned  and  returned  to  Chi- 


94 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    llJJMUS 


cagoand  »;issn.  >n  thereafter  tendered  the  position 

tar)  "r  the  [nterior,  which  he  declined, 

and  was  appointed  Collector  of  the  Port  "f  Chi 

I     1  be  practically  retired  from  active 

I  >  1 1  ^  i  1 1  ■ 


MARTIN    RYERSON. 

MARTIN  RYERSON  was  hom  In  Bergen 
county,  near  Paterson,  N.  J.,  on  January  6,  1818. 
Be  was  the  son  of  Tunis  and  Jane  Ryerson,  de 
scendants  of  a  good  old  Dutch  family  which  came 
from  Amsterdam.  Holland,  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  boyhood  of  Martin  Ryerson  dif- 
fered but  little  from  that  of  other  country  l 
of  the  same  time.  Be  was  a  farmer's  son.  and  the 
farmers  of  those  days  believed  lirmly  thai  it  was 
their  dut)  to  keep  the  boys  at  work.  The  year 
1834  found  Martin  :i  boy  of  sixteen,  fired  with  ambi 
tion  by  stories  of  the  great  chances  for  advance 
menl  in  tin-West,  and  especially  in  Michigan,which 
ul  thai  time  was  a  very  attractive  section.  He  re 
solved  to  leave  home,  and  made  his  way  by  the 
Erie  Canal  and  the  hikes  to  Detroit,  where  he  was 
engaged  by  Richard  Godfrey,  an  Indian  trader, 
and  went  with  him  to  ( irand  Rapids,  then  ;i  Bmall 
village.  The  nexl  year  (1835)  Martin  entered  the 
emplo}  i>l  Louis  Campau,  another  Indian  trader, 
and  aftern  year's  service  went  to  Muskegon,  where 
Cor  three  years  he  worked  with  .Joseph  Trottier  in 
the  same  business.  While  \\  ith  these  traders  Mr. 
Ryerson  made  man}  trips  among  the  Indians,  and 
became  verj   familiar  with   their   language  and 

enst s.      Bis  experience    with  the    Al 

was  a   most    happy  one,  and  he  [uired  a  deep 

admiration  for  their  character,  to  whicb  he  testi 
lied  later  in  life  by  the  election  of  a  bronze  group 
in  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago,  to  the  memory    if  the 

Ottawa  Nation.    This  group  was  deled  b)  the 

celebrated  sculptor  J.  J.  Boyle,  and  is  one  of  the 

of  llie  many  works  of   art   in  that 

noble    park.     In     1839    Mr.    Ryerson,   who    was 

then     just     t\\ent\    Oni  I     With     'I'.      Xe\\  ell. 

a  merchant  and  saw  mill  proprietor  at  Mtis 
kegon,    with      whom      he      remained      t\\" 

At   the  expiration    of    that    ti he   purchased 

Mr.  Newell's  interest  in  his  general  store  and 
contracted  with  him  to  run  his  saw  mill. 
This  arrangement  proved  mutually  profitable, 
and   in    1845    \|,     Ryerson    purchased    the   mill 

and  conducted   it   in  i panj  with  a  Mr.  Green, 

under   the   nam.-  .,r  Green  .v    Ryerson,  the  firm 


aftern  aid    he,  oi  Knicki  rbocker. 

[n  1845  Mr.  Knickerbocker  sold  hi.-  interest  to 
Robert  W.  Morris,  and  again  the  firm  name 
underwent  a  change,  the  title  this  time  being 
i  Moms.  In  ls.",i  Mr.  Ryerson  came  to 
and  established  the  firm  of  Williams. 
Ryerson  &  Co.,  his  partners  being  John  M.  Wil 
liams  and  Robert  \V.  Morris.  They  opened  a 
lumber  yard  at  the  corner  of  Canal  and  Fulton 
Streets,  and  soon  did  a  large  business.  In  1854 
Watts T.  Miller  became  associated  with  Messrs. 
Ryerson  and  Morris,  Mr.  Williams  retiring,  and 
the   tirm   name   was    then   changed    to  Ryerson, 

Miller  A   Co.      In    1-."'.!  Mr.  Miller    iclin  d.  and    the 

■hi.     i  Ryerson  &  Morris,  used  at  Muskegon,  was 

adopted    b)   the   Chicago    tirm.      About    tin-    same 

time  Mr.  Rj  erson  and  bis  partner  opened  a  second 
ruber  yard   on    Beach     street,   between 

Dekoven  and  Hunker  Streets,  and  soon  secured  a 
profitable  trade  there.      Mi'.  Morris  retire, I  iii  L865, 

and  Mr.  Ryerson  reorganized  las  business  in 
Michigan,  which  had  become  of  immense  propor 
tions.  Benrj  B.Getty,  Ezra  Stevens  and  Charles 
T.  Hills  were  admitted  to  partnership  with  him. 
the  firm  becoming  Ryerson,  Hills  a  Co.  In  1867 
the  Chicago  house  was  changed  to  Martin  Ryer- 
son S   i'. i.      After  the   death    of    Ezra    Stevens,  ill 

1869,  the  business  was  continued  by  the  three 
remaining  partners  without  change  of  name  until 
1880,  when  Mr.  Ryerson's  son.  Martin  A.  Ryer 
son.  was  taken  in  as  a  partner.  The  business 
started  by  Mr.  Ryerson  in  a  small  way  in  Muske 
gon  in  1841  became  one  of  the  largest  of  the  kind  in 

the  West.  Without  means,  except  such  as  he  had 
saved  from  his  small  wages,  Mr.  Ryerson  w  hen  only 
twenty  three  years  old  em  harked  in  a  trade  which, 
In  connection  with  his  g I  deeds,  has  si made 

his  name  famous.     Unci  asing  enei  gj  and  honesty 

of  purpose  were  his  chief  characteristics  as  a 
husiness  man.  It  was  his  well  founded  pride 
that  in  no  part  of   his   business    or    his    social  life 

was  his  word  ever  called   in   question.     Be  dealt 

fairly  with  all.  whether  ordinary  customers  or 
personal    friends,  and    secured    the    good    will    of 

everybody  with  whom  he  came   in  i tact.    Mr. 

Ryerson  was  very  fond  of  travel,  and, being  a  man 
of  keen  perception  and  most  careful  observation, 
he  derived  in  his  later  years  both  profit   and  en 

joyment    from    many    extended    trips.      He    made 

frequent  journeys  in  this  countrj  and  in  Europe, 
and  the  information  thus  acquired,  hacked  bj 
his  natural  refinement  and  almost  marvelous  in 
tuition,  gave   to   him   a   polish  which   people  un 

acquainted     with     his    early     history    could    not 


l/f&6 


>^C^-   (/Ay^z^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


believe  was  thus  gained.  Mr.  Ryerson  was  very 
prominently  identified  with  the  noble  work  of 
charity.  During  his  lifetime  be  was  always  a 
generous  giver  to  every  worthy  cause,  ami  he  left 
munificent  bequi  sts  for  the  maintenance  of  n 
well  known  local  institutions,  which,  but  for  Mr. 
Ryerson's  benevolent  forethought,  would  now  be 
greatly  limited  in  their  usefulness.  Creed  he 
knew  not;  religious  professions  and  church  attach- 
ments he  was  singularly  reticent  about,  ami  yet 
in  the  fullest  sense,  if  the  vo.nl  he  was  a  Christian. 
He  loved  mankind,  and  did  what  he  could  to 
lessen  its  hardships,  without  the  rude  inquisitions 
which  so  often  make  of  charity  a  burden  hard  to 
accept.  What  he  did  was  from  the  promptii 
a  enerous  heart  and  without  regard  to  what 
particular  corner  of  Heaven  the  recipient  might 
have  hopes  of.  He  thus  in  various  ways  dis- 
tributed  during  his  lifetime  a  large  sum  of 
money  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men,  and 
when  his  estate  was  divided,  property  valued 
at  over  5225,000  was,  by  his  direction,  set  apart 
for  the  use  of  light  charitable  institutions  in 
this  city  under  the  name  of  "The  Martin  Byer 
son  Charity  Trust."  This  property,  a  grand  mon 
ument  to  his  generosity,  is  held  in  perpetual  trust 
for  the  benefit  of  four  Roman  Catholic  and  four 
Protestant  hospitals,  asylums  and  homes,  the  in- 
come being  divided  equally  among  them.  These 
beneficiaries  are:  The  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid 
Society.  The  Chicago  Nursery  and  Half  Orphan 
Asylum,  The  Old  People's  Home.  The  Chicago 
Hospital  for  Women  and  Children,  The  Alexian 
Brothers  Hospital.  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital.  St. 
Vincent's  Infant  Asylum  and  Mercy  Hospital. 
Mr.  Ryerson  never  identified  himself  with  any 
church,  nor  did  he  confine  his  charities  to  any 
sect.  Every  appeal  for  aid,  no  matter  fr.nu  what 
source,  met  with  a  ready  response  and  even  in  his 
early  years,  while  he  was  yet  a  pioneer  in  Michi- 
gan, the  calls  upon  him  were  heavy  and  frequent. 
Mr.  Ryerson  did  not  even  attend  the  usual  church 
services,  but  he  always  believed  in,  and  appreciated 
the  value  of ,  church  work.  His  religious  convic- 
tions were  not  defined  or  drawn  in  accordance 
with  dogmatic  theories,  but  he  was  not  bj  any 
means  a  scoffer.  In  Eact,  Mr.  Ryerson  rarelj  spoke 
on  the  subjei  t.  and  when  le-  did  it  was  not  to  ad- 
vance any  peculiar  faith  or  opinion  ..I'  his  own, 
but  rather  to  express  satisfaction  that  there  was  a 
wise  and  beneficent  control  of  the  universe.  It 
was  not  man's  mission,  he  held,  to  live   this   life 

s.-ltishly  and  to   the    exclusion    of    doing    g I    to 

others.     The   outward   forms  and    expressions  of 


faith  found  but  little  favor  with  him,  and  yet  he 
was  always  tolerant  and  appreciative  of  the  rights 
and  beliefs  of  his  fellow-men.  These  traits  of 
character  were  inborn  and  natural  to  the  man, for 
Mr.  Ryerson  had  none  of  the  opportunitie 
mon  to  most  young  men.  of  forming  his  opinions 
under  the  educational  care  of  skilled  tutors. 
Whatevei  he  knev>  was  by  intuition,  and  devel- 
oped solely  by  such  scanty  training  asa  boyunder 
sixteen  could  get  at  the  ordinary  district  schools 
in  the  country.  Judged  by  the  commonly  accepted 
standards.  Mr.  Ryerson's  life  and  achievements 
were  remarkable.  Mr.  Myers.  .11  was  married  in 
1851  to  Louisa  M.  Duvernay.  Alter  her  death  in 
is;,:,,  he  was  married  to  Mary  A.  ( !ampau,  daughter 
of  Antoine  Campau  of  Grand   Rapids,   Michigan. 

Mr.  Ryers lied  at  Boston,  Mass..  September  6th, 

1887.     He  was  at  the  time  on  his  way    home   ft 

the  seashore,  where  he  had  been  spending  the 
summer.  He  left  a  family  of  three  a  widow,  a 
daughter,  Mr--.  Mary  Butts  (since deceased  1,  and  a 
son,  Martin  A.  Ryerson.  In  addition  to  his  never 
failing  benevolence  to  individuals  ami  toorganized 
charities.  Mr.  Ryerson  was  interested  in  many 
public  enterprises  and  works  of  improvement  for 
the;  Ivancement  of  the  city.  He  was  an  ardent 
believer    in    Chicago   and  made    many    large   real 

.      t  .  1  I  .  ■    I  !    '.     si 


JESSE    ().   NORTON. 

HON.  JESSE   OLDS  NORTON   was  born   in 
B  ton,  Vt.,  December  25,  1812.     He  was  the 

son  of  Col.  Martin  Norton  and  Betsey  (Story) 
Norton,  and  was  the  youngest  of  eleven  children. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  after  finishing  his  preparatory  course 
in  the  Bennington  Academy,  he  entered  Williams 
i  lollege,  from  « Inch  he  graduated  with  honor. 
He  began  life  with  no  advantages  in  the  way  of 
wealth,  but  with   an   upright   character,  a   good 

mind,  and  industrious  and   sober  habits,  he  made 

rapid  progresi    in  a  career  that  proved  to  1 x 

ceptionally  useful  and  brilliant.  For  a  time  after 
Laving  college  he  taught  a  classical  school  at 
Wheeling,  Va.  From  there  he  went  to  Potosi, 
Mo.,  where  he  again  engaged  as  a  classical 
teacher,  and  \\  here  he  began  the  study  of  law,  in 

the  practice  of  which  he  afterwards  achieved 
such  marked  success.  In  1839  he  came  to  Illinois. 
settling  at  Joliet.  and  a    year    later    was   admitted 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS 


to  the  bar  in  this  state.  His  ability  and  genial 
manner  enabled  him  to  achieve  great  popularity 
among  the  i ■<•<  >pl«-.  who  showed  their  appreciation 
of  his  worth  by  electing  him  city  attorney.  In 
1846  he  was  elected  count}  judge  of  Will  county, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  was  re- 
elected. In  1848  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
state  constitutional  convention.     In   1850  he  was 

elected! mberofthe  Legislature,  and  in  1852 

was  elected  upon  the  Whig  ticket  to  the  United 
States  Congress.    While  serving  in  this  capacity 

the  question  of  repealing  the  Missouri  C pro 

mise  was  brought  before  Congress,  and  Mr.  Norton 
opposed  the  repeal  with  all  his  great  power  and 
eloquence.  The  people  of  his  districl  endorsed 
his  position  upon  this  measure,  which  had  the 
i  [fed  to  lead  the  anti-slavery  Whigs  and  the  free 
soil  Democrats  to  desert  their  respective  parties 
and  unite  with  the  newly-organized  Republican 
party;  and  as  the  result  of  Mr.  Norton's  opposi- 
tion to  the  repeal  of  the  .Missouri  Compromise 
and  the  rapidly  maturing  power  nf  the  new  politi 
cal  party,  he  was  re  elected  to  ( longress  in  1854  on 
the  Republican  ticket.  At  the  end  of  this  term, 
as  a  representative  in  Congress,  he  was  elected  to 
the  office  of  circuil  judge,  discharging  the  duties 
of  the  position  with  the  same  ftdelitj  and  courtesy 
that  distinguished  his  whole  public  and  private 
life.  At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion his  loyalty  to  his  country  was  a  tower  of 
strength,  and  he  left  nothing  undone  that  he  posi- 
tively could  do.  throughout  the  nation's  ordeal,  to 
sustain  the  government  and  its  army  in  preserv- 
ing the  Republic.  In  1863,  in  the  midst  of  the 
mo:. i  trying  period  of  the  struggle,  he  was  again 

eleeted    to    Congress,     and     served     his    country 

faithfully  in  that  office  until  March  5, 1865,  just 
before  the  close  of  the  war.  In  all  the  public 
positions  that  he  occupied,  and  in  his  private  life, 
he  showed  that  he  was  a  man  who  was  possessed 
of  a  rare  combination  of  gifts.  He  was  a  man 
wdiose  convictions  were  positive  and  clearly  de- 
fined, and  in  everj  position  where  duty  placed 
him  he  maintained  his  convictions  with  a  courage 
and  a  fairness  that  never  failed  to  command  the 
respect  not  only  of  the  public,  but  also  of  his  an- 
tagonists. As  a  legislator  he  was  energetic,  straight- 
forward and  eloquent.  Asa. indue  beforewhom 
was  tried  some  of  mosl  noted  cases  in  the  history 

of  American  jurisprudei he  was  clear-cut  in 

his  statement   of   the   law,  patient  with  lawyers 

and  their  clients,  and  an  unwavering  friend  and 
defender  of  justice.  In  his  family  and  in  his  asso 
eialions    with    friends    his     conduct     was    always 


marked  by  that  kindness  and  consideration  which 

are  the  result  of  a  noble  nature  and  a  well  trained 

and  well  balanced  intellect.  A  friend  has  said  of 
him  that  "  he  had  that  broad  and  generous  nature 
that  made  him  a  friend  to  every  man  he  met.  and 
that  pleasing  address  that  won  its  way  every 
where."  This  friend  gave  this  further  extraordi- 
nary testimony  as  to  his  gentility:  "I  never  knew 
bul  one  other  man  with  that  happy  combination 
of  characteristics  in  an  equal  degree."  His  posi- 
tion upon  the  question  of  reconstruction  was 
logical,  but  the  temper  of  the  people  was  not  such 
as  enabled  the  majority  to  recognize  that  fact. 
He  held  that  the  union  of  the  states  was  not 
broken  by  the  rebellion,  and  that  it  could  not  be 
broken;  that  the  constitution  was  always  supreme 
and  trusting  equally  upon  Congress  and  each 
state.  Hence  that  as  no  state  could  take  itself 
out  of  the  Union,  Congress  had  no  right  to  expel 
a  state  from  the  Union  by  practically  making  it  a 
territory.  At  this  distance  from  the  scene  of 
national  turmoil  and  excitement,  when  the  pas- 
sions have  cooled  anil  reason  has  resumed  its 
sn;ii.  few  would  care  to  deny  the  soundness  of 
this  logic.  In  1866  President  Johnson  appointed 
Mr.  Norton  United  States  district  attorney  for  the 

northern  districl  of  Illinois,  and  he  discharged 
the  duties  of  that  office  until  April.  L869,  with 
signal  ability,  with  honor  to  himself,  and  with 
justice  to  all.  Upon  his  retirement  from  the 
office  of  district  attorney  he  entered  into  part 
nership  with  Judge  Doolittle,  and  this  than  pur- 
sued the  practice  of  law  until  the  great  tire  of 
1871,  when  their  office  and  library  were  consumed. 
Afterwards  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  part  of  the  time  as  counsel  for  the 
city  until  confined  to  his  house  by  the  illness 
which  resulted  in  his  death.  He  died  in  Chicago, 
August  3,  1875.  Mr.  Norton  was  married  at 
Potosi,  Mo.,  to  Miss  P.  A.  Sheldon.  December  25, 
1837.  Mrs.  Norton  and  four  children  survived 
Mr.  Norton.  Few  men  were  more  greatly  honored 
by  a  community  than  was  Mr.  Norton.  His  work 
had  been  of  such  interest  and  benefit  to  the  peo 
pie  whom  he  served  in  an  official  capacity,  and  his 
private  life  had  been  so  pure  and  honorable  that 
his  eulogy  was  pronounced  not  only  by  eloquent 
lips  of  noted  orators  and  jurists,  but  by  the  com 
munitj  at  large.  The  bar  of  which  he  had  been 
so  long  a  brilliant  member  assembled  to  do  honor 
to  his  memory;  the  college  of  which  he  was  a 
graduate  spoke  tenderly  and  eloquently  of  his 

virtues,  and  the  press  united  to  pay  tribute  to  an 
honest    man. 


'£ZcaJ 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


97 


EDWARD    A.   SMALL. 

EDWARD  A.  S.MALLa  distinguished  lawyer 
who  died  in  Chicago,  January  13, 1882,  was  born 
in  Rumford,  Oxford  county,  Maine,  January  29, 
l^u:>.  He  was  the  descendant  of  an  English  fain 
ily  which  settled  in  Kittery,  Maine,  in  16  I  I 
six  intervening  generations  were  all  natives  of 
that  state  ami  with  one  exception  followed  the  oc- 
cupation of  farming.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  the  onlj  member  of  the  Small  family  who  is 
known  tu  have  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law. 
He  was.  by  tin-  death  of  his  father,  left  while  yet 
a  mere  lad  to  the  sole  rare  of  his  mother,  and  bj 
her  kindly  aid  he  was  earlj  fitted  for  college, 
which  he  entered  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  One  year 
of  study  completed  bis  collegiate  education,  and 
at  sei  enteen  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  country  store. 
This  occupation  Mr.  Small  foil., wed  for  the  next 
ten  years,  and  on  his  removal  to  Galena,  111.  in 
September,  L852,  he  confined  himself  to  mercan- 
tile lit''.  Five  years'  experience  in  trade  in  tin- 
West,  however,  convinced  him  that  there  was  a 
Letter  field  of  labor  in  the  legal  profession,  and  he 
began  to  study  law  with  such  diligence  and  appli- 
cation that  after  one  year's  reading  he  was  ad 
mitted  to  practice.  In  1858  Mr.  Small  became 
associated  as  junior  partner  with  Hon.  W.  Weig 
ley.  at  Galena,  and  continued  with  him  for  three 
years.  During  this  time  Mr.  Small  was  an  indus- 
trious, hard-working  practitioner,  but  without 
promise  of  the  brilliancy  which  he  so  s i  after- 
wards attained.  In  1861,  by  the  expiration  of  his 
co-partnership  with  Mr.  Weigley,  he  was  left  free 
to  pursue  Lis  own  ci  mrse,  and  In-  at  once  assumed 
a  leading  position  in  tin.'  arraj  of  shrewd  and  able 
lawyers  who  were,  even  at  that  early  day.  practic- 
ing in  the  Illinois  courts.  For  the  ne*.t  eight 
years  Mr.  Small's  success  was  exc  | 
1869,  having  risen  to  the  foremost  rank  in  his  pro- 
fession, he  removed  to  Chicago.  His  reputation 
had  preceded  him  to  that  city  and  it  w: 
short  time  before  he  had  a  large  and  very  profit- 
able clientage.  Mr. Small's  industry  and  his  fidel- 
ity to  the  interests  of  his  clients  were  matters  of 
current  comment,  and  it  was  these  valuable  qual- 
ities, coupled  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
theorj  and  practice  of  his  prof,-.- ion.  and  a  keen, 
analytical  mind,  which  enabled  him  to  secure  and 
hold  a  very  extensive  practice.  His  success  was 
achieved  against  obstacles  which  would  have  dis- 
heartened and  di  tea  ted  ;nn  man  less  resolute,  and 
the  same  indomitable  pluck  which  brought  him 
to   the   front  was   never   lacking  when    important 


interests  were  at   stake.     It   has  often   1 d    o 

marked  that  his  capacity  for  hard  work  was  won- 
derful, considering  his  slight  physique  a 
cat,-  constitution,  and  in  tin-  o  pin  ion  of  his  friends 
and  physicians  it  was  this  incessant  app 
to  duty  which  hastened  hi--  -Lath.  On  more  than 
on,-  occasion  Mr.  Small  was  offered  high  political 
position,  but  his  aversion  to  publicity,  his  disin 
clination  to  surrender  active  practice  of  a  profes 
sion  to  which  he  was  s,<  warmlj  attached,  a. ml  an 
unwillingness  to  be  torn  away  from  home  sur- 
roundings which  In-  idolized,  always  led  him  to 
refuse  the  proffered  honor.  Mr.  Small's  practice 
was  entirely  in  the  civil  courts.  He  never  under 
took  but  one  criminal  case  of  importance,  and 
that  was  the  defense  of  Christopher  Rafferty,and 
this  la-  only  went  into  after  a  long  study  of  the 
evidence  and  with  an  earnest  conviction  that  his 
client  was  entitled  to  an  acquittal.  Rafferty,  who 
was  an  employe  of  Mr.  Small's  patrons,  had  killed 
Policeman  Patrick  O'Meara.  There  were  three 
trials  and  three  convictions  for  murder  with  a 
sentence  of  death  each  time.  To  serve  the  defend- 
ant Mr.  Small  labored  incessant!)  for  years,  and 
only  abandoned  the  case  when,  after  successive 
defeats  in  the  courts,  an  appeal  to  th,-  Governor 
for  clemency  was  refused..  It  was  on,-  of  the  hard 
est  contested  criminal  cases  Illinois. 

and  for  this  reason  mainly,  assumed  an  historical 
interest.  Mr.  Small  was  counsel  and  attorney  for 
many  large  corporations  in  Chicago,  including  tie 
American  Express,  Adams  Express,  Merchants 
Despatch  and  the  Wesl  Division  Railway  Com- 
panies. Besides  his  ability  as  a  lawyer  Mr.  Small 
I  a  high  order  of  literary  merit,  and  while 
he  wrote  but  little  for  publication,  many  of  his 
private  letters  are  still  treasured  by  the  recipients 
as  beautiful    specimens,,!'    wed    painting,  as  well 

as  cherished    :ntos  of  tie-  dead.     There  was 

always  a  warm  friendship  between  Mr.  Small  and 
General  Grant,  and  a  letter  written  to  him  by  the 
latter  once  played  an  important  part  in  saving  the 
life  of   Mr.   Small's  son.     Mr.  Small   and   his   son 
had  gone  abroad  and  were  journeying  toC 
tinople  on  an  Austrian  steamer,  when  the  -  >n  H  a 
taken  down  with  typhus  fever.     The  captain  had 
ordered    him    put    ashore    and    was    deaf    to    Mr. 
Small's  entreaties  and    declarations  that   such   a 
move  was  certain  to  result  in  the  boy's  death,  un- 
til a  mutual  friend,  Sir  Talbott   Baker,  bethought 
himself  of  General  Grant's  letter  to  Mr.  Small. 
Borrowing  it  from  the  latter  the  nobleman  - 
it  to   the  captain  of   the   steamer,  who  at   once  d 

clared  that  so  intimate  a  friend  of  the  great  g* 


98 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


era!  could  command  the  ship  and  do  as  he  pleased. 
The  young  man  recovered  and  Mr.  Small  was  al- 
ways linn  in  the  belief  thai  it  was  the  name 
and  influence  of  General  Grant  which  assisted 
hi,,,  to  health.  Mr.  Small  himself  was  suffering 
with  a  chronic  stomach  trouble  when  he  under 
took  this  trip  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  relief. 
With  his  son  as  a  companion  he  traveled  through 
Europe,  and  then  down  into  Syria.  Palestine  and 
Egypt.  On  the  return  voyage  he  was  seized  with 
a  nervous  prostration  from  which  he  never  recov- 
ered. His  decline  was  gradual,  but  plain  to  all 
who  saw  him,  and  shortly  after  his  arrival  home 
resulted  in  his  death.  A  widow  and  live  children 
survive  him.  In  social  intercourse  Mr.  Small  was 
a  man  of  charming  personality.  Well  informed 
cm  all  topics  and  eloquent  in  the  use  of  language, 
his  conversation  was  delightfully  interesting  and 
his  home  was  always  the  center  of  an  intelligent 
and  kindly  gathering. 


WILLIAM  BLAIE. 

WILLIAM  BLAIR,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most 
successful  merchants  of  Chicago,  is  the  son  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  (Frary)  Blair,  and  was  born 
at  Homer,  Cortland  county,  N.  Y„  May  20,1818. 
His  parents  were  natives  of  Blandford,  Mass.,  and 
his  ancestry  on  his  father's  side  dates  back  live 
generations  in  New  England.  Robert  Blair,  the 
lirst  representative  of  the  family  in  this  country, 
was  of  Scotch  origin,  hut  his  ancestors  had  early 
moved  from  Scotland  to  Ireland,  locating  in  the 
proi  inceof  Lister.  Robert  Blaircameto  America 
in  171 S.  and  settled  at  Worcester,  Mass.  William 
Blair's  mother  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Frary.  whose  ancestors  came  from  Eng- 
land. On  removing  to  New  York  state,  Mr. 
Blair's  father  located  at  Homer,  but  a  few  years 
later  settled  on  a  farm  in  the  adjoining  town  of 
Cortland.  The  desire  to  engage  in  trade  devel- 
oped in  the  son  on  leaving  school,  and  he  soon 
after  began  his  business  career  with  Oren  North, 
a  stove  and  hardware  dealer  in  Cortland.  This 
was  in  1832,  and  lour  years  later,  when  Mr.  North 
decided  to  open  a  branch  store  in  Joliet,  111.,  with 

i  C  eventual!)  I  transferring  his  entire 

there,  should  the  venture  he  successful,  he 

sent  William  Blair,  then  bul  eighteen  yearsold,  to 
establish  the  branch  house.  Up  to  that  time  Mr. 
Blair  had  never  been  outside  of  Cortland  County, 
bul  his  employer  was  not  mistaken  in  his  ability 


to  manage  the  Inc. mess  intrusted  to  him.  Mr. 
Blair  opened  the  branch  at  Joliet,  and  prospered 
there  until  the  collapse  of  the  land  boom  in  1837, 
when  Mr.  North,  apprehensive  that  inflation 
schemes  had  irretrievably  ruined  the  western 
country,  resolved  to  remain  at  Cortland.  It  is  to 
the  credit  of  Mr.  Blair  that,  young  as  he  was.  and 
full  of  desire  for  advancement,  the  glittering 
promise  of  an  easy  fortune  to  1"'  made  in  the  then 
prevalent  real  estate  speculations  was  put  aside. 
When  the  crash  came  in  1837  Mr.  Blair  was  pre 
pared  to  take  advantage  of  it,  and  when  Mr. 
North  announced  his  intention  of  closing  the 
Joliet  store  he  bought  the  stock.  The  panic  had 
unsettled  the  country,  and  it  was  difficult  even 
for  old  and  well  known  merchants  to  obtain 
credit,  especially  when  they  were  doing  business 
so  far  west  as  Joliet.  Mr.  Blair  persevered  in  the 
lace  of  many  discouragements,  and  established 
credit  connections  with  Eastern  houses,  which 
enabled  him  to  do  a  successful  trade  for  five  years 
in  a  town  which  was  thought  to  be  ruined.  Chi 
cago,  in  the  meantime,  was  beginning  to  attract 
attention,  and  in  August,  1812,  Mr.  Blair  trans 
ferred  his  stock  to  that  city  and  opened  a  modest 
store  at  the  corner  of  Dearborn  and  South  Water 
Streets.  Two  years  later,  his  brother.  Chauncey 
B.  Blair,  then  living  in  Michigan  City.  Ind..  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm,  and  added  materially 
to  the  capital.  With  this  increase  of  funds, 
William,  who  continued  to  direct  the  business. 
gradually  enlarged  the  wholesale  department, 
and  soon  made  it  very  profitable.  The  selling 
of  iron  was  made  a  special  feature,  and  a  large 
warehouse  at  No.  75  Lake  Street  was  opened. 
In  L846  William  Blair  bought  out  the  interest  of 
his  non-resident  brother,  Chauncey,  and  took  in 
as  a  partner  William  E.  Stimson,  his  brother  in 
law,  an  active  young  man  who  shared  the  labors 
and  cares  of  the  business  with  him.  Ill  health, 
however,  soon  caused  Mr.  Stimson  to  withdraw, 
and  the  firm  of  Blair  &  Stimson  was  dissolved. 
Mr.  Blair  then  continued  tile  business  alone,  and 
prospered  in  every  move.  In  1817  larger  quarters 
were  obtained  at  103  Lake  Street,  and  in  1818 
these  were  found  insufficient,  and  a  lot  was  bought 
at  176  Lake  Street,  on  which  Mr.  Blair  erected  a 
large  building.  C.  B.  Nelson,  for  some  years  a 
I k  keeper  in  the  house,  was  admitted  to  part- 
nership in  1853,  the  firm  becoming  William  Blair 
&  Co.  This  was  the  lirst  exclusively  wholesale 
hardware  house  in  Chicago.  In  the  same  year 
Mr.  Blair  formed  with  E.  C.  Hall,  a  former  clerk 
in  his  house,  the  firm  of    E.  G.  Hall    &    Co.  which 


CCClcx. 


£C< 


l^l^C.J^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


99 


did  a  large  wholesale  trade  in  iron  on  South 
Water  Street  until  1860,  when  Mr.  Blair  with- 
drew. In  1856  the  firm  of  William  Blair  A  Co.  was 
again  enlarged  by  the  admission,  as  a  partner,  of 
O.  \V.  Belden,  another  faithful  employee.  Mr. 
Blair  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  the  trade  to 
realize  that  a  change  was  to  come  in  the  methods 
of  selling,  in  the  West,  the  product  of  the  hard- 
ware and  cutlery  factories,  bj  its  concentration  in 
the  hands  of  jobbing  firms  in  the  larger  cities  in 
the  interior.  Acting  upon  this  belief,  he  made 
Imsiness  contracts  with  leading  English  firms 
which  resulted  very  profitably.  In  1865  more 
room  for  the  growing  tirm  was  needed,  and  a 
handsome  building  was  erected  at  1711  1S1  Ran 
dolph  street,  which  was  destroyed  by  tin  greal 
fire  of  1871.  Before  the  ruins  of  their  old  head 
quarters  had  ceased  smoking,  the  tirm  was 
doing  business  at  30  32  South  Canal  street,  and 
the  unusual  demand  for  builders"  hardware  inci- 
dent to  the  rebuilding  of  the  city,  was  met  by  this 
tirm  with  a  promptness  which  elicited  hearty 
appreciation.  ( In  <  Ictober  1st.  1872,  less  than  one 
year  after  he  was  driven  out  of  the  stores  on  Kan 
dolph  street  bj  the  the.  Mr.  Blair  had  rebuilt  a 
five-story  structure  at  17l>  174  ITU  Lake  street, and 
shortly  after,  also  rebuilt  the  stores  at  179-181 
Randolph  street,  on  a  more  extended  scale.  In 
January.  1871,  James  M.  Horton  was  madeamem- 
ber  of  the  linn,  and  two  years  later  Augustus  O. 
Hall  was  also  admitted.  At  this  time  the  firm 
name  of  William  Blair  A-  Co..  represented  the 
most  profitable  hardware  trade  in  the  west,  and  it 
was  continued  until  January,  lsss.  when  Mr.  Blair, 
after  forty  six  years  of  active  business  life  in 
Chicago,  withdrew,  leaving  as  his  successors  the 
tirm  of  Horton.  Gilmore,  McWilliams  A:  Co.  The 
following  extracts  from  the  Iron  A<j<  of  January 
5th,  1SSS,  the  leading  journal  devoted  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  hardware  trade  of  the  United  States. 
bear  ample  testimony  to  the  high  standing  of 
the  house  which  was  founded  ami  fostered  by  Mr. 
Blair  for  nearly  half  a  century:  -The  wholesale 
hardware  house  of  William  Blair  A  Co..  Chicago, 
has  been  so  long  and  so  favorably  known  through- 
out the  entire  trade,  that  the  changes  which  have 
just  been  made  in  the  firm  are  of  more  than  pass- 
ing interest.  On  the  1st  Inst,  William  Blair  and 
his  son  Edward  T.  Blair  retired.  The  remaining 
partners  have  organized  a  stock  company  to  sue 
ceed  to  the  business  of  the  firm,  under  the  name 
of  Horton,  <  rilmore,  McWilliams  A  Co. 

■The  retirement  of  William  Blairfrom  the  hard 
ware  business  is  in  itself  an  event.     In  1842,  almost 


half  a  centurj  since.  Mr.  Blair  opened  a  hardware 

store  in  Chicago,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Dear- 
born and  South  Water  streets.  Prom  that  time 
until  now.  without  an  interruption,  he  continued 
in  the  business,  the  house  which  he  then  estab- 
lished being  to-day  the  oldest  hardware  house  in 
Chicago,  and  its  firm  name  being  among  the  oldest 
of  any  kind  in  any  line  of  Imsiness  in  that  city. 
It  was  the  first  exclusively  wholesale  hardware 
house  in  Qhicago.  When  established  it  covered 
both  wholesale  and  retail  trade,  but  about  1848, 
after  the  completion  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
Canal,   the    retail    department    was   discontinued. 

It  was  then  the  only  wholesale  hard  war.'  lee-.-  in 
the  west,  outside  of  St.  Louis.  In  the  great  fire 
of  October,  1871,  the  entire  property  of  the  firm 
was  swept  away,  but  in  fifteen  days  their  business 
was  in  good  running  order  at  oil  and  '-V1  South 
Canal  street  where  a  vacant  store  building  was 
fortunately  secured  the  day  after  the  fire.  In  the 
management  of  this  business  Mr.  Blair  has  been 
pre-eminently  distinguished  for  his  exactness, 
carefulness  and  conscientiousness.  He  has  always 
endeavored  to  be  just,  and  his  character  for  pro- 
bity, business  honesty  and  thorough  integrity  is 
without  a  blemish.  Mr.  Blair  now  retires  from 
tie-  hardware  business  to  give  more  time  to  other 
interests,  in  which  his  son  will  assist  him.  Be- 
tween them  and  James  M.  Horton.  who  now  be- 
comes lmad  of  this  great  house,  there  has  always 
been  the  most  cordial  feeling,  and  in  retiring  they 
carry  with  them  not  only  his  regrets  at  the  sever 
ance  of  the  ties  which  have  so  long  existed,  but 
also  the  enduring  respect  and  hearty  good  wishes 
of  all  their  other  associates  and  employees." 

In  this  long  and  active  career  as  a  merchant 
Mr.  Blair  passed  through  many  trying  ordeals,  but 
he  was  never  found  wanting  in  manly  dignity  and 
honesty  of  purpose.  During  the  panics  of  1857 
.e:l  1873  many  Chicago  Imsiness  men  whose 
financial  standing  had  never  been  questioned, 
were  obliged  to  compromise  with  creditors.  Mr. 
Blair  during  these  periods  ami  through  his 
entire  business  career  met  every  engagement  in 
lull.  Mr.  Blair  has  been  a  busy  and  active  man 
in  many  financial  and  philanthropic  enterprises 
in  Chicago,  and  is  so  still.  He  has  been  for  many 
years  a  trustee  of  the  Lake  Forest  University, 
and  has  been  one  of  the  managers  of  the  Presby- 
terian Hospital  since  its  organization.  He  was 
also  a  manager  of  the  Young  Men's  Library  Asso 

ciation,  i f  the  early  institutions  of  Chicago, 

fie-  Protestanl  Orphan  Asylum,  the  Home  for  the 
Friendless  (as  its  acting  president  for  several 
years),  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  and  has 
been  connected  with  many  other  benevolent  in- 
stitutions of  Chicago,  to  all  of  which  he  has  been 
a  liberal  giver.  Mr.  Blair  continues  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Merchant's  National  Bank,  of  which 
he  has  been  one  of  the  directors  since  it  was 
organized  in  1865.     When  the   Atlantic  ,v   Pacific 


loo 


BIOOKAPHV    OF    ILLINOIS. 


Telegraph  C pany,  of  New    Fork,   was   formed, 

Mr.  Blair  was  elected  a  director  and  served  in  t  hut 
capacity  for  several  years.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  directors  of  the  Chicago  Gas  Lighl 
■■.  Coki  i  o.  for  several  years  following  the  organi- 
zation of  tin mpany.     In  1859  Mr.  Blair  became 

a  member  of  theSecond  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
has  ever  since  been  ;i  contributor  to  all  of  its 
works.  Previous  to  1855  he  was  an  attendant  at 
Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  and  served  for  several 
year's  as  a  vestryman.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Union  League  Club.  Mr.  Blair  was  a  Whig  dur- 
ing the  existence  of  that  political  party,  and  has 
since  acted  with  the  Republicans.  He  has  never 
held,  and  never  was  a  candidate  tor.  political  office 
of  any  kind,  but  in  his  earlier  years  he  was 
frequently  pressed  into  service  by  the  Whigs  as  a 
delegate  to  conventions.  He  served  in  this  capac- 
ity in  the  Harrison  and  Tyler  ratification  conven 
tion  in  Springfield,  in  1840,  as  a  representative  of 
Will  county,  making  the  150  mile  trip  from  Juliet 
li.\  wagon.  The  part}  were  two  weeks  on  the  road 
and  had  to  camp  nut  at  night;  the  same  journey 
can  now  be  made  in  four  hours.  Mr.  Blair  was 
married,  on  June  L>lst,  1854.  to  Miss  Sarah  M. 
Seymour,  daughter  of  John  Seymour,  Esq.,  of 
Lyme,  Ohio,  a  lady  whose  beauty  of  character  and 
grace  of  accomplishment  have  made  the  Blair 
family  circle  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and  hospita- 
ble in  the  eity.  Two  sons  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Blair.  The  eldest,  William  Seymour 
Blair,  died  in  December,  1861,  when  a  boy  of  six 
years.  The  surviving  son.  Edward  Tyler  Blair, 
graduated  at  Vale  in  1879,  and  the  following  year 
was  admitted  to  the  linn  of  William  Blair  &  Co., 
with  which  he  remained  until  it  was  dissolved  in 
1888.  He  is  married  and  w  i til  his  family  resides  in 
Mr.  Blair  is  a  great  traveler.  His  tirst 
trip  to  Europe  was  made  in  1865,  when,  with  his 
wife  and  son  he  traveled  through  England.  France. 
and  Italy,  passing  the  winter  in  the  latter  country 
■  oid  visiting  many  places  of  interest  on  the  ( lonti 
nent.  In  October,  1889,  Mr.  Blair  made  an  ex 
tended  inspection  . . t  the  Paris  Exposition,  and 
then  journeyed  through  the  south  of  Prance  and 
into  Italy.  From  there  he  went  to  Egypt,  Pales- 
d  Turkey.  On  his  way  home  he 
he  old  cathedral  towns  of  England  and 
the  Highland  regions  of  Scotland.  Mr.  Blair  is  a 
■  i  ver,  and  his  journeys  abroad  have 
given  him  a  large  fund  ol  information  which  he 
imparts  to  his  friends  ill  the  n„. st  delightful  con- 
versations. Dui  i  uci  r,il  busi 
eer  he  has  aevi  r   forgotten    Ins   tirst   and 


onlj  employer,  Mr.  North,  to  whose  example  of 
uprightness  and  integritj  of  dealing  in  all  busi- 
ness transactions  he  was.  even  as  a  boy,  attracted. 
He  always  regarded  Mr.  North  as  a  pattern  of 
excellence  worth)  of  imitation,  and  admits  that 
the  wholesome  training  received  at  the  little  store 
in  Cortland,  in  1832,  gave  the  bent  which  influ- 
enced him  throughout  his  business  life. 


FRANKLIN   F.   SPENCER. 

FRANKLIN  FAYETTE  SPENCER,  one  of  the 
pioneers  and  merchant  princes  of  Chicago,  was 
bom  at  Perrysburg,  N.  Y.,  October  13, 1817,  and 

died  at  his  home  on  Michigan  Avenue,  Chicago, 
November  1.  1890.  Shortly  after  the  birth  of 
Franklin,  his  father,  l'hineas  Spencer,  who  was  a 
merchant  in  good  standing,  removed  toGowanda, 
Cattaraugus  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  established 
quite  a  large  business  as  a  general  store-keeper. 
He  was  a  man  of  consequence  in  the  town;  and  he 
gave  his  son  a  good  education  at  the  local  acad- 
emy. When  Franklin  hail  completed  the  course 
In'  entered  the  employment  of  his  father  as  chief 
clerk  ami  cashier.  He  was  exceedingly  apt  at 
business,  and  in  a  barter  was  generally  success- 
ful. His  energy  as  a  youth  was  remarkable,  and 
between  his  thirteenth  and  twenty-first  years 
Ins  experiences  in  his  attempts  to  augment 
his  fortune  were  not  only  varied  but  exciting. 
In  1838  he  drifted  to  the  West  in  the  tide 
of  hardy  and  adventurous  spirits  who.  tiring 
of  the  limited  opportunities  afforded  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  sought  home  and  fortune  in 
this  apparently  boundless  land  of  promise. 
When  he  arrived  in  Chicago  it  was  a  strug- 
gling village  of  less  than  1,000  inhabitants, 
Init  the  prospects  were  good,  and  it  was  his  in- 
tention then  to  remain  and  "  grow  up  with  the 
country."  It  is  said  that  one  of  his  tirst  stops 
after  arriving  in  Illinois  was  to  pre  erupt  a  claim 
on  the  IJock  River,  where,  for  a  short  time,  at  all 
events,  he  led  the  somewhat  wild  and  adventurous 
life  natural  at  that  place  and  time.  The  death  of 
his  father  in  ls:t;i  caused  him  to  return  at  once  to 
the  home  of  his  youth,  where  he  assumed  the 
management  of  his  father's  store,  ami  immedi- 
ately undertook  the  settlement  of  the  paternal 
estate  the  latter  a  matter  which  was  not 
concluded  until  about  1845.  He  then  returned 
to  the  West,  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years 
followed     business     as     a      general      trader,     trav- 


0&/k 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


IOI 


eling  extensively  in  the  states  of  Illinois,  Indiana 
and  Missouri,  and  traversing  the  entire  length  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley  in  his  mercantile  under- 
takings. His  pluck  and  energy  led  him  into  all 
sorts  of  adventurous  trading  enterprises.  Among 
those  with  whom  he  had  large  dealings  were  the 
Mormons,  then  ;i  comparatively  small  seel  occu 
pying  lands  in  Illinois,  and  under  the  leadership 
of  Joseph  Smith,  between  whom  and  Mr.  Spencer 
there  sprang  up  quite  a  warm  friendship.  Having 
paid  every  debt  left  unsettled  by  his  father  at  his 
death,  and  having  beside  accumulated  a  small 
capital,  he  settled  in  Chicago  in  1855  as  the  west- 
ern representative  of  Jewett  &  Root,  a  prosperous 
firm  of  Btove  manufacturers  in  Buffalo,  X.  Y..  the 
junior  partner  of  which  was  his  brother-in-law, 
having  married  his  sister.  Delia.  Mr.  Spencer 
opened  a  branch  house  in  Chicago  on  South 
Water  street,  but  a  lire  caused  the  removal 
of  tin-  business  to  a  store  mi  River  street. 
where  it  was  continued  until  1865.  His  suc- 
cess in  this  agency  was  almost  phenomenal. 
His  personal  acquaintances  extended  fr.au  the 
Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  gave  him  a  splendid 
tield  in  which  to  operate,  and  he  lost  no  time  in 
attempting  to  make  it  exclusively  his  own.  His 
energy  was  untiring,  and  as  a  consequence  it  was 
doI  long  lief.. re  he  controlled  almost  the  whole 
western  market  in  stoves.  Persons  now  living 
who  recollect  his  earlier  successes  in  selling  stoves 
say  that  no  .me  else  at  that  day  seemed  t..  he  able 
to  do  any  business  whatever  in  that  line  of  wares. 
In  1865,  in  connection  with  Mr. W. G. Hibbard, he 
bought  out  the  firm  of  Tuttle,  Hibbard  &  Co., 
wholesale  hardware  dealers,  occupying  premises 
at  the  corner  of  State  and  Lake  streets,  Chicago, 
and  founded  the  house  of  Hibbard  A-  Spencer, 
which  was  in  a  must  prosperous  condition  when  the 
great  tire  ..f  lsTl  laid  the  city  in  ashes.  Notwith- 
standing the  heroic  efforts  of  Mr.  Spencer  and 
his  partners,  who  labored  steadfastly  all  tin.. ugh 
that  memorable  night  i<  >ctober  9),  only  an  insig- 
nificant part  of  the  stock  was  Baved;  but  this,  to- 
gether w  ith  the  books  and  papers  of  the  firm,  was 
removed  to  the  Lake  Front  and  stored  under  a 
slight  shed,  where,  fortunately,  it  escaped  further 
disaster.  Probablj  no  more  remarkable  exhibi- 
tion of  energy  and  success  is  recorded  in  American 
annals  than  the  rebuilding  of  Chicago.  The 
buoyancy  of  spirit  and  marvel.. us  recuperative 
powers  exhibited  by  the  people  ..f  Chicago,  under 
the  heavy  weight  of  their  affliction,  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  world,  and  will  ever  reflect  the 
highest    credit   upon   the  American   name.    The 


action  of  Mr.  Spencer  and  his  partners  affords  a 
good  illustration  of  these  qualities,  and  of  the  re- 
markable courage  which  seems  to  be  one  of  the 
most  prominent  characteristics  of  the  true  Ameri- 
can man  of  business.  Undaunted  by  the  appalling- 
disaster  and  declining  to  he  affected  by  the  doubt 
and  uncertainty  that  threatened  for  a  time  to 
paralyze  all  effort,  the  firm  laid  in  an  immense 
stock  of  goods  —  its  credit  being  practically  un- 
limited and  without  the  waste  of  a  single  day 
proceeded  to  rebuild  its  business  and  rehabilitate 
its  fortunes.  By  the  year  1882  the  l;usiuess  had 
reached  such  magnitude  that  the  firm  was  in- 
corporate.1  as  a  stock  company  under  the  title  of 
Hibbard.  Spencer,  Bartlett  &  ('....  and  1..  day  this 
company  ranks  as  one  of  the  largest  in  its  line  in 
the  world,  having  probably  but  one.  or  at  most 
two.  rivals.    Of  this   e.,m). any  Mr.  Spencer   was 

the  vice  president  until  the  day  of  his  death.  He 
entered  upon  man's  estate  with  a  legacy  of  debt,  to 
pay  which  in  full  he  cheerfully  sacrificed  several 
of  the  earlier  years  of  his  experience,  and  he 
closed  his  long,  active  and  highly  honorable  career 
a  millionaire.  His  business  life  furnishes  a 
notable  example  of  what  maybe  accomplished, 
even  under  adverse  circumstances,  by  energy  and 
resolution,  when  guided  by  honorable  principles 
and  aided  by  agreeable  personal  character 
istics.  He  was  in  truth  a  great  business  man. 
as  well  as  a  successful  one.  but  the  saying 
"business  is  business."  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
tin-  phrase-that  it  is  alien  to  conscience,  char- 
ity, considerateness,  sympathj  and  affection, 
— was  foreign  to  his  tongue  and  to  his  nature. 
His  conduct  in  all  mercantile  transactions  was 
marked  by  scrupulously  fair  dealing,  frankness 
and  kindness,  and  b}  an  abiding  faith  in  the  bet- 
ter side  of  human  nature.  He  was  so  constituted 
by  nature  that  he  took  a  hopeful  view  of  things  as 
well  as  of  men.  and  as  he  was  loath  to  believe  anj 
man  likely  to  turn  out  a  scoundrel,  so  too,  he  was 
sanguine  regarding  the  outcome  of  his  business 
enterprises.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that  till 
through  life  his  heart,  his  hand  ami  his  pocket 
hook  were  open  to  the  needy  and  deserving.  Per- 
sonally a  man  of  tireless  energy,  he  had  a  high  re- 
spect for  this  quality  in  others,  and  regardless 
of  an  applicant's  financial  standing  would  cheer- 
fully help  him  if  he  found  him  possessed  of  the 
vim  and  energy  he  so  much  admired.  In  person. 
he  was  a  large  man.  but  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  to  hear  him  spoken  of  by  those  who  knew 
him  well  as  having  a  heart  as  large  as  his  body. 
Common  report    has  it    that  his  charities  were  he 


102 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


stowed  with  an  open  hand  but  always  without 
ostentation.  The  limits  of  a  biographical  sketch 
.Ui  not  permit  of  the  recital  of  any  of  his  individ- 
ual acts  of  kindness.    Suffice  it  to  say  thai   thej 

were  almost  as  m u-ous  as  the  days  of  his  lite. 

He  was  never  above  manifesting  the  kindliest  in 
terest  in  the  poorest  person,  and  to  many  total 
Btrangers  he  was  a  generous  and  unexpected 
benefactor.  Among  his  employees  he  was  called 
"the  heart  of  the  house,"  and  they  came 
to  him  for  counsel,  consolation  or  aid,  as  to  an 
eldei  brother,  confident  of  his  assistance, — moral 
and  material.  One  of  his  traits  was  the  love 
of  animals.  Dumb  beasts  had  in  him  a  warm 
Friend.  On  cue  occasion,  immediately  after  the 
great  fire,  when  the  Lake  Park  was  covered  with 
merchandise  and  the  streets  were  well  nigh  im- 
passable, he  saw  a  teamster  furiously  lashing  a 
team  of  stalled  horses.  His  sympathy  for  the 
struggling  animals  was  instantlj  aroused,  and 
although  he  was  then  over  fifty-five  years  of  aye 
he  resented  the  abuse  to  which  they  were  being 
unnecessarily  subjected,  by  picking  up  a  piece  of 
scantling  and  knocking  the  bully  oil'  his  wagon. 
lie  followed  up  this  proceeding  by  threatening  to 
thrash  the  life  out  of  him  if  he  renewed  his  abuse 
of  the  horses.  He  was  very  fond  of  horses  him- 
self, and  one  of  his  greatest  pleasures  was  in  tak- 
ing long  drives,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  was 
Ins  inseparable  companion  and  in  whose  society  he 
found  his  chief  delight.  If  he  had  a  well-marked 
passion  it  was  for  flowers.  He  had  them  about 
him  always,  whatever  the  season,  and  he  gave 
them  to  others  prodigally.  He  lived  in  what 
might  be  called  luxurious  style,  but  there  was 
not  an  atom  of  selfishness  in  his  composition. 
Nothing  was  too  good  for  his  family— and  he 
shared  with  them  -but.  on  the  other  hand,  noth- 
ing that  he  had  was  too  good  for  a  poor  person 
in  want,  or  for  a  suffering  friend  or  neighbor. 
His  generosity  was  prompt  and  unstinted  — 
always  timely  and  always  more  than  equal  to 
the  need.  Popular  and  widely  known,  he  could 
have  aspired  to  political  office  without  fear  of 
defeat,  but  his  tastes  did  not  run  that  way.  In- 
deed, he  would  never  accept  official  position  in  any 
of  the  many  charitable  and  benevolent  institu 
lions  to  which  he  so  frequently  and  liberally 
contributed.  His  religious  affiliations  were  with 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago,  which 
hi'  attended  regularly  and  to  which  hewasagener- 

■  ins  benefactor.    Mr. Spencer  was  married  on  March 

20th,  1843,  io  Miss  Rachel  Gifford  Macomber, 
daughter  of  Zebedee  A.  Macomber.  of  Dartmouth, 


Mass.  Mrs.  Spencer  died  on  March  18th,  1887. 
Of  their  live  children,  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, but  two  of  the  latter  survive,  viz.:  Mrs. 
Augustus  X.  Eddy  and  Mrs.  Arthur  .1.  Caton, 
both  esteemed  residents  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's   illness    was    brief    and    his  death   quiet  and 

painless.    Identified  so  long  with  the  interests  of 

Chicago,  and  participating  so  continuously  in  its 
business  and  philanthropic  affairs,  he  was  known 
in  all  parts  of  the  city,  and  to  men  in  all  walks  of 
life.  All  the  principal  papers  of  the  city  pub- 
lished long  obituary  notices,  giving  many  par- 
ticulars regarding  his  interesting  career,  which 
have  been  freely  drawn  upon  in  the  preparation  of 
this  sketch.  A  writer  in  one  of  the  great  dailies. 
in  commenting  editorially  upon  his  demise,  said: 

"In  the  death  of   Mr.  Franklin    F.  Spencer,  of 
the  great   hardware  house   of   Hibbard,  Spencer, 

Bartlett  i  Co..  which  occurred  yesterday.  Chicago 
has  lost  one  of  its  very  best  citizens.  Mr.  Spen- 
cer was  too  modest  to  make  any  display  of  his 
good  deeds,  but  there  are  scores  of  men  in  Chi 
cago  who  were,  in  one  way  or  another,  liberal 
sharers  of  his  large  success,  andit  is  no  exaggera- 
tion to  say  that  thousands  have  been  the  recip- 
ientsof  his  charity,  many  of  them  without  knowing 
\\  hence  their  help  came.  Another  eminently  suc- 
cessful Chicago  business  man  recently  remarked. 
■  I  have  about  concluded  that  we  are  in  this  world 
for  the  work  there  is  in  us.'  To  this  estimate  of 
life  the  example  of  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Spencer 
adds — and  for  the  good  we  can  do  to  others.  His 
death  must  have  come  as  a  personal  affliction  to 
ill  who  enj.  veil  the  pm  liege  :  f  his  friendship 


WILLIAM  G.   HIBBARD. 

WTLLIAM     GOLD    HIBBARD.    the    senior 

member  and  president  of  the  great  hardware 
house  of  Hibbard.  Spencer.  Bartlett  it  Co.,  is  one 
of  tie'  best  known  men  in  this  line  of  business  in 
the  country.  Mr.  Hibbard  was  born  at  Dryden, 
Tompkins  county.  X.  Y..  in  18l>r>.  Bis  parents 
were  Joel  Barber  Hibbard  and  Eliza  (Gold)  Hib- 
bard. His  early  life  was  uneventful,  and  on 
reaching  a  school  age.  in  1839,  he  was  sent  to  the 
academy  at  Cortland.  X*.  Y.  where  he  remained 
some  years.  In  184!)  Mr.  Hibbard.  then  a  young 
man  of  ambition,  removed  to  Chicago  and  en- 
gaged as  a  clerk  with  the  hardware  firm  of  Blair 
.V  Stimson.  Six  years  later,  in  1855,  having  saved 
some  money,  he  embarked  in  business  for  himself, 
in  partnership  with  Nelson  and  Fred  Tut  tie  and 
George  M.  Gray,  the  firm  being  known  as  Tuttle. 
Hibbard  A:  Co.     A  serious  tire  in  1857  destroyed  the 


a 


■ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


IO" 


building  occupied  by  the  Sim,  and,  seizing  their  op- 
portunity, the  young  merchants  Becured  newquar- 
tersal  32  Lake  street  and  enlarged  their  trade.  For 
eight  years  they  prospered,  and  in  1865  the  first 
change  in  their  ten  years  of  business  life  was  made 
by  the  retirement  of  Messrs.  Tuttle  ami  Gray, 
whose  interests  were  bought  by  Mr.  Hibbard  and 
P.  P.  Spencer.  The  new  firm  was  called  Hibbard 
&  Spencer.  It  was  changed  afterwards  to  Hibbard, 
Spencer  &  Co.,  by  the  admission  of  A..  C.  Bart- 
lett,  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  old  firm 
of  Tuttle,  Hibbard  &  Co.  sine,  L864.  The  in- 
creasing business  of  the  firm  necessitated  a  re 
moral  in  1863  to  Si  86  Michigan  avenue,  and 
there,  as  in  the  former  locations,  they  were 
eminently  successful.  Three  years  of  profitable 
business  in  the  new  store  was  followed  on  Mon- 
day, October  9, 1871,  by  the  entire  destruction  of 
the  large  establishment,  by  the  great  lire  winch 
on  that  'lay  devastated  Chicago.  To  most  mer- 
chants the  disaster  seemed  irreparable,  and  even 
with  some  of  the  most  enterprising  it  was  weeks 
before  an  effort  to  recover  their  trade  was  made. 
I  lie  m<  ii  who  composed  the  firm  of  Hibbard, 
i  .v  Co.,  however,  were  no  laggards.  On 
ili'  morning  of  Tuesday.  October  10, 1871,  before 
breakfast,  and  less  than  twenty-four  hours  after 
theii  store  was  destroyed,  they  had  secured  tem- 
porary quarters  al  Mr.  Hibbard's  residence,  1701 
Prairie  avenue,  carted  there  such  oi  their  stock 
as  was  saved  from  the  flames,  and  made  a  sale 
from  it.  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  quickest 
renewal  of  business  after  the  lire.  As  soon  as  the 
ruins  on  the  Lake  Front  were  cleared  away  the 
firm  began  the  erection  of  a  one  story  wooden 
structure  on  the  park  between  Washington  and 
Randolph  streets.  Il  was  completed  and  occu- 
pied lo  lie  in  as  a  -tore  within  twenty  days  after 
the    first    nail  was    driven.     In   the  meantime  ar- 

nts  bad  bee ade   by  Mr.  Hibbard  for 

the  rebuilding  of  the  old  store  at  •'!'_!  Lake  street, 
anil  by  the  middle  of  the  June  following  the  fire, 
the  firm  was  doing  Imsiness  in  a  handsome  store 
at  the  old  location.  Since  then  the  increasing 
business  of  the  firm  has  made  frequenl  additions 
to  their  offlci  and  warehouse  necessary,  until  now 
nearly  the  entire  block  is  occupied  by  them.  In 
In  'J.  under  the  advice  of  Mr.  Hibbard.  the  busi- 
ness was  turned  over  to  a  stock  company  known 
as  Hibbard.  Spencer,  Bartlett  A  Co..  of  which  he 
is  the  president.  One  object  of  this  change  was 
to  reward  some  of  the  firm's  old  and  faithful 
employees,  who  were  presented  with  shares  in  the 
company.     .Mr.   Hibbard   has  always  favored  co- 


operation, especially  between  the  employer  and 
employee,  and  it  is  his  pride  that  his  confidence 
in  the  men  to  whom  he  entrusted  an  interest  in 
his  extensive  business,  was  well  placed.  The  re- 
sults could  not  have  been  more  satisfactory,  and 
the  incorporated  company  is  doing  a  business 
that  is  the  wonder  and  the  admiration  of  the 
t  rade.  .Mr.  Hibbard  is  a  generous  num.  a  free  but 
intelligent  giver  to  all  deserving  objects,  lb- 
assists  many  people,  bul  always  in  a  way  which 
tends  rather  to  put  them  in  condition  to  help 
themselves  than  to  weight  them  down  with  an 
oppressive  charity.  He  uses  Ins  influence  and  his 
opportunities,  as  well   as   his  means,   lor  the  ad- 

'' emenl    of    bis   fellow-man  in    distress.      Mr. 

Hibbard  also  takes  a  practical  interest  in  the 
good  works  of  organized  charity,  and  is  active  in 
the  direction  of  many  public  institutions,  prin- 
cipal among  which  is  the  Foundlings' Home  of 
Chicago,  of  which  he  has  been  for  many  years  the 
president.  Mr.  Hibbard  has  been  a  member  of 
Grace  Episcopal  Church  thirty-three  years,  and 
d  it  for  a  lone  time  as  a  vestryman.  His 
religion  is  of  the  quiet,  unobtrusive,  practical 
kind,  exhibited  in  deeds  rather  than  mere  forms 
or  words.  In  his  business  he  is  a  most  thorough 
and  competent  master  of  trade,  knowing  everj 
detail  of  the  vast  industry  which  has  been  built 
up  under  his  supervision,  and  possessing  a  prac- 
tical knowledge  which  few  men  attain.  Mr.  Hib- 
bard was  married  in  1855  to  .Miss  Lydia  Beekman 
Van  Schaack,  a  daughter  of  II.  C.  Van  Schaack, a 
prominent  lawyer  in  Onondaga  county.X.  V.  The 
union  lias  been  a  most  happy  one.  and  with  the  as- 
sistance of  his  worthy  wile.  .Mr.  Hibbard's  home  has 
been  made  not  only  a  bright  social  center,  but  the 
headquarters  of  a  kindly  and  effective  charity. 
Four  sons  and  four  daughters  have  gladdened 
the  hearts  of  this  faithful  pair,  six  of  whom  are 
still  living,  and.  with  the  nine  grandchildren, 
often  grace  the  paternal  board.  Mr.  Mil. I. aid  is 
now  living  tit  1701  Prairie  avenue,  in  a  home 
built  by  him  in  1868. 


THOMAS   B.    BRYAN. 

THOMAS   BARBOUR   BRYAN  was   bor 

Alexandria.  Va..  Dee.  22,  1S-J8.  His  paternal 
grandfather.  Win.  Bryan,  of  Rockingham  county, 
was  a  major  in  the  war  of  1SFJ.  and  served  man* 
years  in  tin-  Virginia  Senate.  His  maternal  un- 
cles,  .lames   and    Philip    Barbour,    were    distin 


104 


BIO  IRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


I,  the  first  as  Governor  of  Virginia,  Minis- 
ter i"  England,  Secretary  of  War  and  United 
States  Senator;  the  other  as  Speaker  of  the  Na- 
tional  House  of  Representatives  and  as  a  Justice 

of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.   In  boy  1 1 

Thomas  Bryan  showed  the  possession  of  unusual 
oratorical  gifts.  While  still  in  his  teens  his  ad 
dresses  to  the  soldiers  departing  Eor  the  Mexican 
War  attracted  attention,  and  are  still  remembered 
by  older  men.  He  was  sent  to  Harvard,  where  he 
was  graduated  in  law.  While  there  he  wrote  a 
grammar  Eor  German  students  in  the  study  of 
English.  He  has  since  made  many  speeches  in 
the  German  language.  At  the  age  of  twentj  one 
he  settled  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  was  taken  into 
partnership  by  Judge  Hart,  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  bar  in  that  city.  In  lS'i-2  Mr.  Bryan  removed 
to  Chicago,  where  he  entered  into  the  practice  of 
law  with  Judge  Taft.  new  of  Michigan,  ami  sub 
sequently  connected  himself  with  John  Borden, 
forming  the  firm  of  Bryan  &  Borden.  He  early 
acquired  large  real  estate  interests;  built  Bryan 
Hall,  the  leading  place  Eor  holding  concerts  and 
other  public  entertainments  at  that  time;  founded 
Graceland Cemetery  and  pr<  imoted  i  ither  imp<  irtant 
enterprises  i  if  the  young  metropolis.  Mr.  Bryan's 
father  had.  as  far  back  as  the  thirties,  made  the 
lirst  speeches  delivered  in  the  Senate  of  Virginia 
advocating  the  liberation  of  slaves.  Hence  the 
sun  came  naturally  by  the  Union  sympathies 
which  he  manifested  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  He  was  chosen  by  both  political  parties  to 
deliver  the  address  of  welcome  to  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  in  the  great  wigwam,  when,  just 
the  "Little  Giant's"  death.  Chicago  accorded  him 
an  ovation  in  recognition  of  the  magnanimous 
and  patriotic  manner  in  which  he  bore  Ins  defeat. 
During  the  whole  civil  war  Mr.  Bryan  devoted  a 
large  portion  of  his  time  and  fortune  to  the  Union 
cause.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Union  Defence 
Committee,  and  was  active  in  fitting  out  regi- 
and  caring  for  the  wounded  and  disabled. 

i  he  former  the  "Bryan  Blues"  of  the  105th 
Infantry  were  named  after  him.  In  recognition 
of  his  services  in  this  direction  the  Loyal  Legion 
chose  him  as  one  of  the  three  or  four  honorary 
members  of  tin-  Illinois  Commandery.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  lie  was  President  of  the  great 
Sanitarj  Fair  in  Chicago,  which  cleared  $300,000 
for  disabled  soldiers.  He  purchased  for  $3,000  I  tn 
original  copy  of  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 
and  donated  it  to  tin-  Soldiers'  Home,  to  be  copied 
in  lithograph  and  sol, I  t..r  tin-  benefit  of  that  in- 
stitution, of  which   he  Inn-  continued  for  manj 


years  as  President.     Unfortunatelj  that  precious 

document,  with  which  President  Lincoln  had 
parted  in  order  that  it  might  lie  sold  at  the  Sanitary 
Fair  to  help  swell  the  proceeds  from  that  charita- 
ble undertaking,  was  deposited  by  the  Soldiers' 
Home  at  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  ami 
then-  destroyed  iii  the  great  tin-.  After  the  war 
Mr.  Bryan  traveled  with  his  family  for  some  years 
in  Europe.  On  his  return  he  settled  in  Washing 
ton.  where  he  subsequently  became  one  of  the 
commissioners  governing  the  District  of  Colum 
liia.  The  great  fire  of  1^71  so  complicated  his  af- 
fairs that  he  returned  to  Chicago,  where  he  has 
always  kept  his  summer  home  in  the  beautiful 
suburb  Elmhurst.  Prior  to  1871  he  had  erected 
the  first  safety  deposit  vaults  in  the  city,  in  which 
many  millions  of  money  and  securities  were  saved 
in  the  conflagration  which  left  those  vaults 
standing  intact.  When  he  resumed  the  practice 
of  law  he  associated  with  him  Mr.  Azel  F.  Hatch 
as  a  partner.  When  the  agitation  for  holding  the 
World's  Fair  in  Chicago  began  Mr.  Bryan  drafted 
the  resolutions  that  wen-  adopted  at  the  first 
meeting  in  the  Council  chamber.  During  the 
following  summer  and  winter  he  devoted  nearly 
all  his  time,  without  compensation,  as  Chairman 
of  tin-  Committee  on  National  Agitation,  in  advo- 
cating the  holding  of  the  Fair  in  Chicago.  He 
made  many  addresses  during  that  period  in  the 
Eastern  anil  Western  States.  In  the  debate  he- 
fore  the  Senate  committee  he  answered  Mr.  De- 
pew  in  a  speech  which  attracted  much  attention. 
Before  tin-  Eollowing  session  of  the  Illinois  Gen- 
eral Assembly  he  did  hard  work  in  advocating  the 
65.000.000  act.  For  two  years  he  has  served  as 
Vice  President  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion Directory.  He  was  sent  abroad  in  the  latter 
part  of  1891  as  a  special  commissioner  of  the  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  to  promote  its  interests 
throughout  Europe.  Mr.  Bryan's  favorite  recrea- 
tion has  always  been  in  his  books.  His  distin- 
guishing traits  are  generosity,  quickness  and 
thoroughness  of  execution,  uniting  activity  and 
great  executive  ability  and  a  rare  command  of 
language.  In  appearance  he  is  of  medium  height, 
with  blue  eyes  and  light  complexion.  -V  sojourn 
of  several  years  in  Colorado  had  a  beneficent  ef- 
fect on  his  health,  which  had  been  impaired  by 
the  strain  of  war  and  tire  times,  but  which  was 
Completely  restored  bj  the  bracing  atmosphere  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  .Mr.  Bryan  married  in  1851 
Miss  Byrd  Page,  of  Virginia,  she  was  then  noted 

for  her  grace  and   accomplishments,  u  hieh   alter 

ward  made  her  a  leader  in  Washington  society, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS 


105 


They  have  two  grown  children  living,  a  son  and  a 
daughter.  The  former,  CharleB  Page  Bryan,  al- 
though graduated  in  law  and  admitted  to  the 
bar,  has  made  journalism  and  literature  his  voca- 
tion. He  was  President  of  the  Editorial  Associa- 
tion of  Colorado  and  member  of  the  Legislature 
of  thai  State  Now  he  is  a  Representative  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  Illinois  and  a  meml 
Governor's  military  staff.  Mr.  Bryan's  daughter 
is  a  favorite  pupil  of  Mr.  Healy,  the  eminent  por- 
trait  painter.  She  is  also  an  accomplished  harp- 
ist. 


GEORGE  MANIERRE. 

Mention  of  the  name  of  George  Manierre, 
recalls  to  memory  a  kind  and  courtlj  gentle- 
man, an  earnest  and  lovable  friend  and  a  most 
impartial  and  upright  judge.  His  death,  which 
occurred  May  21st.  1863,  was  an  occasion  of 
deep  and  universal  sorrow,  not  only  in  Chicago, 
but  throughout  Illinois.  The  sad  event  was  the 
more  observed  in  this  city  because  it  was  I 
he  came  as  a  young  man;  it  was  here  that  hegrew 
up  and  achieved  distinction  at  the  bar  and  on  the 
bench;  it  was  here  that  he  was  the  best  known 
and  appreciated.  It  is  tie-  lot  of  but  few  men  to 
gain  ripe,  honors  at  so  young  an  age  as  did 
Manierre.  He  was  only  forty  six  years  old  when 
death  summoned  him,  in  the  prime  of  a  vigorous 
manhood,  and  yet  he  was  a  vet-ran  in  journalism. 
in  politics,  in  the  law  and  in  the  1 
miration  of  his  fellowmen.  <  ieorge  Manierre  was 
the  descendant  of  a  Huguenot  family,  his  great- 
grandfather having  emigrated  from  Normandy  in 
16S0,  during  the  religious  persecutions  of  that 
time,  and  settled  in  New  London.  Conn.  There 
the  family  remained  and  grew,  from  generation  to 
generation,  until  is] 7  when  ( ieorge  Manierre  was 

born.      His    boyh 1    was  uneventful  until   ls:;i 

when  a  shadow  was  cast  over  it  by  the  death  of 
his  father.  The  widow,  left  with  a  family  of  four 
children  to  rear,  moved  to  New  York  Citj  and 
began  1  he  study  of  law  with 
Judge  John  Briukerhoff.  In  183o  Mr.  Manierre, 
then  eighteen  years  old,  full  of  desire  to 
fame  in  his  chosen  profession,  came  to  Chicago,  ;•■ 
village  at  that  time  of  about  one  thousand  inhab- 
itants, and  entered  the  office  of  Grant  &  Peyton. 
On  the  dissolution  of  this  firm  Mr.  Manierre  fin- 
ished his  law   studies   under   the   mentorship  of 


John  Young  Scammnn.  and  in  1839  was  admitted 
to  the  bar.  During  these  years  of  study  the  young 
man  was  dependent  upon  his  own  resources  for 
support.  He  secured  employment  as  a  clerk  in 
the  village  offices  and  from  the  meager  salary  thus 
earned  paid  his  way.  The  discomforts  and  obsta- 
cles he  encountered  were  met  with  a  will  which 
knew  no  defeat;  an  indomitable  determination  to 
succeed  carried  him  through  at  times  when  men 
of  less  Ion-.-  and  energy  would  have  been  crushed. 
As  a  boy  Mr.  Manierre  had  attracted  the  atten- 
tion and  admiration  of  Judge Brinkerhoff  and  the 
•  unsel  of  the  latter  was  always  before  him 
as  a  guiding  beacon.  Of  a  fine-strung, honest  and 
unswerving  disposition  himself.  Mr.  Manierre  was 
deeply  impressed  with  the  duties,  the  dignities 
and  responsibilities  of  the  lawyer  as  expounded 
by  his  first  preceptor,  and  through  his  eight  years 
of  stud\  the  fond  wish  for  success  was  ever 
coupled  with  tin1  determination  that  it  should 
add  to  the  brightness  of  the  halo  with  which  the 
noble  leaders  at  the  bar  were  crowned.  Mr.  Man- 
ierre's  worth  wat  tognized    by  his  fellow- 

citizens  and  Hey  felt  honored  in  conferring  upon 
him  places  of  trust.  That  these  were  small  at 
first  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Chicago  was  then  a 
small  town.  Mr.  Manierre's  hist  public  office  was 
ty-clerksbip  of  the  circuit  court,  under 
Pierpont.  His  next  appointment,  as  a  mas- 
ter in  chancery,  came  from  the  same  source. 
i.d  his  time  until  1840  when 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  George  W.  Meeker 
and  reached  the  culmination  of  his  plans  by, 
beginning  the  practice  of  the  law.  As  might  be 
expected  of  one  so  finely  constituted  and  so  thor- 
oughly equipped,  Mr.  Manierre  became  a  very  suc- 
cessful lawyer.  He  was  a  careful  and  wise  coun- 
selor, who  had  the  law  thoroughly  at  his  command 
and  consequently  always  commanded  tie 
of  judges,  lawyers  and  juries.  His  statements, 
either  of  fact  or  law,  in  the  trial  of  cases,  were 
rarely  questioned,  for  it  was  well  understood  that 
he  would  not  advance  an  argument  until  he  had 
well  satisfied  himself  as  to  its  merit.  Mr.  .Man 
ierre  was  twice  chosen  city  attorney  on  the  undis 
guised  plea  that  his  services  were  needed  in  the 
revision  of  the  municipal  ordinances  which  had 
become  badly  tangled.  He  found  them  in  chaos 
and  left  a  code  which  few  lawyers  have  been  able 
to  find  fault  with.  In  1855  Mr.  Manierre  was 
elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court  for  the  Chicago 
district,  then  comprising  the  counties  of  Cookand 
Lake,  and  was  re-elected  without  opposition  in 
1861.     He   had   four  years   of   the  second  ten,,  to 


io6 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


serve  when  he  died.     It  was  as  a  judge  thai   Mr. 
Manierre  achieved  the  greatest  distinction.    Well 

satisfied  as  mosf  [ pie  were  with  his  merits  and 

abilities  as  a  lawyer,  they  were  captivated  by  the 
clearness  of  his  judicial  opinions  and  the  perfect 
impartiality  of  his  rulings.  No  client  or  lawyer 
ever  claimed  that  they  failed  of  a  patient,  atten 
tive  In -a  ring.  He  wanted  to  know  all  the  details  of 
the  cases  before  him  and  was  not  content  until 
he  had  mastered  them.  Asa  result  his  findings 
were  usually  impregnable  and  many  of  them  have 
been  taken  by  the  makers  of  textbooks  as  author- 
ity. One  of  the  most  important  and  notable  cases 
ever  heard  by  a  judge  in  this  country  was  the 
trial  of  William  Hopp  in  the  winter  of  1862-63  for 
the  murder  of  his  wife.  It  occupied  many  weeks 
of  Judge  Manierre's  time  and  the  close  confinement 
in  the  illy-ventilated  court  room  undoubtedly  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  attack  of  typhoid  fever 
which  caused  his  death.  Hopp's  lawyers  made 
what  was  at  that  time  the  novel  and  ingenious 
plea  of  insanity  and  argued  it  with  gnat  skill. 
On  the  evidence  produced  by  the  state,  Judge 
Manierre  charged  the  jury  to  the  effect  that  tin- 
accused  was  insane  only  while  intoxicated;  that 
insanity  produced  by  intoxication  does  not  destroy 
responsibility  when  voluntarily  induced:  that  the 
killing  of  a  person  by  another  either  when  drunk. 
or  wlen  excited  by  jealousy  or  hatred,  without 
provocation,  is  murder.  Hopp  was  convicted  and 
the  motion  for  a  new  trial  received  as  patient  and 
careful  a  hearing  as  the  original  case.  Judge  Man- 
ierre denied  the  motion  in  a  carefully  prepared 
opinion,  re-asserting  his  first  proposition  as  to  the 
responsibility  of  drunkards,  and  making  it  even 
stronger  by  the  further  declaration  that  the  in- 
sanity produced  by  intoxication  is  not  an  excuse 
for  crime,  but  rather  an  aggravation  of  the  offense. 
In  delivering  the  death  sentence  Judge  Manierre 
said  that  he  had  hoped  and  prayed  that  the  de 
Eense  would  make  their  evidence  strong  enough 
to  warrant  an  acquittal  but  they  had  not  done  so. 
The  decision,  as  was  Judge  Manierre's  custom, 
contrary  to  the  prevailing  practice,  was  written 
out.  He  had  so  studied  and  attacked  in  his  own 
mind  every  proposition  laid  down,  that  tlie  find- 
ing was  error-proof  and  was  at  once  taken  by  the 
law  book  i ipilers  as  a  final  and  binding  interpre- 
tation of  the  law  on  insanity,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  Supreme  Court  remanded  the  case  on  a 
question  of  the  extent  of  doubt  which  jurors  should 
have  in  order  to  warrant  an  acquittal.  Judge 
Manierre  took  advanced  grounds  as  to  the  degree 
to  which  insanity  excuses  crime,  and  received  the 


thanks  of  the  medical  and  legal  professions  in  all 
parts  of  tin-  United  States  for  his  masterly  exposi- 
tion of  the  subject.  That  the  trial  of  the  Hopp 
case  was  a  terrible  strain  on  the  Judge  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  his  last  words  had  refer 
ence  to  it.  those  near  his  bedside  being  just  able 
to  hear  the  dying  jurist  murmur  " defendant." 
Another  important  decision  by  Judge  Manierre 
was  delivered  in  1862,  when  William  Semple,  who 
had  been  arrested  for  desertion  from  the  Sixty- 
rif tli  Illinois  Volunteers,  contested  the  President's 
right  to  proclaim  martial  law  in  Chicago,  and  ap- 
plied for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  If  Semple's 
motion  had  been  granted  grave  complications 
would  have  arisen,  but  Judge  Manierre  denied  it 
in  an  opinion  which  satisfied  the  prisoner  and  his 
counsel  that  the  act  of  the  President  in  proclaim- 
ing martial  law  was  legal  and  proper.  Judge 
Manierre  was  never  a  politician  in  the  common 
acceptation  of  the  term,  but  he  was  always  prom 
inent  and  active  in  politics.  He  could  will  lay 
claim  to  being  a  statesman,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Republican  party.  At  the  his- 
torical convention  held  in  Aurora,  on  September 
19,  1851,  George  Manierre.  as  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  resolutions  —  the  other  members  of 
which  were  Messrs.  T.  C.  Moore,  of  Batavia,  and 
Beardsley,  of  Rock  Island  —  presented  the  party 
platform  and  recommended  the  adoption  of  the 
name  -republican."  The  suggestion  was  in- 
dorsed with  an  enthusiasm  which  startled  such  a 
strong  Democrat  as  Hon.  John  Wentworth  into 
the  belief  that  he  was  on  the  wrong  side  of  the 
contest,  and,  after  a  short  period  of  probation, 
this  distinguished  man  became  a  worker  in  the 
new  Republican  party.  Previous  to  this  conven- 
tion at  Aurora  there  had  been  no  regular  gather- 
ing of  the  men  opposed  to  slavery  and  other  evils 
of  that  day.  The  important  questions  of  " Free- 
soil,"  "Anti-Nebraska"  and  kindred  matters  had 
been  spasmodically  discussed,  but  the  first  organ- 
ized opposition  was  made  when  the  Republican 
party  was  formed  at  Aurora,  with  the  aid  of 
Judge  Manierre.  The  sympathy  of  this  man  was 
always  with  the  oppressed;  his  voice  was  never 
silent  when  the  rights  of  his  fellow-man.  white  or 
black,  were  at  stake.  So  far  back  as  1S18  he  had 
identified  himself  with  the  anti-slavery  move- 
ment, and  was  one  of  the  callers  of  the  Free-soil 
convention  at  Ottawa.  111.,  at  which  Van  Buren 
ami  Adams  were  endorsed.  In  IS.'ii  Mr.  Manierre 
appeared  before  United  States  Commissioner 
Meeker  in  defense  of  a  colored  man  who  had  been 
arrested  under  the  fugitive  slave  law.  and  secured 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLTXoIK. 


IO/ 


bis  release.  Prom  the  beginning  of  the  struggle 
until  President  Lincoln  was  elected  on  an  anti- 
slaverj  platform  in  1860,  Judge  Manierre  never 
faltered  in  his  laudable  task;  he  never  : 
or  debated  as  to  the  part  he  should  take  in  the 
work;  it  made  no  difference  to  him  whether  he 
was  private  or  leader  in  the  battles  for  reform, 
but  it  did  to  the  rest  of  the  community,  and  by 
their  choice  he  was  generally  a  leader.  It  was 
this  public  spirit  that  led  Mr.  Manierre.  in  1843, 
to  accept  the  office  of  alderman  from  I 
Ward  that  he  might  the  better  work  out 
some  needed  changes  in  the  public  school  ordi- 
nances. This  accomplished,  he  was  in  1844 
elected  school  commissioner,  ami  served  for  eighl 

years,  bringing  the  school  fund,  which  had   ! 

impaired  by  the  panic  of  1837,  into  a  satisfactorj 
condition  and  gradually  remodeling  the  entire 
system  until  a  satisfactory  conditi  - 
While  the  changes  made  bj  .Mr.  Manierre  may 
not  have  been  at  the  time  fully  appreciated,  their 
usefulness  became  the  more  apparent  with  each 
succeeding  year,  and  there  is  to-day  no  name 
more  revered  by  the  friends  of  the  Chicago  public 
school  system  than  that  of  George  Manierre.  His 
labors  in  getting  the  legislation  into  the  i 
shape,  in  securing  lie'  income  necessary  to  support 
not  only  the  schools  of  his  time  but  to  provide  for 
their  future  growth,  was  Herculean.  He  had  no 
assistance  beyond  that  of  friends  enlisted  bj  his 
own  great  earnestness,  ami  no  organization  of 
citizens  to  give  him  moral  support.  But  heron 
quered,  and  tin-  Manierre  School  in  the  North 
Division  is  a  simple  and  just  tribute  to  his  great 
labor  of  love  for  the  youth  of  Chicago  and  the 
cause  of  education.  There  were  few  movements 
for  the  advancement  of  the  public  welfare  be- 
tween 1836  and  1863  in  which  Judge  Manierre 
was  not  conspicuous.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
civil  war  in  1861  he  was  one  of  the  chief  and 
energetic  organizers  of  the  Union  Defense  Com- 
mittee, which  rendered  invaluable  services  in 
Chicago  to  aid  the  campaigns  of  Fremont  and 
others  in  Missouri.  It  was  mainly  his  counsel 
that  prevailed  in  including  within  its  member- 
ship Democrats  as  well  as  Republicans,  so  that 
a  union  of  all  parties  might  be  secured  in  the 
state  in  strengthening  the  administration  of 
President  Lincoln.  He  was  one  of  the  members 
of  the  first  board  of  regents  of  the  Chicago  Uni- 
versity, which  was  organized  in  1859,  and  he  held 
the  office  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Young  Men's  Association,  of  the 
Chicago  Historical   Society,  and   of  the  Chicago 


Law  Institute.     In  his  earl}  years  Judge  Manierre 

mtributor  to  the  New  York  Mirror,  then 
edited  by  George  P.  Morris,  and  accredited  as  the 
literary  organ  of  tie-  country.  From  1832  to  1835 
the  poetical  and  prose  contributions  of  this  un- 
known young  man  were  given  ready  place  with 
those  from  Washington  Irving.  William  Cullen 
Bryant,  Edgar  Allen  Poe,  and  other  writers  of 
tame,  who  thought  in  those  days  that  recognition 

\firror  was  a  compliment.  In  ls-tn  John 
Wentworth,  who  wanted  to  finish  a  course  at 
Harvard  University,  was  glad  to  call  -Mr.  Manierre 
to  the  editorship  of  the  Chicago  Democrat,  which 
was  then  the  most   influential  and  brilliant,  the 

..iless  ami  caustic  paper  in  the  West. 
Wentworth  was  a  rugged,  forceful  writer,  who 
often,  in  his  impetuosity  overdid  himself,  and  the 
readers  of  the  Democrat  were  not  slow  to  note 
ge in  the  editorial  columns  when  Manierre. 
with  his  calm  arguments, couched  in  polished  but 
■I;  charge.  Always  a  deep 
and  thoughtful  scholar,  well  posted  not  only  in 
the  political  history  of  his  own  country,  but  in 
polite  literature.  Mr.  Manierre  was  very  successful 
as  an  editorial  writer,  and  there  were  fewr  men 
who  cared  to  invite  him  to  a  discussion.  A  prom- 
inent Eeature  in  Judge  Manierre's  character  was 
his  utter  fearlessness  < it  public  opinion.  He  did 
what  he  thought  was  right,  and  acted  always  with 

the  purpose  of  helping  either  th mmunity  or 

individuals.  His  character  was  without  a  blemish, 
and  few  men  have  had  more  sincere  mourners 
when  summoned  to  th,'  grave.  The  funeral 
oration  delivered  by  Rev.  P.  W.  Patterson  contains 
many  gems  of  oratory  which  well  illustrate  the 
virtues  and  disposition  of  the  departed  judge, 
ither  things  he  Baid:  "  Without  a  vice  or 

-i\e  habit,  he  was  a  thoroughly  just  man. 
who  had  a  profound  regard  for  the  rights  of 
every  member  of  human  society.  His  sympathy 
with  the  suffering  and  unfortunate  was  sincere 
ami  deep,  but  it  never  overmastered  his  sense  of 
justice  and  his  reverence  for  the  majesty  of  the  law. 
.  .  .  His  fervent  patriotism  and  love  of  liberty 
will  be  remembered  and  honored  when  the  noise 
of  present  strifes  and  the  din  of  war  shall  have 
died  upon  all  our  ears,  and  when  the  names  of 
demagogues  and  mere  partisans  shall  be  recalled 
only  to  bi'  scorned."  .fudge  Manierre  was  mar- 
ried in  1841  to  Miss  Ann  Hamilton  Reid,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Reid,  barrister  of  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land. The  widow  and  four  son-  t  Seorge,  William 
P..  Edward  and  Benjamin  Manierre  —  survive 
him. 


ioS 


KIOGEAPHV    OK    ILLINOIS. 


DANIEL  L.  SHORE Y. 

DANIEL  LEWIS  SHOREY,  a  leading  mem 
ber  of  the  Chicago  bar,  was  born  at  Jonesbor 
ough,  Washington  county,  Maine,  January  :!lst. 
L824.  The  family  is  prominent  in  New  England 
history,  and  was  especially  active  in  the  days  of 
the  Revolution.    John  Shorey,  the  grandfal  lier  of 

the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen a  private  in  the  American  army, and  fought  at 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  He  served  afterward  in 
General  Washington's  bodj  guard,  and  did  active 

military  duty  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Joseph 
Shorey,  the  father  of  Daniel,  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers    in    Maine,    and    conducted    a    large    farm 

there  while  what  is  now  the  Pine  Tree  State  was 
yet  a  pari  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  man  of  1  i i » 
eral  education,  being  well  read  in  English  litera- 
ture, and  had  great  influence  in  the  politics  and 

social  life  of  his  district.  The  mother  of  Mr. 
Daniel  L.  Shorey  was  formerly  Miss  Sylvia  Hall, 
a  oative  ■>!'  Washington  county,  Maine,  and  a  de 
scendant  on  her  mother's  side  from  the  Morton 

I l\  of  .Massachusetts.  After  an  uneventful  hoy 

h I  Daniel  was  sent  to  Phillips'  Academy,  at  An 

dover,  Mass..  where  he  was  prepared  for  Dart- 
mouth College.  He  graduated  with  high  honors 
from  the  latter  institution  in  1851,  and  went  to 
Washington.  I).  ( '..  where  for  two  years  he  taught 
the  classics  in  Kittcnhouse  Academy.  During  this 
time  he  began  to  read  law.  and.  becoming  much 
interested  in  the  profession,  took  a  regular  course 
at  the  Dane  Law  School,  at  Cambridge.  Mass.  In 
1854  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Boston,  and 
after  one  year  of  practice  in  that  city  removed  to 
Davenport,  Iowa,  where  he  remained  for  ten 
years.  His  success  was  marked  from  the  start. 
and  he  soon  secured  a  profitable  clientage.  I  lin- 
ing his  residence  in  Davenport  Mr.  Shorey  had  as 
a  partner  General  J.  B.  Leake,  who  was  for  sev 
eral  years  United  States  District  Attorney  at  Chi- 
cago. Prom  ISO".!  to  1865  Mr.  Shorey  was  attorney 
for  the  city  of  Davenport  and  president  of  the 
school  board.  In  I860  he  removed  to  Chicago 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the 
civil  courts  of  Cook  county.  He  retired  from  act- 
ive practice  in  August,  L890,  ami  took  a  trip 
abroad,  spending  eight  months  in  European 
travel.  There  are  few  men  at  the  Chicago  bar 
who  have  won  in, ire  distinction  in  the  profession 
than  Mr.  Shorey.  His  early  training  was  iinusu 
ally  broad  and  complete,  ami  he  soon  a. 
thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  details  of  practice 
as  well   as  of  the  theories  of   his  calling.     Great 


natural  ability,  strengthened  by  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, close  application  accentuated  by  a  natural  lik- 
ing for  the  profession,  combined  to  make  for  him 
a  most  prosperous  and  agreeable  practice.  Mr. 
Shorey  has  always  been  prominent  and  active  in 
public   library  matters,  and  drafted   the  excellent 

law  enacted  by  the  Illinois  Genera)  Assembly  in 
IsT'J.  governing  the  organization  and  manage- 
ment of  such  enterprises.  The  merit  of  this  act 
is  such  that  it  lias  since  served  as  a  model  for 
similar  statutes  in  other  States.  In  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Chicago  Public  Library  Mr.  Shorey 
took  a  leading  part,  and  for  eight  years  served  as 
a  member  of  the  board  of  Directors.  He  was 
president  of  the  library  for  four  years,  and  re- 
signed when  he  became  an  alderman  in  1880. 
To  Mr.  Shorey.  are  the  library  interests  of  the 
Northwest  greatl)  indebted  for  constant  and 
intelligent  direction  and  fostering  patronage. 
Identified  as  he  has  been  with  these  educa- 
tional interests.  Mr.  Shorey  verj  naturally  has 
taken  high  rank  in  literary  circles.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club 
since  its  organization  in  1874,  and  was  the  fourth 
president  of  the  club  for  the  term  in  1877  78. 
He  prepared  and  read  many  papers  while  an  act 
ive  member  of  the  club  between  the  years  1875 
and  1888.  the  subjects  of  some  of  the  more  inter 
esting  and  valuable  being:  "Recent  English  Leg- 
islation." "Civil  Service  Reform,"  "The  Restora- 
tion of  Specie  Basis,"  "The  Government  of  Large 
Cities."  "Socialism  in  the  United  States,"  "Tur- 
gor," and  "Political  Economy  Since  Mill."  In  1888 
he  read  a  very  able  paper  on  "The  Russian  Nihil- 
ists" before  the  Saracean  Club.  Mr.  Shorey  is  a 
thorough  French  scholar,  and  reads  that  language 
with  facility.  He  is  also  conversant  with  Greek 
and  Latin,  and  is  well  versed  in  the  classics.  One 
of  his  favorite  subjects  is  political  economy,  and 
he  has  not  only  devoted  a  great  deal  of  time  to 
the  study  of  this  science,  but  has  collected  many 
rare  and  valuable  books  on  the  subject.  Origin- 
ally a  Whig,  Mr.  Shorey  joined  the  Republican 
party  on  the  dissolution  of  the  old  political  organ- 
ization, and  has  ever  since  been  an  earnest  worker 
for  good  government  and  clean  politics.  His 
name  has  been  many  times  suggested  for  high  ju- 
dicial and  other  honorable  positions,  but  at  his 
argent,  personal  request  his  official  career  has 
been  limited  to  a  continuous  six  years' service  in 
the  l'ii\  Council  of  Chicago.  He  represented  the 
Third  Ward  in  that  body  until  his  removal  to 
Hyde  Park,  where  he  now  resides.  As  a  member 
of  the  First   Unitarian  Church  of  Chicago.  Mr. 


■'■■ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


I09 


Shorey  holds  a  prominent  place  in  the  lay  coun- 
cils of  that  religious  denomination.  He  was  for 
eighteen  years  presideni  of  the  Western  Unita- 
rian Conference,  and  with  the  exception  of  one 

short    interval    his   service    in    that    capacity    has 

been  continuous.    His  address  at  tl pening  of 

the  conference  held  in  Chicago  May  12  14,1891, 
was  a  remarkably  comprehensive  and  broadly  lib- 
eral exposition  of  the  faith.  The  Christian  Reg- 
ister Bays:  "Though  Mr.  Shorey's  address  was 
the  public  expression  of  one  individual,  we  believe 
it  represents  the  opinions  and  feelings  of  the  greal 
majority  of  the  conference  over  which  he  pre- 
sided." One  paragraph  in  the  address  is  illustra- 
tive of  the  catholic  spirit  by  which  Mr.  Shorey 
was,  and  is.  animated.     He  said: 

"Our  churches,  like  cithers,  have  their  roots  in 
the  past,  and  their  nurture  in  the  holy  influences 
of  all  time.  We  are  burn  in  a  universe  of  infinite 
beauty  and  order,  over  which  the  spirit  of  good- 
ness reigns  supreme  and  forever.  Wide  is  the  field 
of  duty.  The  whole  earth  is  our  home,  and  the 
entire  human  race  is  one  family.  It  is  well  to  be 
reminded  how  large  are  the  relations  to  the  past 
that  any  individual  or  any  church  sustains.  We 
are  apt  at  times  to  place  our  lineage  in  narrow 
lines.  The  Jew  forgetswhal  he  owes  to  the  Chris- 
tian, the  Christian  what  1 wes  to  the  Jew,  the 

Catholic  what  he  owes  to  the  Protestant,  the 
Protestant  what  he  owes  to  the  Catholic-.  The 
people  of  one  clime  are  often  nourished  on  the 
productions  of  another.  Broader  and  deeper  than 
any  of  our  local  or  race  words  is  the  name 
'  humanity."  and  deeper  and  vaster  than  humanity 
is  all  that  is  signified  in  the  name  of  •God.'"' 

Mr.  Shorey  is  profoundly  interested  in  the  suc- 
cess of  the  new  University  of  Chicago.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  board  of  Directors  from 
the  beginning,  and  hopes  to  live  to  see  it  take 
rank  as  the  leading  university  of  the  Northwest. 
Mr.  Shorey  was  married  in  L856  to  Maria  Antoin- 
ette Merriam.  of  Bedfonl.-Mass.  The\  have  two 
children  a  son  and  a  daughter.  The  fc  irmer  1  Paul 
Shorey)  graduated  from  Harvard  University,  at 
the  head  of  the  class  of  187S,  with  the  highest 
honors  in  history,  tin-  classic's  and  philosophy. 
For   the   past   six  years  he   has   been    Professor  of 

Greek  at  Bryn  Mawr  College,  near  Philadelphia. 
The  daughter  (Martha  Hall  Shorey)  has  been 
studying  in  Europe,  but  is  now  with  her  parents 
in  Chicago. 

JOHN    P.   WILSON. 

JOHN  P.  WILSON,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of 
Chicago,  general  counsel  lea-  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition,  and  widely  recognized  in  his 
profession  as  one  of  the  ablest   living  authorities 


on  corporation  and  real  estate  law.  was  born  in 
the  township  of  Garden  Plains,  Whiteside  county, 
111..  July  :!.  1844.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  Wil- 
son, a  Scotchman  who  came  to  America  from  his 
native  land  in  1833  and  settled  in  Illinois,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming,  continuing  in  this  pursuit 
until  1880,  when  he  removed  to  Evanston,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death  in  1883. 
The  wife  of  Thomas  Wilson  and  mother  of  John 
P.  was  Margaret  (Laughlin)  Wilson,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  of  Scotch  ancestry.  By  mak- 
ing the  best  of  the  limited  opportunities  at  his 
command  in  his  native  place,  and  supplementing 
the  instruction  thus  received  by  close  personal 
application  to  his  books  at  night  and  such  other 

1 1 s   as    opportunity    afforded,    young    Wilson 

managed  to  tit  himself  for  higher  studies,  and  by 
the  time  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age  had  entered 
Knox  College,  at  Galesburg,  111.,  determined  to 
secure  a  classical  education.  In  1865,  a  few  days 
before  attaining  his  majority,  he  was  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  ails  at  Knox  Col- 
lege. After  graduation  lie  taught  at  Galesburg 
in  connection  with  the  college  and  in  the  district 
school  at  Garden  Plains  during  the  years  1865 
and  1866,  and  studied  law  mornings  and  even- 
ings. Frugal  of  his  time-,  he  devoted  all  his  spare 
moments  during  these  years  to  the  study  of  law, 
looking  in  at  courl  occasionally  and  turning  over 
in  his  mind  the  pros  and  cons  of  such  cases  as 
came  under  his  observation.  In  the  spiring  of 
ISiiT.  having  passed  the  required  examination  be- 
fore the  proper  board  of  examiners,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Illinois  bar,  and  coming  to  the  city 
of  Chicago  entered  the  law  office  of  Borden, 
Spafford  .V  .Mi  I  >aid.  and  upon  the  dissolution  of 
said  firm  spent  two  years  in  the  office  of  John 
Borden.  Esq.  In  1870  the  law  thin  of  Spafford, 
McDaid  A  Wilson  was  organized.  After  passing 
through  many  changes  of  partnership,  he  is  now 
the  senior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Wilson 
Moore  &  Mcllvaine,  one  of  the  strongest  in  Chi- 
cago. Mr.  Wilson's  practice  has  been  of  a  gen 
eral  character.  He  has  devoted  himself  with  such 
earnestness  to  the  study  of  his  profession  that 
there  are  few,  if  any,  of  its  intricacies  which  he 
has  not  mastered.  In  the  departments  of  corpora- 
tion and  real  estate  law  he  is  especially  skilful, 
and  his  widest  fame  rests  upon  those  special- 
ties which  have  of  recent  years  become  the 
most  important,  and  probably  the  most  lucra- 
tive of  any  class  of  practice  in  Chicago.  Among 
his  clients  for  years  have  been  a  number  of 
the     most     distinguished    citizens    and    many    of 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


the  largest  corporations  of  Illinois  and  neighbor- 
ing states.  The  law  creating  the  Sanitary  Dis- 
trict  of  Chicago  was  drawn  by  him,  and  he  was 
also  -i  lected  to  defend  its  constitutionality,  which 
had  been  doubted,  but  which  was  sustained  bj 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois.  In  his  list  of  cli- 
ents Mr.  Wilson  numbers  several  leading  financial 
institutions,  prominent  among  them  being  the 
Merchants' National  Bank  of  Chicago,  of  which 
he  has  been  the  attorney  for  several  years.  In 
1890  Mr.  Wilson  was  elected  general  counselfor 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  the  con- 
stitutional amendment  and  legislation  in  relation 
thereto,  passed  at  the  special  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature held  in  1890,  were  prepared  under  his 
supervision.  Mr.  Wilson  is  one  of  those  men 
whose  sole  ambition  is  to  excel  in  their  vocation. 
To  this  end  he  has  labored  with  all  the  energy 
at  his  command,  and  has  allowed  nothing-  to 
tempt  him  to  abandon  this,  his  supreme  purpose. 
As  a  lawyer  simply  he  stands  before  the  public, 
but  as  such  he  occupies  one  of  the  very  highest 
niches  in  the  profession.  He  has  the  true  Scotch 
grit  in  his  mental  composition,  and  sticks  to 
stud}  and  work  with  a  pertinacity  winch  has  en- 
abled  him  to  accomplish  wonders  in  the  way  of 
acquiring  legal  knowledge.  His  intellect  is 
superlatively  clear,  his  perceptions  keen,  and  his 
powers  of  concentration  ami  application  extra- 
ordinary. He  has  the  faculty  of  analysis  beyond 
most  men.  and  detects  and  avoids  snares  and 
complications  of  a  legal  character  with  surprising 
facility.  Speaking  of  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  lawyers  of  Chicago  said  to  the 
writer:  "he  is  essentially  a  natural  lawyer." 
Content  with  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  his 
profession  and  the  gratification  of  his  scholarly 
tastes,  he  seeks  no  public  office;  and,  while  giving 
freel)  and  gratuitously  such  aid  as  may  1»-  re- 
quired of  him  in  beneficent  and  charitable  public 
movements,  he  does  so  with  no  other  motive  than 
a  sense  of  duty.  His  nature  is  of  that  modest. 
retiring  kind  thai  does  good  by  stealth.  There  is 
no  vanity  whatever  in  his  composition,  unless  it 
be    lo    do    his    appointed  work   well:  and   to  that 

en. I  I oncentrates  his   every  power.     A  man  of 

irreproachable  habits  and  pure  character,  as  well 
as  honorable  professional  ambitions,  he  enjoys  the 
friendship  and  confidence  of  the  most  eminent 
of  his  fellow  citizens.  Mr.  Wilson  was  married  on 
April  25,  1871,  to  Miss  Margaret  C.  Mcllvaine,  of 
o,  111.,  daughter  of  J.  D.  Mcllvaine.  They 
have  live  children.  Margaret  ('..  Martha.  John  P., 
Jr.,  Anna  M.,  and  Agnes. 


JOSHUA  C.  KNICKERBOCKER. 

JOSHUA  C.  KNICKERBOCKER  was  born  in 
Gallatin,  Columbia  county.  New  York,  September 
26th,  1837.  His  ancestors  lor  several  generations 
had  been  natives  of  Columbia  and  Duchess  coun- 
ties. The  family  originally  was  of  that  sterling 
Holland  stock  which  is  noted  for  its  strength  of 
character  and  conscientious  devotion  to  duty. and 
whose  blood  has  coursed  in  the  veins  of  many  of 
the  grandest  men  whom  this  republic  has  pro- 
duced. In  1844  the  family  removed  to  Alden,  Mi- 
Henry  county.  Illinois,  where  the  father  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  where  he  died  in  1874.  The 
subject  of  our  sketch  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Alden.  and  previous  to  his  coming  to 
Chicago,  taught  school  for  a  time.  He  removed 
to  Chicago  in  18110,  studied  law  and  was  admitted 
to  practice  in  1862.  In  18(14  he  was  elected  super- 
visor and  served  in    that  office   for   three   years. 

I' L865  to  ls()7  he  represented  the  First  Ward 

in  the  city  council,  and  in  1SGS  he  was  elected  to 
the  Legislature.  In  both  legislative  bodies  he 
was  a  fearless,  uncompromising  advocate  of  just 
measures  and  won  the  confidence  of  the  public, 
who  honored  him  alike  for  his  ability  and  his  in- 
tegrity. After  his  return  from  the  legislature  he 
continued  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  18G7  he  and 
his  brother.  John  J.  Knickerbocker,  entered  into 
a  copartnership,  which  continued  to  exist  until 
Joshua  C.  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Probate  Court 
of  Cook  County.  In  1875  he  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  State  Board  of  Education,  and  was 
re-appointed  in  1877.  The  same  year  he  was  nom- 
inated for,  and  elected  to,  the  office  of  Probate 
Judge,  a  place  that  he  held  by  subsequent  re- 
elections  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Chi- 
cago, January  5th,  1890.  The  life  of  Judge 
Knickerbocker  was  exceptionally  successful  in  all 
directions.  As  an  official,  administering  for  years 
the  affairs  of  really  the  most  important  court  in 
the  state,  his  fidelity  to  all  interests  that  came 
before  him  for  protection,  was  universally  recog- 
nized, and  his  industry  and  application  in  the  dis- 
charge  of  his  numerous  and  delicate  duties  were 
remarkable.  He  assumed  that  the  Probate  Court 
was  in  a  sense  responsible  for  the  proper  manage- 
ment of  the  estates  of  deceased  persons,  and  he 
held  lawyers,  administrators,  executors,  guardians 
and  w  hoever  had  anything  to  do  with  such  estates. 
to  a  rigid  accountability.  His  sense  of  justice  and 
knowledge  of  the  law  were  clear  and  accurate.  It 
sometimes  seemed  as  if  he  wen-  gifted  with  a  per- 
ception that  enabled    him    to  read    the  hearts  of 


^mmJauL 


.    . 


BiOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


people  and  divine  their  innermost  thoughts;  and 
in  consequence  those  in  charge  of  estates,  who 
intended  to  do  wrung-,  but  who  were  so  guarded  in 
their  expressions  and  actions  thai  even  their 
lawyers  suspected  nothing,  would  learn  thai 
Judge  Knickerbocker  saw  through  thi 
A  gentleman  who  was  not  a  practising  lawyer  was 

e  asked  to  manage  the  affairs  of  an  estate  of 

which  the  widow  of  the  deceased  was  nan, 
the    will  as   the    executrix,   before   the   Probate 
Court.    Judge  Knickerbocker  told    him    thai    he 
could  do  as  well  as  a  lawyer  in  the  matter,  and  he 
proceeded  into  the  business.     At  hist.  however,he 
reached  a  point  Ley,, nil  which  he   seemed   utterly 
unable  to  go.     He  presented  the  papers  which  at 
that  time  were  proper  to  present.   bu1   the  courl 
would  not  receive  them.    There  were  new  objec- 
tions made  by  the  Judge   every   time  the   papers 
were  presented.    At  last,  in  despair  the  gentleman 
waited  upon  Judge  Knickerbocker  privately,  and 
asked  him  if  he  would  kindly  explain  to  him  what 
the  trouble  in  the  case  was.    The  judge  replied: 
"  There  is  a  legacy  of  three  hundred   dollars  pro- 
vided by  the  will  of  the  testator,  for  his  bi 
an  old  and  needy  man.     The  widow  has  never  had 
the    slightest    intention   of   paying    that    le 
When  she  has  paid  that  three  hundred  dollars,  and 
the  receipt  is  brought  to   me.   you    will    have   no 
more  trouble  in  this  court."     Themoney  was  paid 
and  the  business  went  through  the  court  without 
hindrance.      It     was     such     watchfulness    of     the 
details  of  the  vast  volume  of    business  that   came 
before  his  court,  that  made  him  of  such   prii 
value  as  an  official  in  the  community.     The  busi- 
ness connected  with  the  estates  w-hieh  were  being 
settled  under  his  supervision,  was  supervised  as  a 
careful,    honest,    straightforward    business    man 
would  supervise  his  own  private  business,   and    as 
any  one  would  like  to  have  his  own  estate  admin- 
istered.    Thousands  of  men    and    women    in    this 
city   owe  a   much    greater    obligation    to   Judge 
Knickerbocker  than  perhaps  they  have  ever  real- 
ized.   His  court  was  their  protector  and  the  pre 
server  of  their  propert}  when  they  were  helpless  to 

protect  themselves  and  their  inheritance.  He  was 
always  conservative  in  allowing  the  charges  of 
lawyers,  administrators  ami  guardians,  and  in  per- 
mitting expenditures  on  behalf  of  an  estate.  He 
has  been  known  to  cut  a  lawyer's  bill  from  five 
hundred  to  fifty  dollars,  and  from  live  thousand 
dollars  to  one  thousand.  Hi-  was  accustomed  to 
say  that  all  the  property  in  Chicago  passed  through 
the  Probate  Court  once  in  every  thirty  years,  and 
that  if  the'  lawyers  were  permitted  to  charge  any- 


thing they  liked,  they  would  owd  the  whole  of  it, 
in  time.  Nor  would  he  permit  reek-less  guardians 
towaste  the  estates  of  their  wards  by  yielding  to 
their  extravagant  demands.  He  has  been  knowD 
to  deny  requests  for  an  allowance  of  one  hundred 
and  two  hundred  dollars  a  month  for  spending 
money.and  allow  but  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars. 
He  was  utterly  fearless  in  the  discharge  of  his 
sacred  duties  as  Probate  Judge.  He  was  no  re- 
specter of  persons.  K  made  not  the  slightest 
difference  whether  a  delinquent  administrator 
executor  or  guardian  was  a  humble  man,  without 
influence,  or  one  of  high  position,  he  was  dealt 
with  as  one  who  was  delinquent  and  who  must 
make  amends  or  suffer  punishment.  Naturally 
kind-hearted  and  sympathetic  he  was  as  immov- 
able as  a  rock  under  the  pressure  of  entreaty  or 
the  charms  of  flattery,  when  duty  demanded  that 
he  should  be  harsh.  Had  he  not  been  a  man  of 
extraordinary  ability  and  probity,  he  could  not 
have  held  an  elective  office  for  a  long  series  oi 
years  with  the   practically   unanimous   wish   and 

support  of  the  | pie.     There  is  nothing  n 

as  sacred  in  politics.  Politicians  seek  the  offices 
with  their  remuneration,  and  however  capable  and 
faithful  the  occupant  of  an  office  may  be.  he 
will  be  ousted  that  someone  else  may  occupy  it.  if 
that  is  possible.  When  no  attempt  is  made  to  do 
this,  it  is  complete  evidence  of  the  deserved  popu- 
larity and  efficiency  of  theofficial.  Amidst  all  the 
turmoil  of  politics,  amidst  all  the  treachery  of  po- 
litical conventions  and  all  the  slanders  perpetrated 
upon  character  in  political  campaigns,  Judge 
Joshua  C.  Knickerbocker  was  left  undisturbed 
and  unassailed.  A  writer  in  one  of  the  Chicago 
dailies,  commenting  upon  his  career  as  judge, 
said:  "From  the  moment  he  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  the  office  in  which  he  continued  to  his 
death,  the  public  became  aware  that  the  wheel  0f 
political  chance  had  brought  into  its  service  the 
most  admirable  qualities  for  the  administering  of 
public  affairs.  It  found  in  him  a  well  governed 
nature  in  whose  perfect  equanimity  of  temper  and 
fearlessness  of  word  and  action  it  could  place  im- 
plicit trust.  '  As  shines  a  good  <\r,-i\  in  a  naughty 
world,' so  shines  an  upright  life  spent  and  con 
eluded  in  tile  public  service.  The  honor  that  has 
followed  Judge  Knickerbocker  to  tin-  grave  and 
the  tributes  paid  to  his  memory  by  every  class  of 
citizens,  should  inform  all  who  aspire  to  public 
service  that  there  is  a  value  in  simple  virtue  that 
begets  respect  and  confidence  living,  and  insures 
al  sorrow  ami  public  honors  dead.  The 
meiiioi  \  of  a  good  man  is  M'-ssed."      In  his  private 


I  I  2 


BIOGRAPHY    OP   ILLINOIS. 


life  Judge  Knickerbocker  was  a  charming,  liberal- 
minded,  generous-hearted  gentleman.  His  nature 
was  so  genial  that  he  made  friends  of  all  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  his  presence  was 
always  like  a  warming,  cheering  sunbeam  among 
his  fellow-men.  He  believed  that  life  was  to  be 
enjoyed,  though  to  the  conscientious  man  it 
broughl  burdens  and  responsibilities.  Hence  he 
delighted  in  social  intercourse  and  in  amusements , 
He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Calumet  and 
Union  League  Clubs,  and  also  of  the  Tolleston 
and  Ne-pe-Nauk  Shooting  CTubs,  and  he  entered 
into  the  enjoyment  which  they  provided  with 
greal  /est.  He  was  always  a  greai  reader  and 
student,  and  kept  abreasi  with  the  literature  of 
the  day  and  with  the  advance  of  thought.  He 
was  thus  a  man  of  well-rounded  character  ami 
splendidly  trained  mind,  and  made  a  most  re- 
markable companion  and  friend.  In  anobituarj 
in  one  of  the  journals  of  the  city  the  writer  said: 
"Judge  Knickerbocker  was  a  man  in  whose  nature 
the  sun  never  set.  His  genial  disposition  was  dif- 
fusive, and  he  was  the  soul  of  every  company  he  en- 
tered. His  face  was  a  smile.  A  vein  of  quaint,  quiet 
humor  ran  through  his  daily  life  and  even  bright- 
ened the  dull  routine  of  the  judicial  office."  It  is 
not  often  that  such  a  well  balanced  man  develops. 
Csually  ability  in  one  direction  is  indicative  , if 
weakness  in  some  other.  One  conspicuous,  pop- 
ular characteristic  in  a  man's  character  is  apt  to 
overshadow  his  other  virtues.  But  of  all  men 
Judge  Knickerbocker  was  one  whose  character 
and  gifts  were  so  symmetrical,  that  he  may  1"' 
held  up  as  a  remarkably  perfect  example  for 
young  men  to  follow.  He  began  life  with  no 
special  advantages,  except  his  ability  and  a  ster- 
ling honesty  of  purpose.  He  achieved  success  be- 
cause he  was  entirely  worthy  to  achieve  it.  He 
was  popular  socially,  because  he  was  agreeable1 
and  found  happiness  in  contributing  to  the 
happiness  of  others.  Few  men  have  died  in  this 
community  who  were  so  sincerely  and  universally 
mourned  as  was  Judge  Knickerbocker.  Thous- 
ands who  knew  him  only  by  reputation  read  the 
announcement  of  his  death  as  if  somehow  it  was 
the  announcement  of  a  personal  loss  and  grief; 
and  those  who  enjoyed  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  the  dead  jurist  mourned  his  loss  because  of  his 
splendid  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  whose  up 
lifting  influence  they  had  often  felt.  The  press, 
of  Chicago  and  of  Illinois,  but  in  other 
sections  of  the  countrj  -poke  of  the  dead  jurist 
with  deep  feeling  and  brilliant  praise.  Among  the 
people  in  whose  official  service  he  had  been  for  so 


many  years,  and  among  whom  he  had  lived,  the 
loss  seemed  to  be  irreparable.     It  was  a  beautiful 

picture  that  those  who  painted  his  life  hung  be- 
fore a  sorrow -stricken  community.  It  was  a  mag- 
nificent subject,  and  the  genius  and  eloquence  of 
admirers  painted  it  true  to  life.  His  inheritance 
of  The  sterling  characteristics  of  his  Holland  an- 
cestry, who  came  from  the  land  that  sheltered 
libertj  and  the  liberty  of  conscience,  was  told 
by  inspired  orators;  his  lib'  was  traced  from  its 
humble  beginning,  along  the  path  in  which  there 
wen-  many  places  that  only  an  indomitable  will 
and  an  unswerving  integrity  could  have  enabled 
him  bo  pass  triumphantly,  up  to  the  conspicuous 
position  of  honor  and  influence  which  he  gained; 
and  all  through  the  eloquent  eulogies  that  were 
pronounced,  the  memory  of  his  honesty  sparkled 
like  a  peerless  gem  in  a  beautiful  setting.  Said 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas:  "  He  did  not  pick  his  way 
along  the  narrow  line  that  separates  honesty 
from  dishonesty  and  right  from  wrong.  His  calm, 
clear  judgment  was  never  clouded  by  considera- 
tions of  expediency.  He  stood  aloof  on  the  high 
plane  of  right."  Magnificent  as  was  this  tribute 
to  the  worth  of  the  man,  the  following  from  the 
same  lips,  is  even  grander  and  more  eloquent: 
■•  We  are  glad  that  Chicago  has  honored  this  man 
and  that  for  thirty  years  he  has  held  public  and 
responsible  positions.  To  his  honor  is  recorded 
veracity  and  unimpeachable  honesty.  He  never 
had  an  aspersion  cast  upon  him  by  any  political 
party  or  by  the  press.  He  stands  in  a  kind  of 
moral  grandeur  in  these  things.  Of  the  millions 
upon  millions  of  dollars  he  has  administered,  no1 
one  dollar  has  been  misapplied  by  this  noble 
jurist." 


CHARLES   B.    LAWRENCE. 

By  the  death  of  Hon.  Charles  B.  Lawrence, 
which  occurred  on  April  9th,  1883,  the  bar  of  Illi- 
nois lost  an  able  and  influential  member,  and  the 
cit\  of  Chicago  one  of  the  most  beloved  and  prom 
inent  citizens.  Appreciation  of  his  merit,  both  as 
a  lawyer  and  a  man.  was  shown  in  his  election  to 
the  Circuit  and  Supreme  Courts,  and  his  subse- 
quent selection  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  latter  hon- 
orable body,  a  position  in  which  he  served  with 
eminent  distinction.  Judge  Lawrence  was  born 
in  Vergennes,  Vermont,  on  December  17th,  1820. 
and  was  the  descendant  of  an  old  New  England 
family.     His   father.    Hon.   Villee    Lawrence   was 


Ms-u-£  -n 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


"3 


prominent  in  the  politics  of  the  Green  Mountain 
State,  and  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust. 
Judge  Lawrence  received  the  rudiments  of  an  ed- 
ucation in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  then  went  to  Middlebury  College,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years  perfecting  himself  for  a 
regular  college  course.  This  he  took  at  Union 
College  in  New  York  State,  and  graduated  in 
1841,  just  before  attaining  his  majority.  For  two 
yeare  thereafter  he  taught  school  in  Alabama.  In 
1st:!  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  began  the 

study  of  law  in  the  offic f  Judge  Alphonso  Taft, 

one  of  the  most  distinguished  jurists  of  the  State. 
Some  months  of  close  reading  under  the  direction 
of  Judge  Taft  were  followed  by  Mr.  Lawrence's 
removal  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  completed  bis  law 
studies  in  I  hi'  office  of  Hon.  Benry  S.  <  oyer,  after- 
wards a  United  States  Senator  from  Missouri. 
Mr.  Lawrence  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  St. 
Louis  in  1814,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  partnership  with  Mr.  M.  L.  Gray,  of 
that  city.  The  following  year  this  business  con 
nection  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Lawrence  went  to 
Quincy,  111.,  where,  in  company  with  Mr.  David 
L.  Hough,  he  soon  acquired  a  large  practice  and 
considerable  faun-  as  a  skilled  advocate  and  coun- 
selor, and  as  a  man  of  scholarly  accomplishments. 
One  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in  western  Illinois 
at  that  time  was  Judge  Archibald  William-,  and  in 
1847  Mr.  Lawrence  became  associated  with  him  in 
a  professional  capacity.  In  1856,  owing  to  ill  health, 
Mr.  Lawrence  was  compelled  to  retire  temporarily 
from  practice.  lb-  had  never  been  a  strong  man 
physically,  and  closi  application  to  his  profession 
had  impaired  his  health  to  such  an  extent  that  a 
foreign  tour  was  thought  advisable.  In  company 
with  his  wife  (nee  Miss  Margaret  Marston.  to 
whom  he  was  married  in  1851  at  Quincy),  Mr. 
Lawrence  went  abroad  and  remained  two  years. 
He  was  considerably  improved  in  health  when  he 
returned  to  Quincy,  but  was  still  unable  to  resume 
the  practice  of  bis  profession;  so  he  boughl  a 
farm  in  Warren  county,  Illinois,  when-  for  abou! 
a  year  he  made  farming  his  occupation,  more  in 
the  hope  of  regaining  his  health  than  from  any 
decided  liking  for  an  agricultural  life.  In  1859 
Mr.  Lawrence  was  solicited  to  bi me  a  candi- 
date for  the  Circuit  Judgeship  of  the  district  em- 
bracing Warren,  Knox.  Mercer  and  Henderson 
counties,  and.  feeling  once  more  strong  and  vigor- 
ous, lie  accepted  the  nomination,  and  was  elected 
without  opposition.  Well  pleased  as  his  friends 
had  bein  with  his  course  as  a  lawyer,  and  under- 
standing, as  they  thought,  his  wonderful  ability 


and  complete  mastery  of  his  calling,  they  were 
nevertheless  surprised  with  Judge  Lawrence's  sue 
cess  on  the  bench.  Of  a  strongly  judicial  mind, 
and  thoroughly  fitted  by  natural  inclination  and 
study  for  the  position,  he  quickly  took  rank  as 
one  of  the  ablest  Judges  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and 
before  his  term  expired  was  elected  as  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois.  He  was  installed 
in  1864,  and  served  out  his  term  of  nine  years,  retir- 
ing in  ls73.  Three  years  previous  to  his  retirement 
Judge  Lawrence  was  made  Chief  Justice,  and 
held  that  highly  honorable  and  arduous  position 
until  he  retired  from  the  bench.  At  the  close  of 
his  judicial  career  Judge  Lawrence  removed  to 
Chicago,  and  at  once  assumed  a  leading  position 
at  the  ('00k  count)'  bar.  and  was  entrusted  with 
tic  control  of  many  cases  of  great  importance. 
His  prominence  was  such  that  in  1879,  statesmen, 
tlie  press  and  the  public  of  the  West  urged  upon 
President  Hayes  that  he  be  named  for  the  va- 
cancy on  the  Supreme  Bench  of  the  United 
States,  afterwards  filled   by  the  selection  of  Hon. 

Stanlej  Matthews.    While  grateful  to  his  friends 

lor  this  evidence  of  their  appreciation,  Judge 
Lawrence  made  no  personal  effort  to  obtain  lie 
appointment;  neither  would  he,  although  repeat 
edly  urged,  become  a  candidate  for  a  United 
States  senatorship  from  Illinois.  In  politics 
Judge  Lawrence  was  a  firm  and  consistent  Re- 
publican, having  been  a  member  of  that  part} 
from  its  organization.  Previous  to  that  he  was 
lor  a  few  years  a  Democrat,  but  abandoned  that 
political  faith  to  further  by  speech  and  pen  tile 
anli  slavery  movement.  Strong  as  he  was  in  his 
political  affiliations.  Judge  Lawrence  never  identi- 
fied himself  with  politics  while  on  the  bench,  nor 
would  he  allow  his  decisions  to  be  in  any  way  af- 
fected by  partisan  bias.  There  is  a  notable  proof 
of  this  in  his  ruling  in  the  famous  case  of  the 
United  States  vs.  Madison  Y.  Johnson,  who  had 
been  arrested  for  treason,  with  the  knowledge 
and  consent,  it  was  understood,  of  President  Lin- 
coln himself.  The  latter  had  no  warmer  friend. 
personally  or  politically,  than  Judge  Lawrence. 
and  the  case  came  up  at  a  time  when  the  people 
were  excited  and  sure  to  condemn  any  construc- 
tion of  the  law  which  rlid  not  endorse  the  action 
of  tlie  authorities.  Judge  Lawrence,  however, 
while  aware  that  Johnson's  arrest  was  due  en 
tirely  to  pure  and  patriotic  motives,  did  not  be- 
lieve that  it  was  legal,  and  discharged  him  on 
lnihi(i,i  corpus  proceedings.  In  this  decision 
Judge  Lawrence  laid  down  the  rule  that  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  has  no  power  in  time  of 


1 1 1 


3I0GRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


peace  to  summarily  arrest  a  citizen  of  Illinois 
without  sworn  charge  or  warrant,  and  held  that 
even  the  doctrine  that  a  state  of  war  itself  sus 
pends  at  once  the  constitutional  guarantees  for 
liberty  and  property,  is  inconsistent  with  every 
principle  of  civil  liberty  and  tree  government.  The 
opinion  of  Judge  Lawrence  was  that  the  people 
should  leave  the  interpretation  and  administra- 
tion of  the  law  to  the  judges,  and  that  if  they  were 
not  satisfied  with  the  result  they  could  change 
both  the  law  and  its  ministers.  To  be  effective 
the  courts  must  have  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  the  people;  without  these,  respect  for  the 
law  would  soon  disappear,  and  society  would 
become  a  prey  of  fraud  and  crime.  The  death 
of  Judge  Lawrence  occurred  in  a  peculiarly 
sad  manner.  He  was  journeying  with  his  wife 
and  a  small  party  of  friends  early  in  April.  1883, 
to  Florida  for  recreation.  On  the  9th  of  the 
month  the  party  stopped  over  night  at  Decatur, 
near  the  scenes  of  the  judge's  early  labors  as  a 
school  teacher.  While  talking  with  some  friends 
at  the  hotel  he  was  seized  with  an  apoplectic 
stroke  and  died  within  a  few  minutes.  His  re- 
mains were  interred  at  Mount  Hope  Cemetery. 
Galesburg,  111.,  where  his  rive  children  are  buried. 
A  high  tribute  was  paid  to  Judge  Lawrence  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  Illinois  State  Bar  Asso- 
ciation in  1884.  when  Judge  Anthony  Thornton, 
in  delivering  an  eloquent  eulogy  on  the  character 
of  his  deceased  friend,  said:  "He  possessed  the 
four  things  which  benefit  a  judge  —  to  hear 
courteously,  to  answer  wisely,  to  consider  soberly, 
and  to  give  judgment  without  partiality."  A 
warm    personal    friend    of  Judge    Lawrence,   to 

wl i  the  editor  of  this  sketch  was  referred  for 

information  as  to  his  personal  traits,  writes:  " 

hesitates  to  employ  the  ordinary  language  of 
eulogy  in  speaking  of  Judge  Lawrence,  both  be- 
cause its  value  has  been  so  lessened  by  its  care- 
less use  and  because  it  seems  hardly  to  shadow 
forth  his  type  of  mind  and  character.  To  say  that 
he  was  public-spirited,  a  warm  friend,  a  kind 
neighbor,  a  trusted  adviser,  does  not  fully  indicate 
just  the  relation  which  he  bore  to  the  society 
about  him  in  these  respects.  Sympathy  is  at  times 
of  more  value  than  money,  and  its  value  again  in  a 
large  measure  lies  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
offered.  His  time  was  never  so  engrossed  by  his 
in  but  that  he  devoted  some  of  it  to  tile 
encouragement  of  others;  he  was  ever  ready  to  use 
it  and  his  purse  in  aiding  those  who  suffered,  and 
he  brought  with  such  encouragement  and  aid  a 
■    nl  leuess  of  manner,  a  readiness  to  listen  and  to 


help,  which  was  as  the  pouring  of  balm  into  a 
fresh  wound.  This  gentleness  he  carried  with 
him  into  his  professional  life,  but  it  was  in  no 
way  alloyed  with  a  want  of  firmness.  He  had  no 
compromise  with  wrong,  and  neither  was  he 
afraid  to  express  an  opinion  hostile  to  what 
might  be  the  notion,  at  the  moment,  of  the  com- 
munity about  him.  It  is  too  common  in  these 
days  for  the  public,  indignant  at  the  escape  of  an 
offender  through  the  forms  of  law.  to  forget  the 
value  of  rules  as  a  protection;  to  demand  that 
they  be  violated  to  meet  a  supposed  emergency; 
to  censure  the  lawyer  or  judge  who  faithfully 
holds  to  his  oath  and  so  to  them,  though  the 
skies  fall.  This  sort  of  unhealthy  excitement 
Judge  Lawrence  always  withstood,  and  he  made 
qo  secret  of  his  opinion;  he  gave  it  to  the  press, 
no  matter  how  unpopular  it  might  be,  as  readily 
as  to  his  neighbors,  and  with  readiness  to  both. 
Whether  at  the  bar  or  before  the  court  in  hour, 
no  assault  lessened  his  quiet  dignity  or  provoked 
from  him  a  personal  response:  and  to  his  argu- 
ments his  wide  reading  added  a  felicity  of  illus- 
tration and  expression  charming  to  a  degree.  He 
drew  on  the  classics  of  our  own.  and  of  the  so- 
called  dead  languages  with  familiarity,  brighten- 
ing his  argument  with  the  charm  of  his  learn- 
ing, and  he  did  it  so  simply  and  naturally  as  to 
leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  form  which  the 
illustration  took  was  the  thought  of  the  moment, 
the  almost  spontaneous  action  of  a  well  stored 
mind  working  freely  and  easily  in  answer  to  every 
demand  made  upon  it.  Not  strong  in  health,  his 
body  frail,  he  did  his  work  well,  and  much  he  did 
both  as  lawyer  and  judge.  The  suddenness  of 
his  death  was  startling,  yet  it  was  the  easy  and 
gentle  ending  of  a  most  gentle  life,  one  in  which 
weakness  and  strength  were  in  rare  combination: 
his  powers  were  ripe,  yet  not  decayed:  his  physi- 
cal strength  was  frail,  but  his  years  had  no  touch 
of  senility.  His  vigorous,  keen,  subtle  mind  had 
never  yielded  to  his  weakness  of  body,  and  who 
shall  say  that  it  was  not  well?" 


JOHN  WENTWORTH. 

The  life  of  the  Hon.  John  Wentworth  is  in  a 
great  part  the  history  of  Chicago.  One  is  almost 
identical  with  the  other,  for  they  grew  up  together; 
the  fame  of  one  was  the  fame  of  both,  and  each 
has  aided  the  other  in  becoming  widely  known. 
Chicago  was  but  a  stripling  when    on    an  October 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


1  '5 


morningin  L 836,  John  Wentworth  tall  and  sturdy, 
but  with  an  independent  Bpirit,  and  a  self-con- 
sciousness of  power  to  do  battle  with  the  world, 
walked  within  its  gates.  The  stripling  of  a  city  de- 
veloped into  a  giant,  the  marvel  of  the  age;  Mr. 
Wentworth  grew  to  be  a  power  in  the  land;  honored 
and  trusted  by  the  people,  he  was  given  high  posi- 
tions, and  only  ceased  lining  when,  at  nearly  four 
score  years,  he  had  run  his  race,  had  done  his  work, 
and  aature,  wearied  by  the  long  strain  of  continu- 
ous labor  obliged  him  to  lay  down  his  burden  and 
rest.  "Long  John"  Wentworth  is  a  name  which 
will  never  be  forgotten  in  Chicago  even  though 
time  shall  crumble  the  granite  monument  erected 
in  honor  of  his  memory  and  which  marks  his  last 
earthly  resting-place  in  Rosehill  Cemetery.  The 
familiar  name  of  "Long  John"  fitted  him  on  ac- 
count of  his  commanding  stature.  He  stood  six  feet 
six  inches  in  his  stocking  feet  and  was  as  straight 
as  an  arrow.  His  features  denoted  that  bluntness 
and  decision  of  character  for  which  lie  was  famous. 
In  public  ami  private  lite  he  was  of  unswerving 
honesty  ami  a  lover  of  law  and  justice.  He  was 
remarkable  for  his  intellectuality  and  indomitable 
energy,  and  in  his  convictions  was  independent 
and  courageous.  As  a  public  speaker  he  had  few- 
equals;  as  a  story  teller  he  was  inimitable.  John 
Wentworth  was  born  in  Sandwich,  Carroll  Co.,  N. 
H.,  on  March  5th.  1815.  He  was  the  son  of  the 
Hon.  Paul  and  Lydia (Cogswell)  Wentworth,  both 
of  whose  families  were  noted  in  the  early  days  of 
the  country.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  the 
Hon.  John  Wentworth  Jr..  member  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  from  New  Hampshire,  ami  whose 
name  is  signed  to  the  original  "Articles  of  Con- 
federation." His  maternal  grandfather  was  Colo- 
nel Ames  Cogswell  who  served  through  the  entire 
Revolutionary  war.  entering  at  the  sametimethat 
General  Washington  took  command  of  the  army 
under  the  old  tree  at  Cambridge,  Mass.  Six  of 
Colonel  Cogswell's  brothers  also  served  with  him 
throughout  the  war.  and  they  assisted  at  the 
formation  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati  when  the 
troops  disbanded  at  the  close  of  hostilities.  The 
families  were  both  descended  from  the  oldest 
settlers  in  New  England,  and  there  was  no  blood 
in  John  Wentworth's  veins  of  any  emigrant  since 
1700,  all  his  ancestors  since  that  time  having 
lived  and  died  in  New  England,  and  most  of  them 
in  New  Hampshire.  John  Wentworth  remained 
at  his  paternal  home  in  Sandwich,  until  he  was 
twenty -one  years  of  age.  On  Monday.  October  3rd, 
1836,  he  started  out  into  the  world  with  the  gen- 
eral idea  of  seeking  his  fortune  in  the  West.     He 


traveled  by  post  coach  to  Concord.  X.  II..  ami 
thence  across  the  Green  Mountains  to  Troy.  N.  V., 
thence  to  Schenectady  and  from  there,  for  the 
first  time  on  steam  cars,  to  Utica.  X.  Y.  There 
he  wen!  for  the  first  time  aboard  a  canal  boat,  on 
which  he  sailed  to  Tonawanda,  and  again  taking 
a  stage  reached  Niagara  Falls.  At  this  point  he 
took  a  steamer  for  Buffalo  and  from  there  on  the 
steamboat  -Columbus."  Captain  A.  Walker, 
Master,  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  where  he  landed  Octo- 
ber 13th,  having  been  ten  days  on  his  journey. 
Detroit  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  principal  cities 
of  the  West,  ami  Mr.  Wentworth  remained  there 
for  some  time.  He  made  long  pedestrian  exclu- 
sions into  the  country,  going  to  Ann  Arbor.  Ypsi- 
lanti  and  other  places.  He  was  desirious  of 
securing  employment  and  put  an  advertisement 
in  the  Detroit  Free  Press  for  a  position  as  school- 
teacher, but.  receiving  no  replies  he  became  con- 
vinced that  he  had  not  yet  reached  the  spot  where 
the  gleams  of  his  lucky  star  fell  the  brightest,  and 
resolved  to  push  his  way  further  west.  He  re- 
turned to  Detroit,  and,  putting  his  trunk  aboard 
the  brig  "Manhattan,"  under  command  of  Captain 
John  Stuart,  for  transportation  to  Chicago,  he  took 
the  stage  for  Michigan  City.  Indiana,  and  arrived 
there  on  the  afternoon  of  October  22nd.  The  next 
day  he  set  out  for  Chicago  on  foot.  He  stayed 
that  night  at  Calumet,  now  known  as  South 
Chicago,  and  finally  arrived  at  the  goal  where  he 
was  destined  to  achieve  such  fame  ami  fortune  as 
falls  to  the  lot  of  but  few  men.  He  made  I  he  enl  r\ 
to  his  future  hone-  on  the  morning  of  October 
25th,  1836.  It  was  a  pleasant  termination  to  so 
long  a  journey  that  one  of  the  first  persons  he 
should  meet  was  an  old  friend  and  one  time  school- 
mate in  New  Hampshire.  Mathew  S.  Maloney, 
then  of  the  leading  mercantile  house  of  Wild, 
Maloney  &  Co.,  but  formerly  of  Northfield,  N.  H. 
Mr.  Maloney  advised  the  traveler  to  go  to  the 
United  States  Hotel,  previously  called  the  Sau- 
ganash,  and  kept  by  the  late  John  Murphy,  who 
afterwards  became  one  of  Chicago's  "city  fathers" 
and  a  prominent  politician.  Mr.  Wentworth  ac- 
cepted the  advice,  and  that  day  partook  of  one  of 
Mrs.  Murphy's  dinners.  From  that  day  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  he  made  it  a  custom  on  the  anni- 
versary of  his  arrival  in  Chicago,  to  dine  with 
Mrs.  Murphy.  Mr.  Wentworth  determined  to 
study  law  and  made  all  the  necessary  arrange 
incuts  to  do  so.  under  Henry  Moore,  a  leading 
lawyer  of  the  city  at  that  time.  That  gentleman, 
however,  was  soon  obliged,  on  account  of  ill 
health,  to  return  to  the  East,  where  he  died  many 


ri6 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


Mr.    Wentworth    was    induced,     in 
November,  L836,totake  editorial  charge  of  the  Chi 

cago  Democrat,  and   s i  after  bought  the  paper, 

and  during  the  succeeding  twenty  five  years  while 
he  was  its  editor  and  proprietor,  he  made  it  the 
leading  newspaper  of  the  northwest.  In  the 
winterof  1836-37  Mr.  Wentworth  attended  the 
meetings  held  in  the  Saloon  Building,  to  consider 
whether  the  Legislature  -then  in  session  at 
Vandalia-  -should  be  applied  to  for  a  city  charter. 
Mr.  Wentworth  also  took  an  active  part  in  the 
election  of  William  B.  Ogden,  Chicago's  first 
Mayor.  He  was  made  secretary  of  the  first  politi- 
cal meeting  ever  called  in  theoldFirst  Ward.  No 
man  in  any  community  has  ever  received  more 
rapid  advancement  than  did  John  Wentworth  in 
Chicago.  In  1837  he  was  appointed  by  the 
council  the  first  corporation  printer  of  Chicago; 
early  in  1838  he  was  appointed  school  inspector, 
and  during   nearly    all   his   active  career    he    had 

some  connection  with  the  Chicago  scl 1    board. 

He  was  one  of  the  earliest,  and  continued  to  be, 
one  of  the  most  persistent,  advocates  of  the  com 
mon  school  system  iii  the  West.  In  1839  he  was 
made  one  of  Gov.  Carlin's  aides  de  camp.  In 
1840  he  began  making  speeches  to  public  assem- 
blages,  outside  the  city,  and  in  February  of  that 
year  prepared  an  exhaustive  article  upon  the 
relation  of  the  banks  to  the  Government  and  their 
reciprocal  duties,  which  attracted  much  attention. 
During  all  this  time,  and  in  the  midst  of  all  these 
duties  that  claimed  his  time  and  attention,  he  still 
managed  to  pursue  his  legal  studies,  and  in  the 
sprint;  of  1841,  he  determined  to  go  east  and  attend 
the  law  lectures  at  Cambridge  Mass.,  intending  to 
remain  thereat  least  a  year.  Hearing,  however, 
that  he  was  likely  to  be  nominated  for  Congress, 
lie  returned  home  late  in  the  Autumn  of  1841: 
but  he  had  made  such  progress  that  shortly  after 
his  return  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  It  was 
not  until  the  spring  of  1843,  however,  that  his 
great  Congressional  career  began.  In  Mayor  that 
year  lie  was  made  the  unanimous  nominee  for 
Congress  at  the  Democratic  convention  held  in 
Joliet:  but  because  of  the  failure  of  the  legisla- 
ture to  district  the  state  the  election  did  uot  take 
plaee  until  August,  18415,  which  should  have  been 
held  in  1842.    Mr.  Wentworth  was  elected  I  iy  a  large 

majority.  He  was  at  the  time  only  twenty-eight 
years  old,  and  the  youngest   member  in  the  Con- 

nal   body.    The   area  of   his  district  under 

the  census  of  1840,  now  includes  nineteen  counties. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  a  lone  series  of  re-nom- 
inations and  re-elections  and  the  young  represent- 


ative oi  the  Fourth  District  of  Illinois  to  the 
Twenty  eighth  Congress  became  a  notable  per 
sonage.  In  1*41  he  was  returned,  recen  ing  a  ma- 
jority of  more  than  3,000.     Again,  in    L846,  lie  was 

elected  by  a  majority  of  over  6,000,  and  iii  L848, 
while  in  Washington  attending  to  his  Congres- 
sional duties  he  was  again  elected   by  a  majoritj 

of  over  3,500     which  was  rather  remarkabli n 

sidering  his  absence  from  the  field  of  action,  and 
in  view  of  the  hue  anil  cry  set  up  by  other  aspi 
rants  for  rotation  in  office.  When  James  K.  Polk 
was  nominated  for  the  presidency  at  the  conven- 
tion held  in  Baltimore  in  1844.  Mr.  Wentworth 
was  sent  as  a  delegate  and  was  also  one  at  the 
convention  which  nominated  General  Lewis  Cass. 
of  Michigan.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
that  called  the  celebrated  National  River  and  Har- 
bor convention  which  assembled  at  Chicago  in 
is  17.  and  Mr.  Wentworth  also  drafted  the  address 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States  urging  them 
p.  send  delegates  to  this  convention.  Mr.  Went- 
worth had  served  four  terms  in  Congress  and 
when  solicited  to  accept  nomination  for  a  fifth,  in 
1850,  peremptorily  declined:  hut  in  1852  such 
pressure  was  brought  to  hear  that  he  finally  con- 
sented and  was  elected  from  a  new  district,  the 
Second,  embracing  the  counties  of  Cook.  White- 
side Du  Page  Kane.  Lee  and  Rock  Island.  This 
district  was  made  under  the  census  ot  1850.  His 
election  at  this  time  was  to  the  Thirty-third  Con- 
gress, and  when  his  term  expired  he  absolutely 
refused  to  accede  to  the  urgent  solicitations  of  his 
constituents  to  run  again.  He  had  served  one 
term  under  the  administration  of  President 
Tyler;  he  was  presentat  the  inauguration  of  Pres- 
ident Polk  and  served  throughout  his  term:  he 
was  present  at  the  inauguration  of  President 
Taylor  and  that  of  President  Pilmore  and 
served  two  years  under  their  admistrations. 
Out  of  Congress  two  years,  he  was  elected 
again  and  was  present  at  the  inauguration  of 
President  Pierce  and  served  one  term  under  his 
administration.  Mr.  Wentworth  was  present  when 
John  Quincy  Adams  fell  dead  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  was  one  oi  tin-  committee  ap- 
pointed by  Speaker  Robert  C.  Winthrop  to  take 
his  remains  to  his  home  in  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Wentworth  once  more  took  his  seat  in  Congress. 
during  the  thirty-ninth  session  to  which  he  was 
elected  from  a  district  composed  of  Cook  County 
alone,  and  was  upon  the  ways  and  means  com- 
mittee under  the  administration  of  President 
Andrew  Johnson,  and  during  this  session  he 
was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  immediate  resump- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


■7 


tion  of  specie  payment,  often  declaring  that  every 
day's  delay  therein  would  prove  more  calamitous 
to  the  country.  He  attended  the  inauguration  of 
President  Lincoln  and  at  his  death  was  one  of  the 
committee  to  receive  his  remains  at  Chicago,  li 
was  fortunate  for  young  and  growing  Chicago  that 
she  should  have,  during  those  years,  such  a  man 
us  Mr.  Wentworth  to  look  after  her  interests  in 
Congress.  During  his  long  term  of  service  there 
the  city  needed  just  such  an  aggressive  represent- 
ative,  for  there  was  much  legislation  requisite  and 
he  worked  diligently  for  the  improvements  that 
have  been  so  conducive  to  her  present  greatness. 
He  urged  and  accomplished  the  improvement  of 
the  harbor,  the  establishment  of  light-houses  and 
ports  of  entry,  the  erection  of  marine  hospitals 
and  many  other  things  to  which  it  was  ai  i 
to  bring  national  aid.  He  was  absolutely  until- 
ing in  his  zeal  for  his  constituents;  he  championed 
the  cause  of    many  in  :ases  under    the 

pre  eruption  acts  and,  without  any  thought  of  re- 
ceiving compensation,  was  the  agent  for  number- 
less claimants  for  hack  pay,  bounty,  etc..  accruing 
to  those  who  served  in  the  Mexican  war.  He 
strenuously  championed  pre-emption,  graduation 
and  homestead  laws;  he  was  the  first  western 
congressman  to  introduce  a  bill  advocating  the 
bonded  warehouse  system,  and  he  was  mainly  in- 
strumental in  passing  the  land-grant  bill  for  tile 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  through  the  House  of 
Representatives.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
stockholders  of  the  Chicago  &  Galena  Railroad 
anil  continued  one  of  its  most  active  supporters, 
and  was  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  board  of  the  company  when  the  road  Has  con- 
solidated with  tlie  Northwestern.  The  time  had 
arrived  when  it  was  necessary  lor  Mr.  Wentworth 
to  serve  his  city  at  home.  Those  whom  he  had 
benefitted — the  citizens  of  the  city  he  had  helped 
build  up— felt  the  need  of  his  wise  and  judicious 
counsel,  his  marked  ability  and  untiring  eni  rgy. 
In  a  convention  composed  of  delegates  from  all 
political  parties  existing  at  that  time,  he  was.  in 
18o7.  unanimously  nominated  as  a  candidate  for 
mayor  of  Chicago,  and  in  March  of  that  year  he 
was  elected  bj  over  1,100  majority.  "Liberty" 
and  "  economy  "  were  the  watchwords  that  had  gov- 
erned John  Wentworth  in  all  the  years  of  his  public 
service,  and  lie  brought  these  doctrines  into  full 
play  during  his  term  of  municipal  administration. 
He  introduced  the  first  steam  fire  engine  into  the 
city,  which  was  named  "Long  John"  in  his  honor. 
His  first  official  act  was  to  appoint  a  board  of  engin- 
eers, who  established  the  present  grade  of  the  city. 


-Mr.  Wentworth  was  again  elected  mayor  in  1860. 

This  was  the  year  the  Prince  of  Wales  visited 
Chicago  and  tin- mayor  superintended  all  the  ar- 
rangements which  were  so  satisfactory  that  after 
the  return  of  the  Prince,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle 
wrote  Mr.  Wentworth  a  personal  letter  compli- 
menting him  upon  the  city  he  governed  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  governed  it,  and  thanked  him 
heartily  for  the  kindness  and  courtesy  extended 
the  visitors,  stating  that  nowhere  else  had  they 
proved  so  satisfactory.  The  Duke  sent  Mr.  Went- 
worth a  large  portrait  of  the  Prince  and  also  sent 
him  two  Southdown  sheep  from  the  Queen's  herd 
for  his  farm.  During  this  term  he  introduced  two 
additional  steam  fire  engines  which  were  named 
respectively  "Liberty  "  and  "  Economy  "  after  the 
two  words  which  Mr.  Wentworth  had  made  the 
keystone  of  his  public  life.  This  was  his  last  term 
as  mayor,  though  he  was  repeatedly  solicited  to 
again  accept  the  office.  In  1SG1  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  to  revise 
the  constitution  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  in  the 
same  year  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Education  for  three  years.  He  was  active  in  se- 
curing the  first  brick  public  school  house  in  the  city. 
This  was  called  the"  Dearborn  School  "and  was  sit- 
uated on  the  north  side  of  Madison  street  just  east 
of  Dearborn.  This  was  always  Mr.  Wentworth's  fa- 
vorite school,  and  during  the  fire  he  was  on  a  special 
committee  to  take  charge  of  it.  Mr.  Wentworth 
did  some  excellent  work  on  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. As  stated,  he  was  a  persistent  advocate  of 
the  common  school  system,  and  during  the  time 
of  failing  banks,  which  were  largely  in  default  to 
the  school  fund,  his  energy,  both  on  the  board 
and  in  his  newspaper,  saved  a  large  portion  of  the 
funds;  and  had  his  advice  been  taken,  had  he 
been  sustained  by  a  majority  of  the  board,  not  a 
dollar  would  have  been  lost.  In  1863  Mr.  Went- 
worth became  a  police  commissioner,  to  till  a  va- 
cancy, and  rendered  important  service  to  Colonel 
Sweet,  who  was  in  charge  of  Camp  Douglas  at  the 

time  the  rebel  raid  was  to  have  I n  made  on  the 

fort,  the  prisoners  released,  and  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago fired  and  pillaged.  The  Mayor  gave  Mr. 
Wentworth  authority  to  take  entire  charge  of 
the  police,  in  case  of  an  emergency,  during  the 
night  that  Colonel  Sweet  made  the  arrest  of  the 
conspirators  and  saved  the  city.  Mr.  Wentworth 
showed  the  admiral ilc  tact  with  which  he  was  en- 
dowed at  the  time  the  notorious  Vallandigham 
addressed  the  people  in  Chicago.  His  remarks 
were  calculated  to  arouse  the  anger  of  his  patri- 
otic hearers,  and  an  outbreak  would  have  resulted 


i  i  s 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


had  not  Mr.  Wentworth,  then  Police  Commis- 
sioner, restrained  them.  When  he  attempted  to 
answer  Mr.  Vallandigham  he  was  in  danger  of  be- 
ing stopped  by  the  rebel  sympathizers,  and  Mr. 
Wentworth  called  their  attention  bo  the  fact  that 
their  leader  had  been  listened  to  without  molesta- 
tion while  talking  in  a  manner  to  excite  anger, 
but  the  loyal  citizens  had  been  restrained  by  the 
police  acting  under  his  orders,  ami  he  asked  that 
the  same  courtesy  ami  attention  I"-  given  him. 
Mr.  Wentworth  proceeded  without  any  disturb- 
ance,  ami  turned  the  sentiment  of  the  meeting 
with  one  of  his  best  speeches.  In  June,  1880,  Mr. 
Wentworth  was  a  vice  president  of  the  Repub- 
lican  National  Convention,  held  in  Chicago,  being 
a  delegate  from  the  first  district,  but  was  de- 
clared ineligible.  This,  however,  did  not  prevent 
his  working  for  the  nomination  of  U.  S.  Grant, 
and  when  his  name  was  withdrawn  supported 
James  A.  Garfield.  In  1854  Mr.  Wentworth  inter- 
ested himself  in  agriculture,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  Illinois  State  Board  of  Ag- 
riculture. His  farm  of  about  three  thousand 
acres  at  Summit.  111.,  within  twelve  miles  of  Chi- 
cago, was  devoted  to  the  raising  of  improved  live 
stock  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  Mr.  Wen! 
worth  was  married  Nov.  13,  1811,  at  Troy,  N.  Y., 
by  the  Rev.  Nathan  S.  S.  Beman,  I).  D.,  to  Rox- 
ana  Marie,  onlj  child  of  the  Hon.  Riley  and  Rox 
ana  (Atwater)  Loomis,  of  Troy.  who.  alter  many 
years  of  delicate  health,  died  Feb.  ...  1870.  They 
had  live  children,  all  of  whom  died  young  except 
Miss  Koxana  Atwater  Wentworth.  who  is  now 
living.  Dartmouth  College,  Mr.  Wentworth's 
Alma  Mater,  conferred  upon  him  in  1867  the  de- 
gree of  LL.  D.,  and  on  July  2, 1873,  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Alumni  of  the  New  Hampton 
Academical  Institution,  and  in  1882  and  1883  was 
elected  president  of  the  Alumni  Association  of 
Dartmouth  College  for  those  years.  He  kept  a 
journal  of  all  the  great  events  that  had  transpired 
while  he  was  in  public  office,  but  this  valuable 
record  was  lost,  as  was  also  his  complete  file  of 
the  daily  and  weekly  Chicago  Democrat  and  other 
manuscripts  and  papers,  in  the  Chicago  fire.  Mr. 
Wentworth  grieved  over  the  loss  of  these  papers, 
and  to  him  it  appeared  irreparable.  Mr.  Went- 
worth was  an  active  member  of  the  Chicago  His- 
torical Society.  He  contributed  many  valuable 
articles  to  Fergus'  Historical  Series — "Early  Chi- 
cago"— of  which  he  tacitly  became  the  acknowl- 
edged depositary,  and  was  conceded  to  be  an  un- 
doubted authority.  His  great  work,  however,  is 
"The  Wentworth  Genealogy,  English  and  Amer- 


ican." This  work  is  in  three  volumes,  and  was  a 
life  labor  with  Mr.  Wentworth.  Early  in  life  he 
began  collecting  statistics  concerning  the  Went 
worth  family,  and  labored  unceasingly  at  it  for 
many  years.  So  indefatigable  was  he  that  rela- 
tives say  they  frequently  left  him  at  work  at 
niglii  and  have  found  him  still  engaged  in  writing. 
upon  their  arising  in  the  morning.  Early  in  the 
fall  of  1888  Mr.  Wentworth's  health  began  to  fail. 
(  )n  the  ltth  of  October  he  was  obliged  to  take  to 
his  bed.  The  doctors  could  not  make  up  their 
minds  that  the  trouble  was  due  to  any  particular 
cause  except  old  age  and  a  general  breaking 
down  of  the  constitution.  He  lay  in  a  comatose 
state  until  7:15  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  Octo- 
ber 16th,  when  he  passed  away,  his  death  being 
entirely  painless.  Mr.  Wentworth's  home  had  for 
years  been  at  the  Sherman  House,  and  it  was 
there  he  breathed  his  last.  There  were  present  at 
his  bedside  when  he  died  his  only  daughter,  Rox- 
ana,  his  nephew  Moses  J.  Wentworth,  his  two 
brothers  Joseph  and  Samuel,  and  his  sister  Mrs. 
Mary  F.  Porter.  The  arrangements  for  the  fu- 
neral were  made  on  an  elaborate  scale.  The  re- 
mains were  placed  in  a  handsome  casket  and  lay 
in  state  at  the  Sherman  House,  where  hundreds 
of  the  deceased's  friends  called  to  pay  their  last 
respects.  The  Common  Council  held  a  special 
meeting,  which  was  feelingly  addressed  by  Mayor 
Roche,  and  appropriate  resolutions  were  passed 
by  the  Council.  The  funeral  took  place  from  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  on  Thursday  morn- 
ing at  11  o'clock,  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  W.  Patterson  of- 
ficiating and  the  Rev.  S.  J.  McPherson  and  Prof. 
Swing  assisting.  The  funeral  of  John  Went- 
worth was  one  of  the  largest  ever  held  in  Chi- 
cago. The  remains  were  taken  by  special  train  to 
Rosehill.  eight  police  officers  in  full  uniform  bear- 
ing the  casket  to  the  hearse.  A  granite  shaft 
fifty  five  feet  high  marks  the  spot  in  Rosehill 
Cemetery  where  John  Wentworth's  remains  are 
laid. 


POTTER   PALMER. 

POTTER  PALMER,  an  eminent  American 
business  man,  a  resident  and  prominent  citizen 
of  Chicago  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  known 
throughout  the  United  States  for  his  distinguished 
and  successful  labors  in  connection  with  the  mar- 
vellous rebuilding  and  subsequent  progress  of  the 
great  metropolis  of   the   Northwest,  is  a  native  of 


-e>l^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS, 


II9 


Albany  county,  Now  York.  The  family  from 
which  he  springs  is  of  English  origin  and  his  an- 
cestors were  among  the  Brsl  settlers  of  the  New 
England  colonies.  His  grandparents  lived,  dur- 
ing thpir  earlier  lives,  at  New  Bedford,  Massa 
chusetts,  but  toward  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  changed  their  habitation  to  New  SToris 
State,  settling  on  a  farm  on  the  western  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  in  Albany  county.  The  grandparents 
and  parents  of  Mr.  Palmer  were  members  of  the 
Societj  of  Friends.  His  father  was  a  prosperous 
farmer  in  Albany  county.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  fourth  of  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren, lb'  received  a  good  English  education,  and 
when  eighteen  years  of  age  entered  upon  a  busi- 
ness  career  for  which  he  had  already  shown  an 
aptitude  as  a  junior  clerk  in  a  country  slue  and 
bank  at  Durham,  Greene  county.  X.  V.  At  the 
close  of  three  years'  service  he  had  so  demon- 
strated his  capacity  for  mercantile  affairs  that  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  this  establishment.  A 
few  years  later  he  went  to  Oneida  county,  where 
he  engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account. 
After  building  up  quite  a  trade  at  this  place  he 
removed  to  Lockport,  Niagara  county,  where,  also, 
his  success  was  marked.  At  this  period  many  of 
the  more  energetic  young  men  of  the  East  were 
turning  their  attention  to  the  opportunities  for 
fortune  in  what  was  then  commonly  known  as  the 
"far  west."  Mr.  Palmer  was  among  those  who 
seemed  to  comprehend,  as  if  by  instinct,  the  pos- 
sibilities  of  success  in  this  great  region.  The 
rapid  growth  in  population  and  importance  of  the 
young  city  of  Chicago  seems  to  have  struck  him 
with  peculiar  force.  When  he  first  started  out  in 
his  business  career  the  place  was  little  more  than 
a  village,  yet,  in  about  a  decade  it  had  leaped  into 
prominence  as  the  twentieth  city  of  the  Union. 
There  was  a  vigor  in  the  trade  of  the  young  city 
which  was  encouraging  to  those  who  contemplated 
it  from  a  distance,  and  the  more  Mr.  Palmer 
thought  about  removing  there  the  more  elearlj 
he  perceived  the  wisdom  of  doing  so.  Ih  had 
already  moved  from  the  extreme  eastern,  to  the 
extreme  western  part  of  New  York,  and  in  making 
the  further  progress  westward  he  was  1ml  follow  ■ 
ing  ••  the  star  of  Empire"  and  his  own  "manifest, 
destiny."  Arriving  in  Chicago  Mr.  Palmer  in- 
vested his  whole  fortune  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness, opening  a  large  store  on  Lake  street.  I  lien 
the  principal  retail  thoroughfare  of  the  city. 
Thoroughly  familiar  with  the  business,  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  .■astern  markets,  and  an  adept 
also  in  selecting,  buying  and  displaying  all   kinds 


of  fabrics,  gifted,  in  addition,  with  great  natural 
shrewdness  ami  untiring  energy,  he  soon  made  his 
store  one  of  the  principalcenters.il'  attraction  and 
in  a  very  short  time  the  leading  retail  emporium 
of  the  West.  The  wholesale  department,  added 
soon  after  the  start,  grew  to  great  magnitude; 
and  when,  after  thirteen  years  of  continuous  labor, 
Mr.  Palmer  resigned  the  entire  establishment  to 
his  partners  and  successors,  the  business  was  one 
of  the  three  or  [our  largest  conducted  in  the  whole 
country  and  had  no  rivals  except  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  In  evidence  of  its  magnitude  and  of 
the  capabilities  of  its  founder  it  may  here  be  said 
that  during  the  period  mentioned  the  volume  of 
business  had  grown  from  seventy  thousand  dol- 
lars to  seven  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  The  pres 
tige  and  success  imparted  to  the  establishment  by 
Mr.  Palmer  still  remain  with  it  undiminished. 
and  it  is  to-day  the  leading  one  in  its  department 
of  trade  west  of  the  Alleghenies.  During  the 
Civil  War  Mr.  Palmer  was  a  rock  of  strength  to  the 
Federal  government  in  the  Northwest.  His  po- 
litical proclivities  were  Democratic  from  his  ear- 
liest voting  days,  but  when  the  disunion  senti- 
ment manifested  itself  in  his  party  he  reprobated 
it  with  all  his  might  and  loyally  adhered  to  the 
government.  Never  for  a  moment  .lid  he  falter 
in  his  allegiance  to  the  Union  cause:  and  when 
others  were  losing  heart  and  predicting  ultimate 
disaster  he  proved  that  he  had  the  courage  "I  his 
convictions  by  investing  his  capital  in  his  business 
ingal]  in  his  power  to  encourage  trade 
and  stimulate  public  confidence.  He  bought  and 
carried  immense  stocks  of  goods,  actuated  by  his 
honestly  patriotic  desire  to  uphold  trade:  yet  in 
doing  so  his  judgment  did  not  allow  him  to  be  ob 
livious  to  the  advantages  which  must  ultimately 
accrue  to  himself  Erom  this  course.  Money  was 
plentiful,  notwithstanding  that  gold  was  at  a  high 

premium;  and  g Is  could  frequently  be  bought 

at  great  bargains  owing  to  the  sad  lack  of  confi- 
dence in  many  quarters  as  to  the  stability  of  the 
government  and  ils  ultimate  success  in  the  pro- 
longed and  bitter  struggle  in  which  it  was  en- 
gaged.   The  out I'   this   patriotic  and  wise, 

as  well  as  shrewd,  courseon  tin-  pail  of  Mr.  Palmer 
was  a  notable  augmentation  of  his  fortune,  which 
from  the  first  had  been  drawn  upon  liberally  in 
support  of   the   national   authorities,  to  whom,  es 

I ially  during  the  later  years  of  the  war.  large 

sums  of  money  were  advanced  unhesitatingly. 
Mr.  Palmer  abdicated  his  position  as  merchant 
prince  in  1865,  retiring  from  trade  with  a  large 
fortune.     He  was    but    forty  years  of  age    at    this 


1  20 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


time,  ;nnl  his  life  had  been  too  active  to  permit  of 
his  remaining  ;it  resl  while  still  in  the  very  prime 
of  his  manhood.  The  outlet  he  adopted  for  his 
activities  was  found  in  operations  in  real  estate 
some  of  which  seemed  of  the  boldesl  character, 
yel  all  of  which  were  based  on  the  prevision  of  a 
well-trained  and  accurate  judgment.  In  the  year 
mentioned,  the  city  of  Chicago,  although  in  the 
front  rank  as  a  mercantile  center,  was  woefully  in 
the  rear  so  far  as  its  streets  and  buildings  were  con- 
cerned. It  was  as  if  the  people  were  too  busy 
with  the  actual  operations  of  trade  to  give  any 
attention  to  architecture  or  the  improvement  of 
their  public  thoroughfares.  State  street,  the  most 
important  retail  thoroughfare,  was  then  quite  nar- 
row, and,  with  the  exception  of  about  two  blocks  of 
it-  length,  unadorned  by  structures  i  if  anj  preten 
rtever.  Mr.  Palmer  was  quick  to  see  that 
the  improvement  of  this  street  would  he  a  de- 
cided I  h  -in  lit  tn  the  city,  and  that  the  undertaking 
would  briiiL;'  profit  to  whoever  carried  it  through. 
He  resolved  to  he  that  person,  and,  moving  with 
both  boldness  and  caution,  he  became  in  less  than 
six  months  the  owner  of  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  of  frontage  on  the  thoroughfare  men- 
tioned. Old  buildings,  so  located  as  to  make  the 
street  narrow  where  the)  stood,  wen  fir  i   bought 

and  then  moved  back  a  hundred  feet  or  more  as 
i  \.  On  vacant  lots  adjoining  them,  which 
also  had  been  acquired,  new  buildings  were  erected 
on  the  new  line.  By  meansof  the  influenceof  his 
own  example,  and  by  such  other  legal  means  as 
were  required  in  dealing  with  a  number  of  busy, 

selfish  and  often   obstinate  i pie,  he  succeeded, 

after  four  years'  indefatigible  labor,  in  giving  a 
practical  embodiment  to  his  engrail  idea.    The 

effected  can  only  be  described  by  the 
word  -  magical."  What  had  been  a  dirty,  irreg- 
ular   and   utterly   uninviting    thoroughfare   was 

med  into  a  broad  avenue,  a  mile  or  more 
in  length,'  and  not  only  vastly  better  adapted 
for  the  home  of  the  retail  trade  of  the  city,  but 
suggestive  of  many  latent  possibilities.  Mr. 
Palmer  himself  ei  ected  a  dozen  fine  buildings,  in- 
cluding the  first  "  Palmer  House."  OlU-  Of  those 
buildings,  erected  for  mercantile  purposes,  had  a 
marble  front,  and  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of 
$100,000.  The  greal  lire  of  October  9,  1ST1,  which 
swept  over  Chicago  with  a  fury  and  devastation 
almosl  unexampled  in  the  history  of  conflagra- 
tions, destroyed  in  a  si  ugh  ■  night  that  upo 
Mr.  Palmer  had  I  upended  years  of  energy  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  There  was  no 
person  in  the  citj  who  suffered  so  heavily  as  Mr. 


Palmer:  indeed,  the  lire  may  be  said  to  have  been 
to  him  an  almost  crushing  calamity.  Thirty  five 
of  his  buildings  were  completely  wiped  out,  and  a 
rent  roll  of  nearly  $200,000  a  year  was  annihilated. 
His  total  loss  "I'  annual  income  fell  hut  little 
short  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars,  and  the  in- 

co 'emaining  was  inadequate  by  S15,000  to  meet 

his  annual  taxes.  Only  a  will  of  iron  could  have 
recovered  from  the  depression  occasioned  by  such  a 
calamity;  only  a  courage  cast  in  a  heroic  mold 
could  have  risen  superior  to  it  and  re-entered  the 
ranks  with  a  determination  to  retrieve  Eallen  for 
tune.  It  is  related  of  Mr.  Palmer  that  when  the 
extent  of  his  losses  was  fully  understood  by  him 
he  was  so  oast  down,  for  the  time  being,  that  he 
felt  like  giving  up  every  business  ambition,  taking 
the  remnants  of  his  fortune  and  in  quiet  passing 
the  remainder  of  his  existence.  The  same  account 
furth  i  slates  that  in  this  hour  of  depression  and 
indecision  his  young  and  beautiful  wife  to  whom 
he  had  been  wedded  hut  a  single  year  consoled 
and  cheered  him  with  a  degree  of  tact  and  wisdom 
in  beyond  her  years.  As  proud  of  her  city  as  she 
was  loyal  to  its  interests,  she  pointed  out  to  her 
husband  that  the  situation  was  one  calling  for 
more  than  consideration  of  self,  and  that  under 
the  dreadful  circumstances  a  duty  devolved  upon 
him;  thai  his  ambition  could  have  no  nobler  aim 
than  tin-  resurrection  from  its  ashes  the  city  which 
he  had  already  dour  so  much  to  build  up  and  im- 
prove. Calmed  and  reassured  by  these  courageous 
words,  his  mind  resumed  its  normal  workings,  and 
in  loss  than  an  hour  he  had  resolved  upon  a 
course  of  action  which,  entered  upon  within  a  day, 
was  followed  undeviatingly,  despite  ever)  "l> 
stacle.  Joining  his  panic-stricken  fellow-citizens, 
he  led.  rather  than'  followed,  in  the  task  of  re- 
habilitating the  city.  Upon  the  ruins  of  his 
buildings  an  army  of  workmen  were  soon  em- 
ployed. The  huge  piles  of  debris  united  as  if  by 
magic,  and  upon  the  cleared  span'  nev.  structures 
speedily  arose,  grander  and  more  perfect  than 
th.ise  which  had  been  destroyed,  and  all  con- 
si  n i. -i i'.l  with  a  view  to  prevent  in  future  a  repeti 
tion  of  the  disaster  through  which  the  city  had 
just  passed.  A  magnificent  credit,  which  years  of 
honorable  dealing  had  founded  as  upon  a  rock-, 
and  which,  apparently,  that  disaster  was  notable 
p.  ail'i  ii.  was  the  basis  .  .1'  Mr.  Palmer's  operations 
in  those  days.  Hundreds  of  tons  of  building 
materials  were  promptly  laid  down  wherever  he 
■qui  ted.  'I'll.-  Palmer  House,  always  an  object 
of  pride  to  him.  was  rebuilt  on  a  scale  previously 
unattempted,  and  was  made  absolutely  fire-proof, 


■ 


BI(  IGRAPHY  OP    ILLINOIS. 


121 


tost    being  spared   to   insure  this  result;  and, 

thai  its  construction  might  progress  uninter- 
ruptedly, work  upon  it  was  continued  by  night  as 
well  as  by  day,  this  being  rendered  possible  by 
tlir  us.- of  artificial  light,  then  employed  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  building.  Hisexample 
was  a  constant  inspiration  to  bis  loss  confident 
fellow-sufferers,  and  in  connection  with  that  of  a 
handful  of  other  courageous  business  men  grad- 
ually evolved  order  out  of  chaos,  and  in  time 
caused  what  had  been  regarded  as  a  never-to-be 
forgotten  calamity  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  blessing 
in  disguise.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  experience,  it 
is  now  acknowledged  that  a  hundred  years  of 
desultory  and  uneven  effort  could  not  have  ac 
complished  for  the  city  what  has  been  effected  by 

icerted   and   public-spirited   action   through  a 

score  of  years.  The  calamity  of  the  tire  served  as 
a  bond  to  unite,  for  a  common  purpose,  hundred 
who  previously  had  been  actuated  solely  bj  a  de 
sire  to  advance  their  individual  interests.  Thus 
a  civic  pride  was  engendered  which  has  given  to 
the  world  a  municipal  development  unparalleled 
in  the  annals  of  history.  To  enumerate  in  detail 
the  many  projects  set  on  foot  and  carried  to 
eessful  completion  by  Mr.  Palmer  cannot  beat 
tempted  in  a  mere  biographical  sketch,  but  no 
account  of  Ins  life,  however  brief,  can  omit  refer- 
ence to  his  splendid  achievements  in  developing 
the  famous  "Lake  Shore  Drive"  in  Chicago. 
When  this  magnificent  boulevard  was  first  laid 
out, in  1ST:!,  his  unerring  judgment  foresaw  that 
it  held  the  most  brilliant  possibilities  as  the  lead 
ing  fashionable  avenue  of  the  city.  Without 
hesitation  he  made  extensive  purchases  of  vacant 
land  bordering  upon  it.  and  choosing  a  command- 
ing site  built  for  himself  a  private  residence 
which  is  very  generall)  regarded  as  one  of  the 
lines!  in  America.  With  the  same  splendid 
courage  which  had  always  characterized  his 
opera  i  ions,  he  built  other  handsome  residences 
along  this  driveway,  no  two  exactly  similar  in 
architecture.  Such  an  example  was  not  lost  upon 
the  public-spirited  Chicagoans,  and  the  result  as 
witnessed  to-day  is  one  of  the  most  notable  of  Mr. 
Palmer's  triumphs.  It  is  but  simple  justice  to 
Mr.  Palmer  to  record  the  fact  that  no  man  in  Chi- 
cago is  more  alive  to  the  duties  which  wealth  im- 
poses. His  colossal  fortune,  numbering  many 
millions,  has  been  won  open-handed  and  by  legit- 
imate business  methods,  and  it  has  been  liberally 
employed  in  every  channel  where  advantage  eon  id 
llou  I,,  the  city  and  its  people.  In  all  the  various 
projects     -philanthropic,  benevolent,  educational. 


charitable,  and  patriotic-  which  have  engaged 
the  at  ten  |  ion  or  called  for  the  support  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Chicago,  Potter  Palmer  lias  been  one  of  the 
foremost.  As  a  patron  of  art.  science  and  litera- 
ture, and  as  the  faithful  supporter  of  religion  and 
morality,  his  reputation  is  national.  In  July. 
L870,  .Mr.  Palmer  married  Miss  Bertha  Honore. 
daughter  of  Henry  H.  Honore.  of  Chicago.  This 
lail)-.  whose  birth,  breeding  and  education  fitted 
her  to  adorn  any  station  in  life,  is  possessed  of 
superior  intellectual  powers  and  of  a  genuine 
kindness  of  heart  which  interests  her  in  every 
noble  and  philanthropic  work.  With  ample 
means  at  her  disposal,  she  is  unwearied  in  doing 
good,  and  her  gentle  bene'ficence  extends  through 
a  wide  and  constantly  widening  held  of  effort. 
She  is  tile  associate  and  counselor  of  her  distill 
guished  husband  in  many  of  his  most  ambitious 
projects.  In  no  public  enterprise  is  she  more 
deeply  interested  than  in  the  World's  Colum-. 
bian  Exposition.  Her  universal  popularity  was 
shown  by  her  being  chosen  president  of  its  board 
of  lady  managers  in  1890.  Her  labor  in  behalf  of 
this  great  undertaking  is  one  of  love  and  public 
spirit,  with  no  hope  of  reward  save  that  derived 
from  a  sense  of  duty  well  performed,  and  the 
gratitude  of  the  citizens  of  the  city  in  which  she 
has  always  taken  such  deep  pride.  .Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Palmer  have  two  sons.  Honore  and  Potter,  young 

lads    .if   great    p lise,  who    are  now  busied  with 

the  work  of  completing  their  education. 


FREDERICK  II.   WINSTON. 
FREDERICK    HAMPDEN    WINSTON,    ex 

United  States  Minister  to  Persia,  and  a  distill 
guished  lawyer  of  Chicago,  was  horn  at  Sand  Hill. 
Liberty  county.  Georgia,  Nov.  20,  1830.  His 
father.  Kev.  Dennis  M.  Winston,  was  a  Presbyte 
rian  minister,  and  a  graduate  of  both  Hamilton 
and  Princeton  colleges.  He  was  a  native  of  New 
York  City,  and  was  a  brotherof  the  late  Frederick 
S.  Winston,  a  prominent  citizen  and  merchant  of 
that  metropolis.  Impaired  health  induced  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Winston,  when  a  young  man,  to  seek  a 
southern  climate,  and  he  sell  led  in  Georgia,  and 
there  married  Miss  Mary  Mcintosh,  daughter  of 
General  Mcintosh  of  that  state.  In  1835  the 
family  removed  to  Woodford  county.  Kentucky. 
The  purpose  of  .this  removal  reflects  tin-  highest 

honor  upon  the  Rev.  M  ,  .  Winston,  for  it  embodied 


12  2 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


en  his  pari  .-in  unselfish  devotion  to  principle. 
Mrs.  Winston  had   inherited  from   her   father  a 

large  n her  of  slaves.    Mr.  Winston  was  anxious 

to  give  these  people  their  freedom,  and  he  removed 
to  Kentucky  with  that  object  in  view,  though  in 
accomplishing  his  purpose,  he  reduced  himself 
and  family  l"  comparative  poverty.  Two  years 
after  removing  to  Kentucky,  Mrs.  Winston  died 
and  in  1S4'2.  followed  the  death  of  her  husband. 
The  boy  of  twelve  was  thus  left  without  parental 
care  or  guidance.  He  was  a  strong, sturdy  youth, 
with  a  bountiful  inheritance  of  strong  Scotch 
character    ami     determination.     Until     he    was 

eighteen  years  of  age  he  attended  the  private 
schools  of  Kentucky,  but  at  that  age  he  began  to 
realize  that  he  must  enter  actively  into  the  strug 
gle  of  life.  With  this  object  in  view  he  returned 
to  his  native  state,  intending  to  engage  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton.  He  secured  a  position  in 
a  cotton  factory,  and  for  iwo  yearsapplied  himself 
in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  that  industry.  Dur- 
ing that  time  he  became  so  well  informed  in  regard 
to  the  business,  that  hi',  witli  others,  organized  a 
new  company  which  commissioned  him  to  go  to 
New  York  to  superintend  the  construction  of  the 
machinery  for  the  new  factory.  Two  years  were 
spent  in  this  work,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
returned  to  Georgia  ready  t<>  begin  the  career  of  a 
manufacturer.  His  want  of  capital  necessary  to 
secure  such  interest  in  the  enterprise  as  he  desired 
compelled  him  to  take  another  course.  He  re- 
solved to  become  a  lawyer.  His  later  life  and 
splendid  professional  success  have  demonstrated 
the  wisdom  of  that  resolution.  He  at  once  dis- 
posed .if  his  interest  in  the  manufacturing  enter- 
prise and  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
the  Hon.  William  C.  Dawson,  then   United   States 

Senator  from   Georgia.     In   1S50,   having   I n   a 

student  under  .Mr.  Dawson  for  six  months,  he 
entered  the  Law  School  of  Harvard  College  and 
graduated  therefrom  two  years  later.  Upon  leav- 
ing Harvard,  he  went  to  New  York  and  entered 
I  he  office  of  the  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts,  where  for 
six  months  he  continued  his  studies  under  the 
direction  of  that  great  lawyer,  and  was  then  ad- 
mitted t..  the  New  York  liar.  In  1853  he  went  to 
Chicago  where  he  has  resided  ever  since,  and 
where  lie  has  achieved  both  fame  and  fortune. 
i     arrival  there  he  at  once  entered  upon  the 

practice  of  his  profession.    In  the  course  of  six 

months  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late 
Norman  B.  .In .1.1.  under  the  name  of  ,1m Id  \-  Win- 
ston, and  this  partnership  continued  until  Presi- 
dent   Lincoln   appointed   Mr.  Ju.l.l    Minister  to 


Berlin,  in  1861.  Mr.  Winston  then  entered  int.. 
partnership  with  Mr.  Prink,  and  later  witli  Henry 
W.  Blodgett,  and  this  relation  continued  until  Mr. 
Blodgett  was  appointed  by  President  Grant,  in 
1870,  to  the  bench  of  the  United  States  District 
Court.  At  the  time  Mr.  Judd  went  as  Minister  to 
Berlin,  the  firm  were  counsel  for  a  number  of 
large  railway  corporations,  and  this  important  and 
responsible  practice  was  retained  by  Mr.  Winston. 
Formany  years  he  was  the  general  solicitor  or 
general  counsel  for  the  Lake  Shore  A  Michigan 
Southern,  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific,  ami 
the  Pittsburgh,  Fort  Wayne  A-  Chicago  railroads, 
serving  the  latter  for  fully  twenty  years.  During 
all  this  period  he  was  the  chief  counsel  in  all  the 
important  litigation  in  which  these  railroad  com 
panies  were  engaged,  and  became  one  of  the  most 
noted  corporation  lawyers  in  the  West,  lie  had. 
at  the  same  time,  an  extensive  and  lucrative 
general  practice  in  the  State  and  United  States 
Courts.  In  1885  he  retired  from  active  practice. 
During  the  years  of  his  devotion  to  his  profession, 
he  was  always  prominent  in  the  councils  of  the 

democratic  party,  steadfastly  refusing,  however, 
all  olfers  of  political  office,  though  frequently 
urged  to  accept  nominations  for  congressional  and 
oilier  high  official  positions.  For  many  years 
he  has  been  a  conspicuous  member  of  Democratic 
national  conventions.  He  was  a  delegate  at  large 
from  Illinois  to  the  convention  that  nominated 
lh .ratio  Seymour  for  President  in  1868,  and  again 
represented  Illinois  as  delegate-at  large  in  the 
convention  that  nominated  Samuel  .1.  Tilden  in 
187G;  and  in  1884  he  was  district  delegate  I"  the 
convention  that  nominated  Grover  Cleveland. 
During  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration  Mr.  Wins 
ton  was  close  to  the  President,  and  in  1885  he  was 
selected  by  President  Cleveland  for  the  position 
of  Minister  to  Persia.  Mr.  Winston  accepted  this 
office  not  so  much  for  the  honor  it  conferred  as  to 
satisfy  a  desire  to  travel  and  to  visit  the  Orient. 
He  discharged  the  duties  of  this  position  until 
1886,  when  he  resigned,  and  after  extended  travels 
through  Russia,  Scandinavia  and  other  countries 
he  returned  home.  As  already  stated,  he  retired 
from  the  practice  of  his  profession  when  he  ac 
eepted  the  office  of  Minister  to  Persia,  his  son, 
Frederick  S.  Winston,  becoming  his  successor. 
Upon  his  return  from  Persia,  therefore,  he  was 
free  to  devote  his  attention  to  his  OWD  private 
property  interests,  and  these  were  quite  sufficient 
to  Claim  all  of  his  time  and  energies.  He  has  been 
thus  chiefly  employed  ever  since.  When  the  new 
Union  Stock  Yards  Company  was  organized  un 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


I  2 


der  the  laws  of  New  Jersey  be  became  its  presi- 
dent. For  twelve  years,  bj  appointment  from 
three  Republican  governors,  he  was  president  of 
the  Board  of  Lincoln  Park  Commissioners.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Lincoln  National 
Hank,  and  served  on  its  directory  for  many  years. 
Mr.  Winston  is  a  magnificent  specimen  of  physical 
manhood,  showing  in  his  figure  and  features  the 
splendid  influence  of  the  Scutch  blood  that  is  in 
him.  He  is  six  feet  in  height,  straight  as  an  ar- 
row, and  his  strong-  limbs,  ruddy  complexion  and 
robust  proportions  would  readily  convey  the  im- 
pression of  a  man  ten  years  his  junior.  Men 
tally  and  physically  he  would  be  ooticeable 
in  the  company  of  the  best  specimens  of  man 
kind.  In  ordinary  intercourse  his  manner  is 
affable,  combining  the  qualities  of  the  scholar, 
the  gentleman  and  the  experienced  man  of  affairs. 
His  home  is  one  in  which  the  arts  and  graces  are 
cultivated,  ami  within  it  he  finds  relaxation  in 
higher  literature  and  in  the  exercise'  of  a  delight 
ful  hospitality.  Mr.  Winston  is  a  member  of  the 
Iroquois  Club,  the  Union  Club  on  the  North 
Side,  the  Chicago  Club  and  the  Germania  Maen- 
nerchor.  August  20,  1855,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Maria  G.,  daughter  of  General  Ambrose  Dudley, 
of  Frankfort,  Kentucky.  Mrs.  Winston  died  in 
L885.  Six  children  were  born  to  Mr.  ami  Mrs. 
Winston,  all  of  whom  arc-  living.  The  eldest. 
Frederick  S..  is  now  one  of  the  most  prominent  of 
the  younger  members  of  tin-  Chicago  bar,  and  has 

held  the  otlii f  Corporation  Counsel  of  Chicago. 

Two  other  sons.  Dudley  W.  and  Bertram,  are 
brokers  in  Chicago.  The  family  has  inherited  the 
physical  and  mental  powers  possessed  by  the 
father  to  a  large  degree,  and  promise  to  keep  the 
name  of  Winston  in  the  very  enviable  position  to 
which  Frederick  II.  Winston  has  raised  it. 


WILLIAM  D.   KERFOOT. 

The  name  of  William  1  >.  Kerfoot  is  synonymous 
with  the  fame  of  ( 'hi, -a go's  real  estate  I  rade.  Ib- 
is not  only  one  of  the  oldest,  but  one  of  tin-  best 
known  and  most  conservative  men  in  the  busi- 
ness. There  are  many  who  ascribe  to  him  tin- 
honor  of  being  the  pioneer  of  the  reputable  deal- 
ers who  have  made  of  the  business  an  honorable 
and  dignified  profession.  For  thirty  years  Mr. 
Kerfoot  has  been  active  in  the  handling  of  Chi- 
cago properties,  and  his  word  is  taken  without 


question  as  that  of  an  authority  in  all  matters  of 

values  and  wisdom  of  investment.  Mr.  Kerfool 
was   horn  April    16th,  is.'lT.  in    tin- city  of  Lancas 

ter,  Pennsylvania,  the  home  of  many  f,- >us  men. 

like  Thaddeus  Stevens,  Simon  Cameron,  James 
1  inch  a  nan  and  John  W.  Forney,  all  of  whom  have 
left  their  impress  upon  the  nation.  The  father  of 
William  D.  Kerfoot  was  Dr. George  li.  Kerfoot.  a 
man  fully  as  distinguished  in  tin-  medical  profes- 
sion as  are  the  others  mentioned  in  politics  anil 
literature.  From  ls:iil  to  1851  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  at 
(In-  head  of  his  profession,  known  and  honored 
throughout  Pennsylvania  as  an  authority  in  sci- 
ence, letters  and  therapeutics.  After  :m  unevent- 
ful   boyhood    Mr.   Kerfoot,    in    1S.VJ,    beci a 

student  ;,t  St.  James'  College  in  Maryland, 
when-  he  remained  for  two  years.  In  1854  he 
came  to  Chicago  and  entered  the  real  estate 
office  of  James  11.  Wees.  He  afterward  entered 
the  service  of  Thomas  B.  Bryan  as  a  clerk.  In 
this  capacity  his  duties  wen-  varied,  ami  he  re- 
ceived a  business  training  which,  though  short, 
was  of  much  value  to  him.  Being  quirk  of  per- 
ception ami  possessed  of  natural  business  talents. 
Mr.  Kerfoot  perceived  almost  on  his  arrival  the 
possibilities  that  awaited  an  energetic  young 
man  in  the  real  estate  business  in  a  growing  city 
like  Chicago,  and  being  ambitious  he  soon  eslab 
lished  himself  as  a  financial  agent  and  real  estate 
broker  at  89  Washington  street,  dose  to  his  pres- 
ent location.  With  courage  and  self-reliance  be- 
yond most  men  of  his  years  he  rapidly  acquired 
the  confidence  of  a  large  clientage,  and  was  doing 
a  very  profitable  business  when  the  lire  of  1871 
swept  away  everything  he  had  in  the  shape  of  pa- 
pers, books  and  other  vitally  necessary  docu 
ments.  The  tire  was  conquered  on  Monday,  and 
on  the  following  Wednesday  Mr.  Kerfool  was  oc 
cupying  a  rude  frame  office  he  had  erected  on  tie- 
site  of  his  former  place  of  business.  While  many 
were  bemoaning  their  destitution  Mr. Kerfoot  was 
hard  at  work  securing  the  city  maps,  plats,  etc., 
necessary  in  his  business.:!  nd  when  the  rush  of  East- 
ern investors, who  were  seeking  bargains  by  buying 
up  the  property  of  those  ruined  by  the  tire  came,  he 

was  in  good  shape  to  take  care  of  it.  Daj  and 
night  his  office  was  besieged  by  capitalists,  and 
his  transactions  soon  amounted  to  millions  of 
dollars.  In  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  Mr.  Kerfoot 
was  a  most  important  factor,  his  word  being  taken 
almost  without  question  by  new  investors  on  the 
wisdom  of  rebuilding,  etc.  One  of  the  largest 
property  owners  and  best  known  lawyers  in  Chi- 
cago Bays  of  him:     "Ihave  no  hesitation  in   say 


124 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


ing  that  in  my  opinion  William  I).  Kerfoot  stands 
at  tin-  head  of  the  real  estate  business  in  Chicago. 
He  is  a  man  of  verj  large  experience  and  informs 
tion.  Having  come  to  Chicago  when  a  young 
iLni.  and  being  peculiarly  fitted  for  this  business, 
be  has  easily  kept  pace  with  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  city.  In  fa.-r.  lie  has  been  one  of  the 
most  important  factors  in  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment. Ilr  is  a  man  of  large  acquaintance,  and 
has  the  confidence  of  the  people,  not  only  in  Chi- 
cago, but  in  the  great  financial  centers  of  the 
East,  and  also  in  London,  as  is  shown  by  the  cli- 
entage he  has  built  up  there.  Millions  of  dollars 
have  been  invested  in  Chicago  on  Mr.  Kerfoot's 
recommendation  by  people  who  have  never  seen 
the  properties,  and  in  every  instance  they  have 
been  well  pleased.  His  judgment  as  to  values,  in- 
come,  etc.,  is  something  remarkable  in  its  accu- 
racy. It  is  the  practice  of  courts  and  other  mem 
bers  of  the  Real  Estate  Board  to  accept  him  as  an 
authority  on  realty  values  and  the  soundness  of 
titles."  One  of  Chicago's  leading  hankers  re- 
cently said  of  him:  "I  have  known  Mr.  Kerfool 
nearly  thirty  years,  and  regard  him  as  one  of  the 
must  successful  business  men  in  the  city.  He  is  a 
mau  of  the  highest  mural  character,  and  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  keen  intellect  and  unusual  business 
capacity.  Though  a  very  busy  man.  he  is  always 
ready  to  devote  his  time  to  public  affairs.  He  is 
now  chairman  of  one  of  the  most  important  com- 
mittees in  the  World's  Fair  directory.  As  presi- 
dent of  such  business  enterprises  as  the  Chicago 
Opera  House  building  his  ability  and  tact  have 
brought  success.  No  one  can  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  W.  1>.  Kerfoot  without  being  convinced 
that  he  meets  a  broad-minded.  Christian  gentle 
man."  To  the  above  Hon.  Thos.  Ii.  Bryan,  his 
former  employer,  adds:  "I  have  no  hesitation  in 
pronouncing  W.  D.  Kerfool  one  of  the  verj  besl 
real  estate  agents  it  has  ever  been  my  good  fortune 
to  know.  He  is  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  oi 
just  those  qualifications  of  sterling  probity,  con- 
scientious conservatism  of  judgment,  zeal  tem- 
pered with  moderation,  methodical  and  tireless 
energy  that  specially  adapt  him  to  his  chosen 
profession."  l*p  to  1*77  Mr.  Kerfoot  conducted 
his  business  alone,  but  since  then  he  has 
had  as  a  partner  Mr.  George  Birkhoff,  Jr.  Mr. 
Kerfoot  while  President  of  the  Chicago  Real  Es- 
tate  Hoard,  through  this  influential  organization, 
as   well   as   by  his   individual   application,   labored 

hard  to  advance  the  interests  of  Chicago  and  the 

people  who  have  invested  their  money  there.   The 
lirst   modern  high  office  building  erected  in  Chi 


eago  was  the  Chicago  Opera  House  block,  a  ten 
story  structure.  It  was  put  up  in  1884,  and  at 
that  time  was  considered  something  extraordi 
nary  in  the  line  of  high  buildings.     The    plan  was 

conceived  by  Mr.  Kerfoot.  and  the  company  which 
leased  the  land  and  constructed  the  block  was  or- 
ganized by  him.  Since  then  many  of  the  largest 
realty  owners  have  adopted  the  plan  as  the  one 
which  affords  a  sure  income  in  high  land  values. 
Mr.  Kerfoot  is  a  director  in  the  Title  Guarantee 
A-  Trust  Company  of  Chicago,  and  takes  an  active 
interest  in  its  affairs.  He  is  also  prominent  in 
World's  Fair  circles,  being  chairman  of  the  agri- 
cultural  committee,    a    member  of    the   executive 

Ci ittee.  a   member  of    the   ways   and    means 

committee,  and  member  of  the  dedicator}  com 
mittce.  In  1865  Mr.  Kerfoot  was  married  to  Miss 
Susan  B.  Mooklar,  daughter  of  William  B.  Mook- 
lar.  of  Mason  county.  Kentucky.  To  them  have 
been  born  four  sons  and  hair  daughters,  of  whom 
but  one  son  and  three  daughters  survive.  Few 
men  in  Chicago  have  a  happier  home  circle,  or  a 
more  devoted  and  lovable  family,  than  Mr.  Ker- 
foot. His  pleasing  personality,  and  the  high 
charms  of  those  in  his  home  circle,  have  drawn 
around  him  a  congenial  society,  in  which  are 
numbered  the  best  of  Chicago's  citizens.  His 
motto  in  business  life  has  been  to  build  his  for- 
tunes on  the  commercial  prosperity  of  his  fellows, 
and  in  following  this  line  Mr.  Kerfoot  has  not 
only  made  a  fortune  tor  himself,  but  has  enhanced 
the  value  of  the  holdings  of  hundreds  of  others, 
and  won  their  confidence  and  respect.  He  is  a 
man  of  strong  personal  magnetism,  convincing 
in  argument,  but  withal  modest  and  reticent 
to  a  very  marked  degree. 


EDWARD  S.  STICKNEY. 

Art  and  literature  lost  an  earnest  devotee,  so 
cietj  a  cultivated  and  upright  member,  and  the 
business  world  an  honored  and  successful  man 
when  Edward  Swan  Stiekney  died  on  March  20, 
1880.  Mr.  Stiekney  was  born  in  Newburyport, 
Mass.,  October  7.  1824,  and  was  the  son  of  Enoch 
and  Sarah  W.  (Knapp)  Stiekney.  The  family.  ..n 
both  sides,  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Massachusetts, 
several  generations  having  been  born  in  New  bun 
port,  where  his  mother  now  lives,  at  the  ripe  age 
of  ninety  live,  still  occupying  the  house  ill  which 
she  was  born,  and  in  which  her   sou    first    saw  the 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


I25 


light.  As  a  boy  Lis  inclinations  tended  towards 
literature,  but  bis  father  dying  when  he  was  a 
lad  of  fourteen,  lu'  was  forced  to  assume  the  care 
of  the  family  and  to  enter  upon  a  business  career 
to  secure  the  means  for  their  support.  Mr. 
Stickney  came  to  Chicago  in  1855,  from  Concord, 
X.  II..  where  he  had  held  positions  of  trust  in  the 
office  of  the  Boston,  Concord  &  Montreal  Railroad 
and  the  old  Mechanics'  Bank.  He  became  at 
once  identified  with  the  musical  and  literary  ele- 
ment n!'  his  new  home,  which  was  then  in  its  in- 
fancy.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  managers 
of  the  early  Philharmonic  Society,  to  which  Chi- 
cago is  largely  indebted  for  its  present  high 
musical  standing.  He  also  attached  himself  to 
St.  James' Episcopal  Church,  where  for  twenty- 
five  years  he  was  a  constant  attendant  and  a  yen 
erous  helper  in  its  charities.  In  1856  he  entered 
the  establishment  of  John  S.  Wright,  manufac- 
turer of  agricultural  implements,  where  his  worth 
was  soon  recognized  and  his  services  appreciated. 
He  remained  with  this  tinn  for  some  years.  In 
1859  and  1860,  when  the  disturbances  in  the  cur- 
rency became  so  great  that  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  establish  in  Chicago  a  special  clearing 
house  for  the  paper  money  then  flooding  the 
country.  Mr.  Stickney  was  made  its  manager. 
During  this  period  of  excitement  he  discharge. 1 
the  well-nigh  impossible  duty  of  making  daily 
settlements  for  the  banks  and  business  men  in 
this  irregular  currency  with  signal  ability,  and  to 
the  general  satisfaction  at  the  community.  After- 
wards he  entered  the  banking  house  of  Drexel  & 
Co..  his  clearing  experiences  having  developed  in 

hi special  aptitude  for  banking.     He  remained 

with  this  house  until  18l!S,  when  the  Stock  Yards 
National  Bank  was  established,  of  which  he  was 
made  cashier,  remaining  so  until  1ST:'.,  when  he 
was  chosen  its  president,  which  position  he  held 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  This  bank,  which 
started  on  a  modest  scale,  was  almost  entirely 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  Stickney.  and 
through  his  wise  and  careful  guidance  it  grew 
tobeone  of  the  largest  banking  houses  ill  Chi- 
cago. Mr.  Stickney's  character  was  well  rounded 
and  complete.  Although  a  business  man  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  he  was  neither  austere  nor  selfish. 
He  always  had  a  lively  interest  in.  and  helping  hand 
for,  young  men  just  beginning  the  battle  of  life, 
never  forgetting  his  own  early  struggles.  He  was 
of  a  deeply  religious  nature,  unobtrusive  ami  yet 
strong  in  his  personality,  of  the  highest  integrity 
and  untarnished  honor.  He  was  genial,  courteous 
ami  chivalrous,  and  a  fast  friend  to  those  who  en- 


joyed his  confidence.  While  in  all  his  business 
enterprises  Mr.  Stickney  was  eminently  success- 
ful, and  was  regarded  by  all  who  knew  him  as  ex- 
ceptionally safe  and  conservative,  the  calling  of  a 
banker  was  to  him  only  a  means  to  an  end  —  the 
gratification  of  his  natural  tastes  and  inclinations. 
He  never  allowed  the  duties  of  Ins  calling  to 
dwarf  his  finer  sensibilities  or  to  thwart  his  gen- 
erous ambitions.  He  was  as  well  known  in  social 
circles  for  his  wide  and  elegant  culture  as  among 
business  men  for  integrity  and  capability.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  Mr.  Stickney  owned  a  tine  and 
large  collection  of  rare  books,  engravings  and  itch 
ings,  to  which  he  was  making  constant  additions. 
Many  of  these  have  since  been  presented  to  the 
Chicago  Art  Institute,  which  was  one  of  the 
many  institutions  in  which  he  was  deeply  inter- 
ested. His  knowledge  of  worth  in  ail.  especially 
in  engravings,  was  remarkable.  His  interest  in 
these  matters  was  genuine.  His  good  taste  was 
inborn  and  his  clear  judgment  beyond  question. 
His  special  preference  was  for  the  elegant  ami 
elaborate  portraits  produced  in  France  nearly  200 
years  ago.  and  his  collection  of  prints  engraved  by 
Edehnck,  Masson  and  Nanteuil  was  exceedingly 
fine.  These  were  kept  in  portfolios  to  be  handy 
for  inspection,  and  for  the  further  reason  that 
with  the  tastes  of  a  true  poet  he  had  covered  the 
walls  of  his  house  with  beautiful  paintings  and 
filled  every  available  space  with  rare  pottery, 
bronzes  and  other  precious  works.  Of  such  a 
man.  in  his  home  life.it  is  almost  useless  to  speak. 
In  1869  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Hammond, 
daughter  of  the  late  A.  W.  Hammond,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, who  survives  him.  On  the  news  of  his 
death  being  received  at  the  Stock  Yards,  the 
members  of  the  Live  Stock  Exchange  passe,! 
earnest  resolutions  of  respect  to  his  memory, 
and  the  directors  of  the  bank  voiced  their  sorrow 
in  a  similar  way.  The  Commercial  Club  mourned 
him  in  the  following  sympathetic  words,  adopted 
at  a  special  meeting  held  at  the  Palmer  House, 
March  'Jit,  1880: 

"Whereas,  It  lias  pleased  an  all-wise  Providence 
to  take  from  our  midst  and  from  the  varied  scenes 
of  his  earthly  usefulness  our  esteemed  associate. 
Edward  S.  Stickney;  and 

"Whereas,  The  high  estimation  in  which  he 
was  held  by  all  of  his  associates,  and  their  sorrow  at 
his  death,  demand  a  record  in  the  minutes  of  this 
dub;   therefore 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Edward  S. 
Stickney  the  Commercial  Club  has  lost  a  wise 
counselor,  a  genial  associate,  and  a  warm  hearted 
friend. 


126 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


"Resolved,  That  in  his  death  the  city  has  lost 
;in  estimable  citizen,  high-toned,  honorable  and 
conservative,  intelligent,  active,  and  generous  in 
his  liberal  and  cheerful  support  oi  its  religious, 
bi  nevolent  and  literary  institutions." 

The  Chicago  Historical  Society,  on  April  21, 
L880,  at  the  first  meeting  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Stickney,  adopted  the  following: 

■•  Resolved,  Thai  in  the  death  of  the  late  Ed 
ward  S.  Stickney  the  Chicago  Historical  Society 
has  lost  a  valuable  member;  the  cause  of  fine  arts 
a  Eostering  patron;  music,  a  zealous  supporter; 
literature,  a  worthj  and  polished  sympathizer; 
the  city  of  Chicago,  a  valuable  citizen,  and  society 
at  large  an  ornament. 

■•  Resolvi  d,  That  this  declaration  of  our  estimate 
of  the  deceased  be  entered  upon  our  records,  and 
that  a  copy  of  it  be  suit  by  our  secretarj  to  the 
widow  of  our  late  friend,  with  the  expression  of 
the  cordial  sympathy  of  our  association  with  her 
in  her  bereavement." 

A  well-known  citizen  of  Chicago,  who  was  in- 
timately acquainted  with  Mr.  Stickney  from  boj 
hood,   describes    his  character  with   the  skillful 
touch  of  a  painter  in  the  following  words: 

"Mr.  Stickney  had  a  refined  and  cultivated 
mind.  Early  in  life  he  developed  an  earnest  de- 
sire for  the  study  of  the  choicest  classics  in  Eng- 
lish literature.  He  had  a  great  avidity  for  first 
editions   and  rare   editions.     In    his  earlier  man- 

1 d  he  denied  himself  many  well-earned  luxuries 

for  the  sake  of  securing  costlj  copies  of  the  great 
writers  of  the  Elizabethan  period  and  other 
literary  treasures  and  rarities,  and  he  not  onlj 
owned  these  works,  but  read  them  with  assiduous 
care  and  untiring  interest  and  pleasure.  His  love 
tor  the  hest  authors  and  for  the  greatest  masters 
of  the  English  language,  and  his  companionship 
with  friends  of  kindred  taste,  bore  fruit  in  a  life 
of  high  intellectual  enjoyment.  He  was  always  a 
colli  ctor  of  fine  editions  of  standard  authors,  and 
never  wearied  in  the   search   for  choice   additions 

to    his    remarkable    library.     His    I Iness    for 

music,  and  for  the.  great  productions  of  the  mas- 
ters, was  a  marked  and  charming  trait  of  his 
character;  and  for  the  kindred  arts  of  the  painter, 
the  etcher  and  the  engraver  lie  had  an  intelligent 
and  glowing  admiration.  He  collected  the  best 
productions  of  these  arts,  and  made  his  home  de- 
lightful with  tlie  atmosphere  of  hooks  and  pic- 
music  and  all  the  gentle  arts.  He  was 
devoted  to  his  home  and  the  domestic  circle.  He 
was  loyal  to  his  friends  with  a  chivalric  loyalty, 
and  no  one  knew  him  well  without  becoming  a 
i  admiring  friend." 

Another  friend,  recently  deceased,  in  Salem, 
Mass.,  who  had  known  and  loved  him  for  many 
years,  thus  w  rites: 

-The    news    of    .Mr.  Stickney 's    death    broughl 
of  many  friends  in  tin    I  eig  I 


borhood,  whose    regard    for   him    had    been   kepi 

fresh  by  his  many  visits  hither.  A  native  of  New 
burj  port,  he  has  been  for  more  than  aquarter  of  a 
century  identified  with  the  hanking  interests  oi 
Chicago,  where,  by  his  capacity,  prudence  and 
devoted  industry,  he  had  obtained  a  foremost 
place  among  those  to  whom  the  management 
of  her  immense  daily  financial  affairs  is  in- 
trusted. 

"  But  he  was  not  only  an  example  of  a  success 
fur,  honorable  business  man.  he  was  an  ardent. 
although  discriminating  lover  and  patron  of  the 
arts.  In  the  early  days  of  Chicago's  musical  life 
he  was  oneof  the  very  small  hand  of  those  friends 

of  g I    music,  whose    untiring   efforts  bore  the 

rich  fruit  which  not  all.  alas,  have  lived  to 
enjoy. 

"A  great  lover  of  g 3  reading  and  tine  books, 

of  paintings  and  notable  engravings,  he  had  so  en- 
riched his  comfortable  home  with  the  excellent 
examples  collected  in  those  frequent  journeys  to 
the  elder  cities  of  the  country  which  made  him  so 
well  known  in  their  art  circles,  that  it  was  a  profit 
and  a  delight  to  visit  it. 

"Unostentatious  and  quiet,  but  willing  to  lend 
his  efforts  and  collections  for  the  public  service. 
he  is  a  loss  to  the  community;  cheerful  and  hos 
pitable,  a  great  loss  to  his  friends:  an  affectionate 
and  faithful  son  and  brother,  a  devoted  husband, 
a  relation  marked  by  unusual  congeniality  of 
tastes  and  feelings  the  sorrow  of  his  loss  is  unut- 
terable. His  friends  can  simply  otter  a  slight  trib- 
ute to  his  worth." 

And  still  another  one  of  his  closest  and  earliest 
friends,  now'  residing  in  London,  says  of  him: 

"The  recollection  of  all  that  is  best  and  happi- 
est in  my  early  Chicago  life  is  inseparable  from 
Mr.  Stickney.  and  now  in  the  nearness  that  such 
a  separation  brings  with  it.  all  the  old  days  come 
hack  with  a  feeling  that  1  can  scarcely  trust  to 
words.  He  was  the  center  of  that  group  of  con- 
genial men  who  set  out  together  when  the\  and 
Chicago  were  young.  They  were  men.  all  more  or 
less  gifted  ami  promising,  and  we  were  given  to 
thinking  and  saying  in  after  days  that  the  tone  of 
that  little  society  was  good.  Looking  back  now. 
we  know  that  he  had  himself,  unconsciously,  con 
tributed  to  maintaing  the  gentleness  and  refine- 
ment of  the  little  circle,  which  now  is  broken  and 
scattered.  But  those  who  remain  always  speak 
of  him  with  honor  and  affection.  That  which  im- 
pressed them  most  and  had  the  most  lasting  influ- 
ence upon  those  near  him,  was  his  singular  purity. 
Other  virtues  of  his  are  as  familiar  to  those  who 
knew  him  well  as  are  the  refined  gentleness  and 
genial  sweetness  of  his  bearing,  but  this,  natur- 
ally, is  known  only  t-0  those  who  wen'  his  com  pan 
ions  when  young  men.  He  had  a  robust,  manly 
nature,  with  the  sensitive,  inarticulate  modesty  of 
a  girl.  When  he  was  present,  the  talk  and  the 
story  were  always  kept  within  their  proper  license. 
He  shrank  from  an  indelicate  allusion  with  visi- 
ble pain,  as  from  a  blow.  In  this  he  stood  above 
all  the  men  whom  I  have  ever  known.  Surely  he 
has  by  inheritance  that  greatest  of  all  promises. 
as  he  only,  amongst  us  all.  was  truly  pure  in  heart." 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


127 


LUTHER  LAFLIX   .MILLS. 

LUTHER  LAFLIX  MILLS  was  born  at  North 

Ulams,  Mass 1  the  3rd  of  September,  1848,  and 

is  the  son  of  Walter  N.  and  Caroline  (Smith)  Mills. 
In  1849  his  father  removed  to  Chicago,  and  est:]!) 
lished  the  pioneer  wholesale  drygoods  house  of  the 

city.     Luther  was  educated  in  the  public  scl le 

and  at  the  Michigan  State  University,  and  in  1868 
began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Homer  X. 

Hibbard.    Three  years  later  he  entered  uj the 

practice  of  his  profession,  and  in  1- 
with  himself  the  late  George  C.  Ingham  and  Mr. 
Webber,  under  the  firm  name  "f  Mills.  Ingham  & 
Webber.  In  1876  he  was  elected  States  Attorney 
of  Cook  county  by  4000  majority,  and  in  1880  was 
re-i  lectedfora  further  term  of  four  years.  On 
the  15th  of  November,  1876,  he  married  Ella  J. 
Boies  of  Saugerties,  X.  Y..  a  refined, accomplished 
and  amiable  lady.  This  union  has  been  Messed 
with  rive  interesting  children  Matthew.  Electa, 
Mari,  Caroline  and  Agnes.  Mr.  Mil 
acquired  a  reputation  as  an  orator  which  presaged 
his  subsequent  brilliant  career  at  the  bar,  and 
marked  him  for  the  distinction  which  -. 
fined  upon  him  almost  at  the  outset,  by  his  elec- 
tion as  public  prosecutor.  In  that  capacity  he 
conducted  ssful  issue  several  important 

trials,  which  rank  among  the  causes  celebre  of  the 
state.  We  can  only  mention  the  trial  of  John 
Lamb  for  the  murder  of  officer  Race,  of  Peter 
Stevens  for  the  murder  ofhis  wife,  and  of  Theresa 
Sturlata  for  the  murder  of  Charles  Stiles,  in  each 
of  which,  thoug  mnsel,  he 

secured  a  verdict  which  satisfied  the  demand  of 
the  people  for  substantial  justice:  the  second 
trial  of  Alexander  Sullivan  for  the  murder  of  Mr. 
Hanford,  principal  of  the  North  Division  high 
scIhi.iI:  and    the  prosecution  of  several    n 

of  the  county  board  for  what  has  sii ;ome  hi  !»■ 

known  as  "boodling."  These  are  selected  at 
salient  cases,  but  throughout  Mr.  Mills'  eight 
years'  incumbency  of  the  State's  Attorney's  office, 
he  had  to  deal  with  numerous  cases  oi  murder. 
and  others  in  which  the  gravity  of  the  offence 
demanded  a  heavy  sentence,  and  in  all  of  them 
fully  met  the  expectations  of  the  people,  and  ex 
;,  1  :  his  office  to  a  higher  standard  of  dignity, 
which  has  since  been  worthily  maintained.  Dur- 
ing these  eight  years  Mr.  Mills  had  steadily  grown 
to  the  foremost  rank  among  the  many  distinguished 
lawyers  who  then  adorned  the  Chicago  bar.  He 
had  confronted  the  most  conspicuous  of  these  in 
the  forensic  arena,  ami  proved  himsell    their    peer 


in  learning  and  ability.  So  thoroughly  was  this 
fact  recognized  and  appreciated  by  his  sui 
Hon.  Julius  S.  Grinned,  that  in  several  important 
cases  which  arose  during  that  gentleman's  admin- 
istration. Judge  Grinnell  called  to  his  aid  the 
practical  experience,  legal  acumen,  and  eloquence 
of  Mr.  Mills,  with  results  which  added  to  the  credit 
of  his  own  office,  while  materially  enhancing  Mr. 
Mills' reputation.  One  of  these  was  the  trial  of 
James  Dacey,  for  the  murder  of  Alderman  Gaynor. 
of  venue  to  McHenry  county, 
and  Mr.  Mills  was  commissioned  bj  states'  Attor- 
ney Grinnell  to  assist  in  the  prosecution  there. 
Though  opposed  by  so  eminent  a  counsel  as  Judge 
T.  D.  Murphy  (afterwards  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
First  District  Appellate  Court  1.  Mr.  Mills  secured 
a  conviction  and  the  extreme  penalty:  but  while 
in  jail  Dace-,  feigned  insanity,  and  a  trial  of  that 
special  issue  was  afterwards  ordered  by  the 
Supreme  Court.  Mr.  Mills  again  appearing  for  the 
state.  Dacey  was  adjudged  sane,  and  ultimately 
hanged.  The  fame  of  Mr.  Mills  as  an  orator  and 
advocate,  had  in  the  meantime  extended  far  be- 
yond the  territory  of  which  Chicago  is  the 
metropolis,  and  assumed  national  dimensions. 
When  the  democracy  of  Ohio  determined  in  1888 
to  purge  themselves  of  association  with  the  gang 
who  had  for  years  been  guilty  of  the  a 
election  frauds,  and  to  aid  in  bringing  to  justice 
the  tally  sheet  forgers  in  the  contest  for  the  gov 
ernorship  of  that  state.  Mr.  Mills  was  paid  the 
high  compliment  of  being  cl  fcher   with 

Hon.  Allen  G.  Thurman  to  assist  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  that  celebrated  case,  at  Columbus.  His 
arance  in  a  case  of  special  magnitude  for 
was  one  far  over-shadowing,  in  import- 
ance and  public  interest,  any  in  our  recent  history. 
The  sensational  murder  of  Dr.  Cronin  and  the 
conviction  of  his  murderers  in  1889,  was  the 
absorbing  topic  of  press  and  people  for  months 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  Mr.  Mills  was 
called  upon  to  assist  in  the  prosecution,  and  was 
employed  for  more  than  seven  months  in  the 
preparation  of  evidence  and  management  of  the 
trial.  After  resuming,  in  1884,  the  general  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  Mr.  Mills  so.  .11  had  opportu- 
nity to  display  the  versatility  of  his  mind  and  the 
breadth  of  his  legal  knowledge  in  a  number  of 
remarkable  civil  cases.  He  was  counsel  for  the 
proprietors  of  the  Daily  .Yens,  and  defended  them 
in  an  action  brought  by  a  man  named  Wilshire, 
whose  wife  had  obtained  a  divorce  from  him  on 
the  charge  of  criminal  intimacy  with  a  girl  in  his 
employ  named  Minnie  Papin.     The  paper  gave  an 


[28 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


extended  report  of  Wilshire"s  misdoings,  and  he 
sued  Eoi  exemplary  damages.  The  News  filed  a 
plea  oi  justification,  that  the  charge  was  true.    In 

Qia  arg, ml  tor  the  defence,  Mr.  Mills  excoriated 

the  plaintiff,  and  secured  a  verdict  in  favor  of  his 
clients.     Miss  Papin  also  brought  suit  against  the 

paper  on  the  11 facts,  but  in  tier  case  the  jury 

disagreed,  probably  in  consideration  of  her  sex. 
Another  notorious  case  was  the  suit  of  Mrs.  Leslie 
Carter  againsl  tier  husband  for  separate  mainte- 
nance, in  which  Mr.  Mills  was  engaged  for  the 
defence,  and  which  after  a  long  protracted  trial 
resulted  in  the  verdict  for  the  defendant.  His 
celebrity  as  a  criminal  lawyer  brought  him  many 
retainers  for  the  defenee  in  desperate  eases,  both 
in  this  county  and  other  parts  of  the  country. 
One  of  these  was  the  Mounce  murder  trial  at  Mon- 
ticello,  Piatt  county,  Illinois.,  in  1888,  which 
attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  provoked 
strong  feeling  throughout  central  Illinois.  Both 
the  prisoner  and  the  deceased  were  prominent 
citizens  of  that  part  of  the  state.  Mr.  Mills  was 
retained  along  with  Judge  Tipton  and  Mr.  Lodge 
for  the  defence.  The  case  was  bitterly  contested, 
and  resulted  in  a  conviction  and  sentence  of 
fourteen  years.  In  this  brief  summary  only  a  few 
of  the  more  noted  cases  in  which  Mr.  Mills  lias 
taken  a  leading  part  on  one  side  or  the  other 
have  suggested  themselves  as  illustrative  of  his 
forensic  career.  His  treatment  of  all  of  them  was 
marked  by  patient  study  and  careful  othce  prepar- 
ation, the  ripe  results  of  which  were  shown  in  a 
readiness  fur  every  move  on  the  part  of  tin'  other 
Bide  which  had  all  the  appearance  and  effect  of 
spontaneity.  Never  taken  unawares,  he  meets  and 
the  most  varied  legal  points  with  a  clear- 
ness and  lucidity  which  attest  the  fullness  of  his 
reading,  and  the  thoroughness  of  his  scholarship. 
His  addresses  to. juries  arc  always  characterized 
by  that  "impassioned  logic  which  outruns  the 
hearer  in  its  fiery  course."  and  by  a  choiceness 
and  beauty  of  diction  only  to  be  acquired  by 
familiarity  with  the  great  masters  of  the  realm  of 
thought  and  the  best  models  of  literary  style. 
These  qualities  have  been  notably  displayed  in 
public  addresses  delivered  by  him  of  late  years  on 
occasions  of  deep  interest  to  tin- citizens  of  Chicago 
and  elsewhere,  who  invited  him  to  he  their  orator 

for  the  day.  Among  his  latest  public  utterances 
were  his  response  to  the  toast  of  "Abraham  Lin- 
coln," at  the  banquet  of  Republican  Leagues,  on 
Lincoln  day.  1890,  at  ( lolumbus,  <  >hio;  his  address 
on  "American  citizenship,"  at  a  banquet  in  the 
Sherman    douse,   Chicago,    December,    L890;    his 


address  al  the  Bar  memorial  service  in  Chicago. 
December,  L890;  before  the  law  school  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  on  -Law  and  Progress," 
in  July.  1891;  at  the  memorial  services  for  Herman 
Raster,  the  German  journalist,  August,  1891;  and 

;it  the  memorial  services  over  the  three  young 
reporters  killed  in  the  railway  accident,  October, 
1891.  A  republican  in  politics.  Mr,  Mills  has 
always  commanded  the  respect  of  all  parties,  as  is 
shown  by  his  having  been  engaged  by  his  demo 
cratic  successor  to  assist  him  in  important  cases, 
ami  his  employment  by  the  Ohio  democrats  in  the 
famous  "tally  sheet"  case.  Personally  and 
socially,  he  has  won  hosts  of  friends  by  hisunfail 
ing  courtesy  and  geniality,  no  less  than  by  the 
magnetism  of  his  intellectual  power.  Scholar, 
orator,  and  gentleman,  he  occupies,  although  only 
entering  upon  what  Dante  has  called  the  "mezzo 
del  cammin"  of  life,  the  highest  social  ami  pro 
fessional  eminence  m  the  great  city  of  the  west. 


JOHN    N.  JEWETT. 

Among  the  many  men  who  have  given  fame  to 
the  bar  of  Illinois  there  are  none  more  deservedly 
prominent  than  Hon.  John  N.  Jewett.  The  son 
of  a  New  England  farmer,  seemingly  born  to  the 
pursuit  of  that  calling,  his  ambition,  industry 
and  ability  have  raised  him  to  a  position  of  lead 
ership  in  the  profession  to  which  he  belongs,  and 
made  him  one  of  the  number  of  men  who  have 
given  to  the  city  of  Chicago  its  best  repute.  Mr. 
Jewett  was  born  in  Palmyra,  Somerset  county. 
Maine,  in  1827,  and  until  he  was  eighteen  years 
old  assisted  Ids  father  in  the  cultivation  of  one  of 
the  hilly  farms  which  are  so  characteristic  of  that 
rugged  state.  He  had  early  resolved  to  attain  a 
collegiate  education  with  the  purpose  of  taking 
up  the  practice  of  a  profession,  and  in  1845  ar- 
ranged to  enter  Bowdoin  College.  The  removal 
of  the  family  to  Wisconsin,  however,  caused  a 
postponement  of  his  plans  and  it  was  not  until 
lsiT.  after  a  year's  experience  in  teaching  in  the 
schools  near  Madison,  that  he  became  a  memberof 
the  Sophomore  class  at  Bowdoin.  In  1850Mr.Jew- 
ett  graduated  and  became  a  principal  of  an  acad- 
emy at  North  Yarmouth.  Maine.  About  this  time 
he  began  the  reading  of  law  and  continued  it  Tor 
two  years,  rejoing  his  family  near  Madison.  Wis., 
in  1S.VJ.  At  that  place  he  entered  the  office  of 
Collins  &   Smith   ami   completed   his   law  studies, 


tz?t 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS 


I  2  0 


He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Is."",:;  and  formed  a 
copartnership  with  Wellington  Weigley,  then  in 
active  practice  al  Galena,  111.  Mr.  Jewett  re- 
mained in  Galena  about  three  years,  removing  to 
Chicago  in  ls.">i;.  whore  he  became  an  assistant  to 
Judge  Van  H.  Higgins,  one  of  the  most  widely 
known  lawyers  in  the  state  The  following  year, 
1857,  Mr.  Jewett  became  associated  with  Judge 
Walter  B.  Scates,  William  K.  McAllister  and 
Francis  B.  Peabody,  and  the  firm  of  Scates,  Mc 
Allister.  Jewett  &  Peabody  was  formed.  Mr. 
Peabody  withdrew  in  1858,  but  the  other  mem 
bers  of  the  firm  remained  together  until  Judge 
Scates  retired  in  1862  to  enter  the  federal  army  in 
the  civil  war.  This  left  but  two  of  the  original  four 
Messrs.  McAllister  and  Jewett  and  they  con- 
tinued the  partnership  until  1SGT.  when  it  was 
dissolved.  These  several  firms  with  which  Mr. 
Jewett  was  connected  conducted  a  great  amount 
of  important  litigation,  especially  in  the  period 
between  1858  and  1862,  and  although  then  the 
junior  partner,  he  became  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  courts.  Mr.  Jewett  has  a  natural  aptitude 
for  the  legal  profession;  he  is  a  deep  thinker,  a 
close  student  and  a  logical  reasoner.  Bringing 
with  these  qualities  a  capacity  for  hard,  earnest 
work,  he  was  quickly  recognized  as  a  lawyer  of 
high  rank  and  his  services  wire  always  in  demand. 
On  the  dissolution  of  the  tirm  in  1867  Mr.  Jewett 
found  himself  surrounded  with  a  large  and  influ- 
ential clientage  which  engrossed  all  his  time,  and 
lie  formed  no  further  partnership  until  1886,  when 
he  associated  with  him  his  two  sons,  Edward  R. 
and  Samuel  11.  Jewett,  under  the  name  of  John  X. 
Jewetl  .V  Jewett  Brothers.  In  the  capacity  of 
attorney  or  counsel  Mr.  Jewett  has  been  promi- 
nently before  the  courts  and  people  of  the  United 
States  for  the  past  quarter  ,,f  a  century.  He  has 
conducted  some  of  the  most  noted  civil  causes  in 
the  country,  and  the  decisions  of  federal  and 
state  tribunals  with  which  his  name  is  connected 
are  many.  Mr.  Jewett  is  an  analyzer  of  the  law; 
a  "lawyer  "in  the  full  sense  of  the  word  more  than 
an  advocate.  He  believes  that  principles  rather 
than  technicalities  should  govern  in  the  adjust- 
ment of  litigation  and  his  voice  is  ever  raised  for 
the  perpetuation  of  this  policy.  He  espoused  vig- 
orously the  cause  of  the  grain  elevator  ami  rail 
road    interests   of    Illinois  against    the  e, 

■f  the  so-called  -  granger  laws."  and  ever, 
the  judgments  and  opinions  of  the  highest  courts 
in  favor  of  that  class  of  legislation  are  still  con- 
troverted bj  him  as  being  opposed  to  the  doctrines 
of  constitutional  law.     Ihe  cases  of  Munn  u  Ilh 


nois,  known  as  theMunn  and  Scott  case,  decided  in 
1876  bj  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 

and  of  tin-  Illinois  Centra!  Railroad  Company  vs. 
the  People  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  decided  by  the 
same  court  in  1883,  were  vigorously  contested  by 
Mr.  Jewett  as  being  "  judge-made  law."  and  he  has 
never  ceased  to  contend  for  a  return  to  the  funda- 
mental principles  believed  by  him  to  have  been 
overthrown  by  these  decisions.  Always  dignified 
and  courtly  in  manner,  and  impressive  in  the 
frankness  with  which  he  states  his  arguments 
Mr.  Jewett  invariably  commands  the  close  atten 
tion  of  judges  and  juries.  He  is  a  type  of  the  old 
school  constitutional  lawyer,  the  man  who  has 
1  the  principles  of  his  profession  and  has 
too  keen  an  admiration  for  and  belief  in  them  to 
allow  their  overthrow  by  the  tricks  to  which  un- 
scrupulous practitioners  may  resort.  Mr.  Jewett's 
eminent  fitness  for  a  judicial  position  has  lone 
been  a  matter  of  comment  throughout  tin- state. 
The  following  excerpt  from  the  Chicago  Law 
Times  of  October.  1889,  well  describes  Mr.  Jewett: 

-As  a  practitioner  he  is  ready,  .puck  and  capa- 
ble, always  equal  to  any  emergency.  li, 
sation  he  is  pleasant  and  affable;  in  argument. 
analytical,  logical  and  strong,  sometimes  indulg- 
ing in  pungent  satire.  He  speaks  tersely  and  to 
the  point,  in  an  attractive,  forcible  manner.  Con- 
forming himself  to  principles  of  the  strictesf  in 
tegrity  and    to  the   most   honorable  dealings,  he 

ex] ts  the  same  from  those  with  whom   he  asso- 

ciates  or  has  business  relations." 

Mr.  Jewett  has  been  solicited  to  accept  a  judge 
ship  on  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court  bench,  but 
declined  it,  as  he  also  did  a  tender  made  some 
fore  of  a  Cook  County  judgeship.  When 
the  vacancy  existed  on  the  Unite,!  States  Supreme 
Court  bench,  which  was  afterward  filled  by  the 
appointment  of  Hon.  Stanley  Matthews.  Mr. 
Jewett  was  urged  to  allow  his  name  to  be  pre 
sented  to  President  Hayes  as  a  candidate  for  the 
position.  On  the  urgent  solicitation  of  the  lead 
ing  lawyers  of  the  West.  Mr.  Jewett  consented 
that  his  name  should  be  presented  to  the  Presi 
dent,  not  as  a  seeker  for  the  place,  but  merely  for 
his  unbiased  consideration.  He  refused  to  write 
a  personal  letter  of  application,  stating  that  he 
would  so  refuse  even  if  he  had  the  assurance  thai 
it  would  secure  his  appointment.  Mr.  Jewett 
never  held  office  but  once,  and  that  was  in  1870, 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  The 
new  constitution  of  Illinois  had  just  been  adopted, 
and  in  response  to  a  general  demand  he  consented 
to  become,  for  the  once,  a  legislator  and  take  pari 
in  the  intelligent  refraining  of  laws  mad, 


'3° 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


Bary  by  the  change.  His  work  was  well  and 
Faithfully  done,  and  when  it  was  over,  refusing 
the  offers  of  hi  lents  for  further  prefer- 

ment, Mr.  Jewetl  resumed  again  his  duties  as  a 
lawyer.  Since  then  many  rich  rewards  in  official 
and  political  life  have  been  refused  by  him.  Mr. 
Jewetl  was  married  in  1855  t<>  Ellen  R.  Rountree, 
a  daughter  of  Son.  John  II.  Rountree,  of  Wiscon- 
sin. He  lias  two  sens  -Edward  R.  and  Samuel 
R.-  both  of  whom  are  now  associated  with  him 
in  the  practice  of  the  law.  The  history  of  the 
Jewett  family  is  an  interesting  one.  It  was 
founded  in  America  by  two  brothers  who  came 
from  England  and  settled  at  Rowley,  Mass.,  a 
few  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower. 
One  of  these  brothers  remained  in  New  England, 
while  the  other  went  to  Maryland  with  a  party  of 
colonists  and  settled  there.  It  was  from  the  New 
England  family  that  John  N.  Jewett  descended. 
One  of  his  progenitors,  Milo  Porter  Jewett.  was 
the  first  president  of  Vassar  College.  One  of  the 
Srsl  members  of  Congress  from  Vermont  was 
Luther  Jewett.  Still  another  distinguished  man 
in  later  years  was  John  B.  Jewett.  a  distinguished 
citizen  of  Host  on.  th  rough  whose  aid  Mrs.  Harriet 
Beecher  Slow.-  was  enabled  to  print  the  firs! 
edition  of  her  famous  book,  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 
There  must  have  been  an  inherent  fund  of  intel- 
ligent vitality  in  the  Jewett  family,  for  from  the 
days  of  the  colonists  down,  it  has  given  to  the 
world  from  its  many  branches  men  of  high  re- 
nown. From  the  Maryland  branch  came  Hugh 
J.  Jewett  and  his  brother  Thomas  L.  Jewett, 
both  of  whom  are  distinguished  for  their  ability, 
not  only  in  the  law.  but  as  financiers  and  railway 
managers.  Among  all  the  members  of  the  family 
who  have  possessed  high  intellect  and  strong 
ambitions,  there  are  none  in  whom  these  charac- 
teristics are  more  marked  than  in  John  X.  Jewett. 
To  them,  more  than  to  any  fortuitous  circum- 
stances, is  due  the  transposition  of  the  poor  New 
England  fanner  boy  of  meager  chances  to  the 
honored  and  powerful  member  of  the  bar. 


ROBERT  W.  PATTERSON. 

REV.  ROBERT  W.  PATTERSON.  I).  I  >..  was 
born  in  Blount  county,  Tennessee,  on  January 
•Jlst.    lsi  |.     His   parents,   Alexander   and   Sarah 

(Stevens Patterson,  came  to  America  about  the 

middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and   settled  in 


North  Carolina.     S i  alter  L800,  they  removed  to 

Blounl  county.  Tennessee,    where   they  conti d 

to  live  until  just  before  the  birth  of  Robert,  when 
the)  took  up  their  residence  near  Maryville.  llli 
nois  was  even  then  a  free  state,  and  as  Alexander 
Patterson  and  hi-  wife  were  both  much  opposed 
to  slavery,  they  decided  to  leave  Tennessee  and 
move  to  the  north.  This  they  did  in  1^21, settling 
in  Bond  county.  Illinois,  where  Mr.  Patterson  died 
t  luce  years  later.  Robert  Patterson's  early  school 
advantages  were  limited,  being  confined  to  about 
six  months  when  he  was  nine  years  (■Id:  but  his 
mother  had  taught  him  to  read  some  Eour  years 
before  that,  and  by  her  religious  instruction  and 
example  had  trained  his  youthful  mind  in  the  right 
direction.  A  few-  years  later.  Mr.  Patterson 
acquired  a  fair  education,  and  at  eighteen  was 
teaching  a  school,  which  occupation  lie  followed  for 
two  or  three  terms.  In  1832  1 utered  the  pre- 
paratory department  of  Illinois  college,  and  the 
next  year  was  admitted  as  a  student.  Altera  full 
lour  years'  course  he  graduated  in  IS.'iT.  and  went 
to  Lane  Theological  Seminary,  where  he  studied 
theology  under  Professors  Lyman  Beecher, Calvin 
I-'..  Stowe,  Baxter  Dickinson  and  Thomas  J. Biggs. 
Mr.  Patterson  had  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  1632,  while  preparing  for  college,  and  early  de- 
veloped a  liking  for  the  ministry.  It  was  natural. 
therefore,  that  after  his  training  at  the  theologi- 
cal seminary,  he  should  turn  his  attention  to 
preaching,  and  in  1840  he  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago  during  the 
absence  of  the  regular  pastor.  Dr.  Flavel  Bascom. 
The  fall  and  winter  of  that  year  were  passed  in 
another  course  of  study  at  the  seminary,  and  in 
1811.  Mr.  Patterson  made  a  visit  to  the  east, 
preaching  ;it  Detroit,  in  the  church  of  Dr.  George 
Dullield.  lor  several  Sundays,  and  gaining  quite  a 
name  as  a  successful  opponent  of  the  pre-millen- 
nial  theories.  It  was  on  this  trip  also,  that  Mr. 
Patterson  met.  and  won  the  friendship  of  such 
noted  divines  as  Rev.  Albert  Barnes.  Dr.  William 
Adams,  and  other  ministers  in  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Patterson's  first  regular  past 
orate  was  at  Monroe.  Michigan,  where  he  remained 
during  the  fall  and  winter  of  1841.  Calls  were 
extended  to  him  from  Adrian,  Ann  Arbor,  Chicago 
and  other  cities,  and  he  finally  decided  to  accept 
that  of  the  Second  Presbj  terian  Church  of  Chicago, 
a  new   society  which  came  into  existence  June  1st. 

1842.  It  wasduring  the  early  years  of  Mr.  Pat- 
terson's pastorate  in  this  city  that  he  was  called 
on  to  combat  the  secessi E   the    Presbyterians 

of  Northern  Illinois  from  the  General   Assembly, 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


I  U 


on  account  of  the  alleged  complicity  of  the  latter 
body  with  the  slave-holding  faction.  Mr.  Patter- 
son was  in  his  youthful  days  an  earnest  abolitionist, 
largely  through  the  influence  of  William  Lloyd 
Garrison's  "Liberator,"  but  on  noting  the  evident 
drifl  of  Mr.Garrison  toward  infidelity,  Mr.  Patter- 
son modified  his  political  views  and  became  a 
moderate  anti-slavery  man.  It  was  as  such  that 
he  took  conservative  mound  in  the  conflict  with 
the  General  Assembly.  He  disputed  tin- assertion 
that  all  Presbyterians  were  responsible  for  the 
existence  of  slavery  as  an  institution  by  reason  of 
their  connection  with  the  General  Assembly,  and 
hold  thai  secession  from  that  body  was  not  the 
r:  il  r  mi  ly  for  the  evil.  His  active  parti  ij.it  i  11 
in  the  church  struggle,  and  his  able  arguments  in 

support  of  his  position,  attracted  the  attenti I 

theologians  and  educators  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  in  1856  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  trustees 
of  Hamilton  College.  Dr.  Patterson's  position  on 
this  subject  drew  him  into  many  controversies, 
which  ended  only  in  the  secession  of  the  southern 
members  following  the  adoption  by  the  General 
Assembly  at  Cleveland  in  1857,  of  the  report  drawn 
up  by  Dr.  Patterson  and  a  brother  minister.  This 
was  just  after  the  great  debate  over  the  extension 
of  slavery  into  the  territories,  which  ended  with 
the  eleeti  n  of  Mr.  Lni'oln  and  l-il  war  in  1860 
and  1861.  Throughout  the  long  strife,  Dr.  Patter- 
son was  an  earnest  advocate  for  liberty  and  honest 
government.  During  all  these  years  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  had  prospered,  hut  changes 
in  the  business  center  of  the  city,  made  removal 
from  its  location  at  Washington  street  and 
Wabash  avenue,  advisable.  Dr.  Patterson  advo- 
cated a  change,  and  in  1871,  the-  use  of  the  Olivet 
church  at  Wabash  avenue  and  Fourteenth  street 
was  secured.  Just  one  week  after  the  change,  the 
old  church  edifice  was  swept  away  by  the  great 
fire.  On  the  union  of  the  Second  and  Olivet 
Churches  in  1873,  Dr.  Patters,  in  resigned  his  charge 
as  pastor,  and  accepted  the  professorship  of 
Apologetics  in  the  Presbyterian  Seminary  of  the 
Northwest.  He  held  this  chair  until  1881 ,  when  he 
resigned  to  fill  an  engagement  to  lecture  in  the 
department  of  apologetics  at  Lane  Theological 
Seminary  for  three  years.  The  friendly  feeling 
which  the  members  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  held  for  Dr.  Patterson,  was  well  shown  on 
the  occasion  of  his  seventieth  birthday  anniver- 
sary, January  21st,  1S84,  when  a  notable  reception 
was  given  in  his  honor  at  the  church.  Dr.  Patter- 
son's theology  has  always  been    of    tile    moderate 


Calvanistic  or  New  School  type,  and  in  all  matters 
of  church  government  lie  advocated  Presbyte 
danism  generously  administered.  He  was  early 
called  upon  to  take  sides  on  this  question,  and  in 
1838,  when  the  Church  was  divided,  he  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  New  School.  When  the  now 
famous  ease  of  Professor  Swing  was  first  brought 
to  the  notice  of  the  church  authorities,  in  1ST:;.  b\ 
the  presentation  of  specific  charges  by  Dr.  Patton 
before  the    Presbytery.    Dr.    Patterson,    believing 

that  Professor  Swing  had  not  then  developed 
views  inconsistent  with  his  ministerial  capacity, 
advised  against  the  prosecution.  This  he  did  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  not  only  premature,  but 
might  create  a  prejudice  against  Presbyterian  ism 
which  could  be  easily  avoided  without  either 
sacrifice  of  principle,  or  real  detriment  to  faith. 
Dr.  Patterson  now  believes  that  his  position  has 
been  fully  justified,  ami  that  the  matter  thus  un- 
fortunately started  has  been  the  cause  of  much 
strife  in  the  Church.  At  the  present  time.  L892, 
Dr.  Patterson  sympathizes  with  that  portion  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  which  stands   firmly  for 

the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  -'tin ly 

infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice."  and  that  re- 
fuses to  encourage  any  movement  which  tends  to 
discredit  the  Bible  as  being  throughout  an  inspired 

I k;  while  he  regards  the  revision  of  the   Pres 

byterian  Confession  of  Faith  and  Catechisms  as 
a  timely  effort  to  conform  those  subordinate 
standards  to  the  improved  knowledge  of  the 
Church  in  respect  to  the  teachings  of  Holy  Writ. 
He  deplores  more  and  more  the  narrowness  and 
exclusiveness  of  contending  sects,  but  he  has  no 
expectation  or  wish  that  any  organic  unity  of  the 
Church  shall  be  accomplished  so  long  as  different 
classes  of  Christians  contrive  to  entertain  con 
flicting  convictions  in  regard  to  important  ques 
tions  of  faith  ami  ecclesiastical  practice,  believing 
as  he  does,  that  essential  unity  of  spirit  is  more 
desirable  than  unity  of  form,  and  that  the  former 
may  and  must  precede  the  latter.     In  his  advanced 

years,  Dr.  Patterson  still  enjoys  g 1    health   and 

works  heartily  in  various  ways  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  Christian  cause.  A  graceful  compliment 
was  paid  to  Dr.  Patterson  in  188:).  when  the 
Trusteesof  Lake  Pores!  University  conferred  upon 

him  the  degr if  Doctor  of  Laws.     I  >r.  Patterson 

was  married  in  May.  181.1.  to  Miss  .1  ii lia  A.  (,111  igle\ . 
of  Alton.  Illinois.  They  have  had  eight  children,  six 
of  whom  are  living  three  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters, one  of  the  former,  R.  W.  Patterson.  Jr..  being 
general  manager  of  the  (  %icagO  Tribune,  and  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  of  the  Tribune  Company. 


mociarm    of  Illinois. 


LVORY    QUINBY. 

HON.  [VOR1  QUINBY  was  born  in  Buxton, 
Maine,  on  the  14th  of  July,  is  IT.  His  parents,  Asi 
and  Mehitable  Quinby,  were  of  English  descent. 
After  completing  his  preparator)  studies  he  en 
tered  the  freshman  class  of  Waterville  College, 
Maine,  in  1832,  being  then  a  little  over  til' tern  years 
of  age.  He  maintained  a  high  standard  of  scholar- 
ship throughout  his  entire  college  course.  His 
favorite  study  was  natural  science, and  he  was  es- 
pecially distinguished  for  his  attainments  in 
chemistry.  ITe  graduated  with  honor,  his  diploma 
bearing  the  date  of  Augusl  3d,  1836.  After  leav- 
ing college  he  spent  a  short  time  in  Parsonsfleld 
as  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  academy,  then  un 
der  the  care  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Hosea  Quinby. 
lie  then  went  to  Saco  and  entered  the  office  of 
Judge  Shepley  as  a  student  of  law.  The  state  of 
his  health  prevented  his  contin  uing  here  long,  and 
in  the  fall  (if  1837  he  sought  a  home  in  Illinois. 
He  located  first  at  Quincy,  where  he  made  the  ac 
quaintance  of  Hon.  O.  H.  Browning  and  John 
Mitchell,  Esq.  By  the  advice  of  Mr.  Browning  he 
selected  Monmouth,  Warren  county,  then  an  in- 
considerable village,  as  his  future  home,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  there  in 
partnership  with  Mr.  Mitchell.  This  partnership 
was  soon  dissolved,  and  he  subsequently  formed 
one  with  General  A.  C.  Harding,  which  continued 
until  he  retired  from  the  practice  of  law.  <  reneral 
Harding  and  he  at  the  same  time  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  business,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
did  the  leading  business  in  Warren  county.  His 
knowledge  of  the  elementary  principles  of  the  law 
was  thorough.  He  possessed  a  keen,  discriminat- 
ing mind,  and  a  broad  and  comprehensive  sense 
of  natural  justice.  His  duties  to  his  clients  were 
discharged  conscientiously  and  faithfully.  At  the 
general  election  held  November  6th,  L849,  In1  was 
el. 'i -ted  county  judge  of  Warren  county,  being  lie 
first  county  judge  elected  under  the  constitution 
of  1848.  He  was  re  elected  county  judge  in  No- 
vember, 1853.  This  office  he  resigned  dune  1th. 
L855,  having  received  the  nomination  for  circuit 
iudge  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  The  circuit  at 
this  time  embraced  the  counties  of  Fulton,  Knox, 
Warren.  Henderson  and  Mercer.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat,  but  not  of  that  intense  class  who 
become  embittered  against  all  who  chance  to  be- 
long to  tl pposite    party.    He  recognized    the 

right  of  each  individual  to  form  his  own  political 
opinions  and  to  maintain  them.  He  numbered 
among  his  closest  and  most    trusted   friends  many 


who  differed  from  him  in  political  faith.  Among 
his  contemporaries,  with  whom  he  enjoyed  inti- 
mate relations,  were  Judge  C.  B.  Lawrence.  Hon. 
O.  H.  Browning,  Judge  N.  H.  Purple,  Hon.  Arehi 
bald  Williams.  Judge  0.  C.  Skinner,  and  others, 
eaeh  of  whom  achieved  not  only  a  state  but  a  na- 
tional reputation.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Rebellion  in  1  Si U  there  was  no  hesitation  on  his 
part  as  to  what  his  duty  was  in  that  dark  and 
terrible  hour.  With  unswerving  loyalty  and  de- 
votion lie  sustained  his  country's  flag  and  the 
Union.  Being  in  infirm  health  he  was  unable  to 
enter  the  service,  but  he  gave  liberally  in  the  way 
of  bounties  to  procure  recruits;  and  no  soldier's 
wife  or  widow  was  allowed  to  suffer  for  want  of 
t  lie  necessaries  of  life  if  a  knowledge  of  her  con 
dition  was  brought  to  his  notice.  No  one  not  in 
the  field  or  in  some  position  of  public  trust  was 
more  concerned  or  interested  in  the  welfare  and 
success  of  the  Union  forces  than  he.  No  one  en- 
joyed more  keenly  or  more  sincerely  the  procla- 
mation of  the  glad  tidings  of  peace  and  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Union.  Like  many  Northern 
Democrats,  he  placed  his  country  before  party, 
and  though  in  1860  he  voted  for  Mr.  Douglas,  the 
last  vote  he  lived  to  cast  for  a  presidential  candi- 
date was  given  in  1808  for  General  Grant.  Few 
men  in  any  community  were  so  frequently  re- 
sorted to  for  advice  by  those  in  trouble  or  finan- 
cial straits,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  give,  not 
only  advice,  but  help.  He  was  consulted  by  all 
classes  and  on  all  subjects.  He  was  the  con- 
stant adviser  and  close  friend  of  Dr.  D.  A.Wallace. 
president  of  Monmouth  College,  during  the  try 
ing  veins  through  which  he  passed  in  founding 
and  building  up  this  institution:  and  at  times 
when  the  prospects  were  specially  gloomy,  his 
suggestions  to  President  Wallace  would  again 
open  up  the  way.  and  the  work  was  pushed  with 
renewed  vigor  to  a  successful  termination.  Pres- 
nleiii  Wallace  frequently  said  of  him,  "  He  is  the 
wisesl  man  for  counsel  I  ever  knew."  Soon  after 
the  opening  of  the  college,  he  was  elected  a  mem  - 
ber  of  the  board  of  trustees.  For  a  short  time  he 
held  the  office  of  treasurer.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  in  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  new 
college  building,  and  also  of  the  executive  commit- 
tee, and  was  for  some  years  president  of  the  hoard. 
In  these  responsible  positions  the  interests  of  the 
college  made  large  demands  upon  his  time,  which 
he  gave  ungrudgingly,  attending  the  board  meet- 
ings punctually,  and  preparing  the  reports  for  a 
number  of  years  with  his  own  hand.  In  addition 
to  this  he  made  generous  donations  to  the  college 


yl^fiy 


<=<-  COCuSlsij 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


lun. Is,  amounting  in  all  to  about  ten  thousand 
dollars.  He  was.  perhaps,  the  must  influential 
member  of  the  board,  his  colleagues  receiving  his 

opinions  with  the  utmost  respect.  His  broad, 
judicious,  practical  views  on  college  matters  were 
of  the  greatest  value.  No  trustee  did  more  than 
he  to  determine  the  character  and  standing  of  the 
institution  while  lie  lived.  An  educated  man.  he 
knew  what  a  college  should  be;  a  practical  man, 
he  saw  clearly  the  educational  needs  of  the  com 
munity.  It  was  fortunate  for  Monmouth  College 
that  it  had. during  its  most  trying  years,  so  liberal 
a  helper  and  so  wise  a  director.  It  is  especially 
rare  lor  a  church  college  to  receive  such  assist- 
ance from  one  outside  of  its  own  denomination. 
Those  best  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  col- 
lege affirm  that  his  assistance,  in  various  ways, 
was  so  timely  and  valuable  that  without  him  the 
enterprise  could  hardly  have  succeeded.  During 
the  last  years  of  his  life  he  turned  his  thoughts  to 
the  founding  of  a  reading  room  and  library  for  Mon- 
mouth. A  county  library  association  had  been 
formed  as  early  as  1836,  only  four  and  a  half  years 
after  the  first  log  court  house  was  built,  and 
less  than  nine  years  after  the  first  white  set- 
tlers eame  to  what  is  now  Warren  county.  This 
library  was  started  not  only  for  the  benefit  of  the 
citizens  of  Monmouth,  but  for  an  extensive  region. 
the  county  of  Warren  then  extending  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  It  was  kept  up  for  several  years, 
but  the  association  owned  no  building  and  had  no 
endowment  fund,  and  the  scheme  languished  for 
want  of  support.  Among  the  trustees  who  served 
that  early  library  during  part  of  its  existence  was 
Judge  Quinby.  The  establishment  of  a  permanent 
library  ami  reading  room  was  a  favorite  project 
with  him.  ami  for  several  years  he  considered  the 
plan  and  the  means  to  carry  it  into  execution.  In 
1868,  the  year  before  his  death,  lie  proposed  and 
organized  an  association  for  this  purpose.  A  read 
ing  room,  well  supplied  with  periodicals,  was 
opened  in  a  room  provided  by  him.  No  library 
was  at  first  attempted — no  books  were  received  or 
bought.  But  Judge  Quinby  had  set  his  heart 
upon  the  establishment  of  a  library,  and  offered 
to  give  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of 
books  in  case  an  equal  amount  was  raised  by  the 
subscriptions  of  others.  This,  as  he  informed  a 
few  friends,  was  the  first  step  on  his  part  in  his 
plan  for  a  library  for  popular  use  on  a  foundation 
of  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  dollars,  which  bethought 
needful  for  the  purpose.  He  hoped  to  interest 
others  in  furnishing  part  of  this  amount.  His 
New   England  education  had  made  him  acquainted 


with  the  great  usefulness  of  a  well  endowed  public 
library.  None  such  then  existed  in  this  state. 
Judge  Quinby  was  almost  tile  only  man  in  Mon- 
mouth who  knew  much  about  their  importance 
and  what  was  needful  for  their  success.  He  did 
not  live  to  see  the  interest  taken  in  this  matter 
that  he  had  hoped.  In  1870  Mr.  W.  P.  Pressly 
erected  at  his  own  expense  a  brick  building  which 
he  dedicated  for  a  library,  and  provided  for  a  con 
stant  supply  of  hooks  from  the  rents  of  the  stores 
contained  in  it.  The  Pressly  library  and  the 
reading  room  started  by  Judge  Quinby  have  been 
combined  under  the  corporate  name  of  the  Warren 
County  Library  and  Reading  Room  Association. 
Very  much  is  dm-  to  Judge  Quinby's  excellent 
judgment  in  planning  this  organization.  He 
drew  up  and  furnished  in  his  own  handwriting 
the  constitution  under  which  substantially  it 
exists  to-day.  He  suggested  most  of  the  charter 
members  of  the  controlling  corporation.     He  was 

chairman  of  the  first  committ( i  reading  matter, 

and  outlined  its  principles  of  selection.  The 
library  has  become  a  remarkable  success;  and  is 
worthily  ranked  as  the  precursor  of  those  larger 
benefactions  which  the  city  of  Chicago  is  soon  to 
enjoy  in  the  Newberry  and  Crerar  libraries.  The 
exact  kind  of  corporation  for  the  management  of 
a  library  which  Judge  Quinby  insisted  on,  and 
which  has  been  adopted  at  Monmouth,  is  now 
recognized  by  the  state  statute  as  the  best  for 
public  libraries  sustained  by  gifts  and  bequests. 
Judge  Quinby  was  for  some  years  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business,  having  some  railroad  contracts 
and  banking  interests.  He  opened  a  bank  in  con- 
nection with  T.  L.  M'Coy,  Esq..  in  which  he  con- 
tinued until  September,  1859,  when,  admonished 
bj  his  failing  health,  he  retired.  During  the  last 
eight  or  nine  years  of  his  life  he  avoided  all  kinds 
of  business  likely  I..  overtax  his  strength.  He 
was  twice  mayor  of  Monmouth,  being  elected  the 
last  time  without  opposition.  Judge  Quinby  was 
twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Jane  A. 
Allen,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  the  14th  of 
March.  1839.  She  died  on  the  7th  of  February, 
1847,  leaving  three  children,  all  of  whom  died 
before  their  father.  On  the  17th  of  February, 
181S.  he  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Pearce,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Pearce,  born  in  Virginia,  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  1812,  who  came  to  the  state 
from  Ohio  in  183(1.  and  moved  to  Warren  county 
in  the  fall  of  18111.  By  his  second  marriage  Judge 
Quinby  had  eight  children,  only  four  of  whom 
survived  him  -  Jane,  wife  of  Dr.  A.  F  Bucknam; 
George,  a  large  landowner  in   Dakota;   Frank,  at 


134 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


i  l;iu  in  M ■ . 1 1 1 1 1  Vernon,  Wash.;  and 
Ivory,  insurance  agenl  al  Monmouth.  Never 
very  robust,  he  had  been  in  declining  health  tor 
some  years  before  his  death,  which  took  place  at 
Monmouth  on  the  23rd  of  October,  1869.  All 
classes  of  his  fellow  citizens  united  in  paying 
honor  to  his  memory.  The  Warren  county  bar 
held  a  special  meeting  and  passed  resolutions  of 
respect,  characterizing  him  as  "one  who  to  the 
virtues  of  private  life  added  the  calm,  dispassion 
ate  iudgmenl  and  consistent  uprightness  of  char 
acter  which  rendered  him  an  ornament  to  the 
profession,  a  guide  to  his  brethren,  and  one  who 
worthilj  illustrated  the  exalted  principles  of  en- 
lightened  jurisprudence."  General  Harding,  his 
former  law  partner,  and  Mr.  Strain,  who  had  been 
intimately  associated  with  him  as  a  college  trustee, 
paid  eloquent  and  feeling  tributes  to  their  de- 
ceased friend,  and  the  resolutions  were  spread 
upon  the  records  of  the  court.  The  trustees 
and  directors  of  Monmouth  College  in  like  man- 
ner assembled  and  passed  resolutions  in  which 
they    said    that   "in    the   death   of   the   Hon.    I. 

Quinby,  long  a  member  and  officer  of  the  b 'd, 

we  lost  a  colleague  whom  we  ever  found  in 
all  our  intercourse  with  him  an  upright,  courte- 
ous, Christian  gentleman,  and  in  whose  counsel 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  repose  the  utmost 
confidence;  "  that  "  we  found  him  a  fast,  true  and 
efficient  friend  of  the  college  in  time  of  need;  by 
his  able  counsels,  active  services  and  liberal  ami 
timely  donations  he  lias  placed  the  college  under 
a  debt  of  gratitude  which  can  never  be  repaid." 
The  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank,  with 
which  he  was  connected  from  the  date  of  its 
organization  also  adopted  resolutions  expressing 
regret  for  his  loss  as  "a  man  of  wise  counsel  and 
irreproachable  character."  by  whose  death  the 
bank  had  lost  one  of  its  most  useful  and  cautious 
members,  and  the  community  one  of  its  most  val- 
uable citizens.  .Indue  Quinby  was  distinguished 
lor  tin'  soundness  of  his  judgment  and  the  candor 
with  which  he  expressed  his  opinions.  There 
■  men  in  Monmouth  whose  opinion  on  any 
question  with  which  he  was  familiar  carried  so 
much  weight,  and  he  has  settled  many  a  dispute 
by  simply  stating  his  deliberate  judgment.  lie 
was  a  sincere  man.  and  meant  what  he  said;  and 
what  lie  did  was  always  done  with  a  purpose. 
This  trail  oi  chat  acter  drew  in  him  a  large  circle 
..I  true  and  devoted  friends,  who  had  unbounded 
confidence  in  him.  and  to  whom  lie  was  self  sac 
rificing.  He  was  considerate  of  the  feelings  of  all 
with  whom  he  had  to  do  and  with  whom  he  came 


in  contact,  dealing  with  them  with  a  kindness  and 
tenderness  that  won  their  admiration  and  respect. 
He  was  a  thoughtful  and  constant  reader  of  the 
best  literature,  and  was  able  to  reproduce  what 
he  read  in  a  clear  and  forcible  manner,  in  well 
chosen  language,  anil  without  a  semblance  of 
pedantry.  His  manner  in  this  regard  was  such 
as  to  inspire  those  with  whom  he  conversed  with 
a  taste  for  reading  and  a  desire  for  the  acquisi 
tion of  knowledge.  As  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  his  dealings  with  his  fellow-men  wen' 
entirely  consistent  with  his  Christian  profession. 
Modest  and  retiring  in  las  manner  of  life,  he  pos 
sessed  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and  main- 
tained them  "ii  all  occasions.  His  charities  were 
unostentatious,  but  there  are  many  who  can 
testify  to  substantial  acts  of  kindness  on  his  part, 
and  who  to-day  bless  Ins  memory.  The  charactei 
and  prosperity  of  any  city  depend  in  no  small  de 
gree  on  the  men  who  are  prominent  in  its  early 
history.  The  city  of  Monmouth  has  been  for- 
tunate in  having  a  citizen  of  such  public  spirit 
and  sterling  character.  He  was  pre-eminently  a 
man  of  great  usefulness,  of  sound  judgment,  of 
careful  and  prudent  methods  of  business,  of  re 
niarkable  justice  and  integrity,  of  modest  prac- 
tical benevolence,  of  solid,  unostentatious  Chris 
tian  character,  lb'  has  left  his  impress  on  tin- 
place  and  people,  and  his  influence  abides  and 
will  abide. 


HOSMEK  A.   JOHNSON. 

BOSMEB  ALLEN  JOHNSON,  M.  D.,  M.  A., 

LL.  D.,  Feb  R.  Micro.  Soc.  Eng.,  late  President  of 
the  Chicago  Medical  College  and  Emeritus  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Medicine 
and  Clinical  Medicine  in  that  institution,  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Wales.  Erie  county.  X.  V.. 
Oct.  6th,  1822.  His  ancestors,  both  paternal  and 
maternal,  wen-  of  Scotch  English  origin,  and 
through  his  maternal  grandmother  he  was  de 
scended  also  from  the  early  Dutch  settlers  of 
New  York.  His  paternal  great  grandfather  was 
Joshua  Johnson,  who  lived  in  Worcester.  Massa 
chusetts,  w  here,  about  the  year  1750,  bis  son  Sam 
uel  was  born.  In  1794  the  latter  married  Eephzi 
bah  Crosby,  born  at  Worcester  in  April.  17.VJ.  and 
shortlj  after  removed  to  Manlius.  X.  V..  where, on 
Sept.  20th,  17! '7.  a  son.  their  second  child,  was 
bom  to  them,  and  named  after  his  father.  This 
son.    Samuel   Johnson,  Jr..  married  on    Dec.  20th, 


<yi^ 


BIOGRAPHY   OP   ILLINOIS. 


135 


1821,  at  Wales,  Erie  county,  N.  Y..  Miss  Sally  Al- 
len, a  daughter  of  Parmilee  Allen  and  Deborah 
Burroughs,  his  wife,  the  latter  a  descendant,  on 
her  mother's  side,  of  an  old  Dutch  family  of  New 
York.  Miss  Sally  Allen  was  born  on  Oct.  28th, 
L793,  at  Fori  Ann,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain  where  for  three  generations  her  ancestors 
had  resided.  Col.  Ethan  Allen,  the  hero  of  Ti- 
conderoga,  was  a  near  relative.  Hosmer  Allen 
Johnson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  first 
child  of  his  parents.  The  traditions  and  experi- 
ences of  the  Revolutionary  War  were  still  fruitful 
themes  of  conversation  at  his  home  during  his 
early  years.  Samuel  Johnson,  Sr.,  his  paternal 
grandfather,  who  died  at  Boston  Hill.  Erie  county, 
N.  Y..  in  January,  1827,  had  served  as  a  private 
soldier  in  a  Massachusetts  regimenl  throughout 
I  he  whole  war,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender 
of  Lord  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown,  Oet.  pith,  1781. 
Parmilee  Allen,  Ins  maternal  grandfather,  also 
served  throughoul  the  struggle  and  held  a  com- 
mission as  captain.  He  died  at  Granville,  N.  Y., 
in  1808,  and  his  widow  subsequently  received  a 
pension  from  the  government.  Hosmer's  parents 
and  aged  relatives  lived  at  Boston  Hill  from  his 
early  childhood  until  he  was  twelve  years  of  age, 
when  they  all  removed  to  Almont, Lapeer  county, 
in  the  territory  of  Michigan,  which  two  years  later 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state.  In  this 
sparcely  settled  region  the  opportunities  for  edu 
cation  were  naturally  restricted,  and  between  the 
time  of  his  arriving  there  and  his  twenty-first 
birthday  lie  attended  school  in  all.  not  more  than 
ten  months,  lb'  was  blessed  with  a  pious  and 
educated  mother  and  mainly  through  her  teach 
ing  acquired  a  sound  education  in  the  ordinarj 
English  branches.  At  nineteen  he  began  to  teach 
a  district  school,  and  was  thus  occupied  during 
the  ensuing  four  winters.  In  the  spring  of 
ls.ll  he  began  to  prepare  for  college  under  Prof. 
Rufus  Nutting  of  Romeo,  Michigan,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1846  was  admitted  to  the  sophomore  class 
at  the  University  of  Michigan.  It  was  an  un- 
usually courageous  undertaking  on  his  part,  to 
attempt  to  secure  a  college  education.  A  severe 
cold,  contracted  in  his  seventeenth  year,  and  from 
the  effects  of  which  he  suffered  severely  every 
\ear  down  to  the  time  of  his  death,  troubled  him 
very  much  at  this  time.  He  was  also  thrown  en- 
tirely upon  his  own  resources  lor  support,  owing 
to  the  death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  at  Al- 
mont,  Feb.  loth.  1845.  At  the  close  of  the  junior 
year  several  of  the  professors  advised  him  to  give 
up  the   struggle  and   go  home,  for    it    seemed   to 


them  as  though  he  could  not  live  the  year  out  if 
he  attempted  to  go  on  and  graduate  with  his  class. 
Borrowing  some  money  he  went  with  his  sister 
Lucy,  by  boal  to  Chicago  and  from  there  to  St. 
Louis,  hoping  to  find  a  place  as  teacher,  but  was 
unsuccessful.  They  then  went  to  Vandalia,  the 
old  capital  of  Illinois,  where  they  found  a  warm 
welcome  and  a  home  with  their  maternal  uncle. 
Together  they  taught  school  all  winter.  Hosmer 
also  read  medicine  about  two  hours  a  day  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Herrick.  of  Vandalia.  and  being 
kept  informed  of  the  progress  of  his  class  at  col 

lege  by  two  of  his  classmates  who  corresponded 
with  him,  he  likewise  kept  up  his  collegiate 
studies.  In  April,  1849,  his  health  having  greatly 
improved,  he  went  back  to  Ann  Arbor  and  at  the 
close  of  the  term  passed  in  all  the  studies  of  his 
class  except  Italian,  and  was  graduated,  his  defi- 
ciency in  Italian  beingmade  up  during  the  ensuing 
vacation,  under  the  warm  encouragement  of  Prof. 
Fasquelle.  In  September.  L849,  he  took  a  respons- 
ible position  as  a  teacher  in  the  high  school  at 
Flint,  Michigan,  where  he  remained  a  Mar.  con 
tinning  his  medical  studies  in  the  meantime  un- 
der the  direction  of  Prof.  De  Laskie  Miller,  for 
many  years  a  professor  in  the  Rush  Medical  Col 
lege,  Chicago.  In  the  fall  of  1850  he  began  a 
regular  course  of  medical  instruction  at  the  in- 
stitution named,  still  keeping  up  his  teaching. 
In  the  spring  of  ls."il  he  became  resident  physician 
of  the  Mercy  Hospital,  just  opened  under  the  care 
of  the  Sisters  of  Mercy.  In  February,  1852,  he 
obtained  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  at  the 
Rush  Medical  College,  and  in  the  ensuing  spring 
was  appointed  resident  physician  to  the  United 
States  Marine  Hospital,  first  opened  at  that  time. 
He  also  became  assistant  editor  of  the  North- 
Western  Medical  ami  Surgical  Journal,  since 
known  as  the  Chicago  Medical  Journal  and  Ex 
aminer,  a  position  lie  filled  with  much  ability  for 
live  years.  To  occupy  the  time  not  demanded  by 
his  hospital  duties  he  opened  an  office  in  Chicago 

with   the   late   Dr.   Wm.   B.   Herrick.  the  sei 

editor  of  the  Medical  Journal  and  Professor  of 
Anatomy  and  Physiology  in  the  Rush  Medical 
College,  with  whom  lie  remained  in  partnership 
until  1857,  when  Dr.  Herrick  retired  from  active 
practice,  owing  to  ill-health.  In  18-">l!  he  received 
t  he  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  the  University  of 
Michigan,  his  thesis  which  was  written  in  Latin 
as  then  required  by  the  rules  of  the  institution 
being  entitled  ('limn  Variotinis  in  eadem  I.nti- 
tudine  Causes.  In  April,  1852,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  founding  what  is  now  the  Chicago  Medical 


i*6 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS 


Society,  and  was  chosen  its  Brst  secretary, 
[n  June,  of  the  same  year,  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Illinois  State  Medical  Society,  of 
which  he  was  secretary  for  several  years  and 
president  in  1858.  In  the  fall  of  1853  be  was 
appointed  Lecturer  on  Physiologj  in  the  Rush  Med- 
ical College,  and  in  1855  Professor  <  if  Materia  Med- 
ica  and  Therapeutics  and  Medical  Jurisprudence 
[n  L857  he  was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  physi 
ology  and  general  pathology.  In  the  spring  of 
1859  he  resigned  from  the  faculty  of  Rush  Med- 
ical College,  and,  with  Dr.  Edmund  Andrews.  Dr. 
Ralph  N.  Isham  and  the  late  Dr.  David  Rutter, 
founded  the  Chicago  -Me. Heal  College,  then  known 
as  the  medical  department  of  Lind  University. 
With  that  institution  he  was  still  connected  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  At  different  times  he  filled 
the  chairs  of  materia  medica  and  therapeutics, 
physiology  and  histology,  general  pathology  and 
pathological  anatomy,  diseases  of  the  respiratory 
and  circulatory  apparatus,  clinical  medicine,  and 
lastly  that  of  the  principles  and  practice  of  med- 
icine and  clinical  medicine.  After  1881  he  did 
not  actively  till  a  chair,  luit  sustained  a  relation 
ship  to  the  last  named  as  emeritus  professor. 
From  the  organization  of  this  medical  college  Dr. 
Johnson  served  continuously  as  president  of  the 
faculty  or  as  president  of  the  hoard  of  trustees. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
Dr.  Johnson  was  appointed  l>\  the  Governor  of 
Illinois  as  a  member  of  the  hoard  of  state  ex- 
aminers, to  whom  was  referred  every  candidate 
for  appointment  as  surgeon  or  assistant  surgeon 
to  Illinois  troops.  He  was  elected  president  of 
i  tie  1  ioard,  and  in  this  capacity  he  examined  about 
twelve     hundred     candidates      for      appointment. 

Through  the  action  of  this  board  hundreds  of  in- 
competent men  were  kept  out  of  the  service.  In 
his  official  capacity  Dr.  Johnson  visited  the 
troops  al  tin- front  much  of  the  way  from  Vicks- 
burg  around  to  Port  Royal,  and  became  somewhat 
familiar  with  the  experiences  of  the  Union  armies 
in  camp  and  on  the  held  of  hat  tie.  In  recognition 
of  his  services  as  president  of  this  hoard,  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  Illinois  commandery  of  the 
militar)  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion.  Prom  1867  to 
1st:!  Dr.  Johnson  wasa  member  of  the  board  of 
health  of  Chicago,  and  in  that  time  rendered  val- 
rvices  to  the  city,  more  especially  in  the 
way  of  sanitary  reform.  His  skill  as  an  expert 
was  recognized  b)  the  United  States  authorities, 
who.  in  1879,  after  tic  outbreak  of  yellow  fe 
ver  in  tie  South,  appointed  him  a  member  of 
the  national  board   ot  health,  with  which   here 


mained  connected  until  1885.     Prom  theoi 

tion  of  the  American  Public  Health  Association, 
in  1*7—  In-  continued  an  active  member  of  it.  and 
was  vice  president,  mem  her  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  its  advisor}  council,  and  in  1888  was 
elected  president.  Dr.  .Johnson  contributed  \>r.\ 
materially  to    the    advancement    of    science,   both 

medical  and  general,  by  the  active  part  he  took 
in  organizing  societies  and  associations  for  en- 
couraging study  and  research, comparison  of  re- 
sults attained,  and  the  protection  of  mutual  in- 
terests. The  educational  value  of  a  number  of 
these  hodies  has  been  notable.  He  was  one  of 
the  original  members  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of 
Seance,  and  was  chosen  its  first  corresponding 
secretary.  At  the  time  of  the  lire  of  1S71  he  was 
its  vice-president;  he  served  two  terms  as  presi- 
dent, and  since  then  has  been  one  of  its  trustees. 
He  was  also  one  of  the.  charter  members  of  the 
Illinois  State  Microscopical  Society,  of  which  he 
was  repeatedly  chosen  president.  He  was  con 
nected  as  a  member  and  trustee  with  the  Chicago 
Astronomical  Society  almost  from  its  origin,  and 
latterly  served  several  terms  as  its  president.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  founding  the  Chicago 
Literary  Club,  and  was  its  third  president.  For 
many  years  he  was  it  director  and  frequently 
president  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society, 
and  his  services  in  connection  with  the  distribu 
tion  of  more  than  $5,000,000  by  that  society  after 
the  great  tire  a  task  involving  no  end  of  labor 
and  responsibility  —  were  justly  regarded  by  him 
as  constituting  one  of  the  greatest  achievements 
of  his  life.  During  the  existence  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  Dr.  Johnson  was  for  a  lew  years 
a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees.  For  several 
years  previous  to  his  death  he  was  a  trustee  of 
tic1  Northwestern  University,  at  Evanston.  Other 
learned  hodies  with  which  he  was  connected  tire 
iii'  American  .Medical  Association,  of  which  he 
was  secretary  in  1860  ami  again  in  1863;  the 
American  Laryngotological  Association:  the  Cli 
matological  Association:  the  Association  of  Ameri- 
can Physicians;  the  American  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine; the  American  Microscopical  Society,  etc. 
He  was  likewise  a  corresponding  member  of  sei 
eral  scientific  societies,  and  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal 
Microscopical  Society,  of  London,  Eng.  During 
the  first  decade  of  his  active  professional  work 
Dr.  Johnson  devoted  much  attention  to  surgery, 
and  acquired  a  high  degree  of  skill  in  that  deparl 
meiit.  He  afterwards  confined  himself  more  partic 
ularly  to  the  surgery  of  the  nose  and  throat,  and  to 
thi  ill  1 1 lands  of  general  practice;  hut  of  late  years 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


he  limited  his  labors  t"  office  work  and  consults 
tions.  His  professional  and  scientific  writings,  put 
forth  during  upwards  of  thirty-five  years,are  very 
numerous,  and  comprise  monographs,  addresses, 
and  many  learned  reports  and  essays  upon  a  wide 
range  of  topics,  many  of  which  have  been  pub 
lished  in  the  volumesof  transactions  of  societies, 
and  to  some  extent  in  pamphlet  form,  independ- 
ently, and  as  reprints.  He  edited  the  report  of 
the  Relief  and  Aid  Society  a  large  octavo  vol 
ume  alter  the  distribution  of  the  tire  fund  was 
nearly  completed,  preparing  in  person, or  actually 
superintending  the  preparation  of,  that  portion 
relating  t"  sick,  hospital  and  sanitary  mi 
From  L851  he  was  continuously  connected  with 
one  "i-  more  of  the  hospitals  of  Chicago,  and  was 
at  the  time  of  his  death  consulting  physii 
Mercj  Hospital,  Michasl  Reese  Hospital  and  the 
Woman's  Hospital.  He  was  the  recipient  of  vari 
(ins  distinguished  honors  from  medical,  scientific 
and  literary  sources,  one  of  the  more  recent  being 

the  honorary  degr if  I  loctor  of  Laws,  conferred 

in  1883 by  the  Northwestern  University.  In  L890 
he  was  elected  the  first  president  of  the  Illinois 
Army  and  Navy  Medical  Society,  composed  of 
medical  officers  who  served  in  the  late  war.     For 

many  years  he  was  very  active  in  Masonry. 
Initiated  into  the  order  in  1853,  he  rapidly  rose  to 
prominence,  and  was  elected  as  presiding  officer 
in  lodge,  chapter  and  commandery.  In  1857  he 
organized  the  Grand  Commandery  of  Knights 
Templar  of  Illinois.  He  likewise  took  all  the 
degrees  in  the  Scottish  Kite,  and  was  an  active 
member  of  the  Supreme  Council  for  the  Northern 
Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States.  Prof.  Johnson 
was  a  great  traveler,  having  visited  Europe  seven 
times,  and  also  the  West  Indies.  Mexico  and  the 
Pacific  Slope,  as  well  as  nearly  all  the  Southern 
states  and  the  territories.    During  his  European 

I ■<  he  greatly  enriched  his  medical  experience; 

and  in  the  balmy  climate  of  the  south  of  Europe 
and  of  the  North  American  continent  found  much 
nee, led  relief  from  the  severe  chest  trouble  from 
which  he  was  a  constant  sufferer.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  features  ■■(  his  intensely  active 
and  brilliantly  successful  career  was  the  courage 
and  persistence  with  which  he  applied  himself  to 
every  task  undertaken,  byforce  of  an  indomitable 
will  power,  rising  superior  to  physical  difficulties 
which  would,  undoubtedly,  long  since  have  killed 
him  had  he  not  been  gifted  with  such  splendid 
resolution.  In  1855  he  married  Miss  Margarel 
Ann  Seward,  a  daughter  of  the  late  J.  B.  Seward. 
Esq.,  who  was  a   cousin   of  Secretary  William  H. 


Seward.  To  this  marriage  were  horn  a  son  and  a 
daughter.  The  latter,  always  frail,  died  in  July. 
1888.  The  son.  Frank  Seward  Johnson,  graduated 
from  the  Department  of  Arts  and  Sciences  of  the 
Northwestern  University  in  lsTS  and  from  the 
Chicago  Medical  College  in  L881.  He  is  engaged 
in  general  practice  in  Chicago,  hut  since  obtain- 
ing his  degree  has  been  connected  with  the  col 
lege  as  a  teacher.  He  formerly  tilled  the  chair  of 
histology.  Since  1886  he  has  been  professor  of 
general    pathology    and    pathological    anatomy. 

Dr.  H.  A.  Johnson  died  after  a  short  illness  at 
his  home  in  Chicago.  February  26,  1891.  The 
funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Prof.  David 
Swing  and  Rev.  Clinton  Locke,  and  his  body  in- 
terred in  Rose  Hill  Cemetery  with  Masonic  lion- 
ors.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Northwestern  University  the  following 
resolutions  wen-  adopted: 

"Resolved,  Thai  h>  the  death  of  Hosmer  Allen 
Johnson,  A.  M„  M.  D.,  EL.  I>..  the  Northwestern 
University  has  lost  one  .if  the  most  active  and 
efficient  founders  and  supporters  of  its  medical 
department,  an  active  and  wise  member  of  its 
board  of  truster  U.and  an   influential 

patron  and  friend  of  all  its  interests;  the  medical 
profession  one  of  its  most  learned,  skillful  and 
honorable  members:  the  city  and  state  one  of  its 
most  enlightened,  patriotic  and  useful  citizens; 
the  cause  of  education  and  sanitary  science  one 
of  their  most  earnest  supporters:  and  his  family 
on,-  of  the  most  unselfish  and  affectionate  of  hus- 
bands and  fathers. 

"Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  be  entered  upon 
the  records  of  this  council,  and  a  copy  of  the  same 
be  transmitted  by  the  secretary  to  the  family  of 
the  deceased,  ami  a  copy  furnished  for  publication 
in  the  medical  periodicals." 

The  following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the 
faculty  of  the  Chicago  Medical  College,  al  a  spe- 
cial meeting  held  on  the  28th  day  of  February, 
L89] 

■  fi,  solved,  1'hat  by  the  death  of  Hosmer  Allen 
Johnson.  M.  D..  LL.  D..  the  Chicago  Medical  Col- 
lege  has  lost  the  services  of  one  of  its  founders 
and  most  active,  able  and  eloquenl  teachers:  the 
Northwestern  University  one  of  its  wisest  trustees 
and  councilors:  the  medical  profession  one  of  its 
most  learned,  honorable  and  influential  members; 
and  the  community  one  who.  lor  nearly  forty 
years,  has  been  an  active,  skillful  and  untiring 
benefactor  to  the  suffering,  alike  in  peace,  n 
war.  and  in  the  midst  of  the  direst  of  conflagra 
tions. 

"Resolved,  That    to    his    bereaved    family    and 
e   tender  our   most  sincere   and  abiding 
sympathy,  and  the  assurance  that   their  temporal 
loss  is  his  eternal  gain. 


i38 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


"  Resolved,  Thai  the  secretary  of  the  faculty 
furnish  a  cop)  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased,  and  to  the  medical  and 
other  periodicals  of  this  city. 

"N.  s.  Davis,  M.  I)..  LL.  D.. 

••  Edmund  Andrews,  M.  D..  LL.  1).. 

■  Ralph  N.  [sham,  a.  M..  M.  I).. 

■■  ( Jommittee." 

The  following  just  tribute  was  paid  to  the 
memory  of  I>r.  Johnson  by  his  old  friend  and  col- 
league, l>r.  N.  S.  Davis,  of  Chicago 

"In  reflecting  upon  the  career  of  our  departed 
friend,  ii  will  be  seen  that  he  led  a  life  of  remark- 
able activity  and  success,  presenting  a  mind  cul- 
tivated and  ennobled  by  a  wide  range  of  literary 
and  scientific  acquirements,  chastened  and  made 
pure  by  an  abiding  faith  in  the  Christian  religion, 
and  rendered  active,  unyielding  and  yet  patient 
by  an  almost  constanl  battle  with  physical  in 
firmities.  As  an  orator,  lecturer  and  teacher  lie 
was  clear  and  direct  in  expression,  chaste, 
elegant  and  often  eloquent  in  style,  and  always 
commanded  the  earnest  attention  of  his  hearers. 
As  a  physician,  he  was  clear-headed,  kind-hearted, 
faithful  to  every  duty,  and  skillful  both  I"  recog 
nize  the  nature  of  disease  and  to  choose  the 
appropriate  remedies,  and  enjoyed  the  implicit 
confidence  of  his  patrons.  As  a  citizen,  he  was 
patriotic,  benevolent,  honorable,  and  ever  ready 
to  lend  efficient  aid  in  all  the  enterprises  recog- 
nized as  important  for  promoting  the  varied  in- 
terests of  civilized  society.  As  a  husband,  father 
and  friend,  he  was  affectionate,  faithful  and  true 
to  a  degree  that  neither  time  nor  circumstances 
could  swerve  or  abate.  To  those  who  have  hern 
intimately  associated  with  him  from  the  com- 
lent  of  his  professional  life,  he  presents  a 
remarkable  example  of  industry,  varied  acquire 
ments.  usefulness,  unswerving  integrity,  and  of 
the  nobler  qualities  of  a  Christian  gentleman, 
ever  battling  with  physical  infirmities,  and  yet 
working  undauntingly  almost  to  the  end  of  three 
0  ire  J  'Mrs  and  ten." 


NATHANIEL    K.    FAIRBANK. 

NATHANIEL    K.    FAIRBANK   was  born   in 

the  little  town  of  Soilus.  Wayne  county.  New 
York,  in  the  year  1829.  He  received  a  common 
school  education,  applying  himself  also  to  study 
at  home,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was  apprenticed 
to  a  bricklayer.  The  year  following  he  went  to 
er.  in  his  native  state,  where  he  served 
the  term  of  his  apprenticeship,  after  which  he 
a  fiouring  mill  in  which  he  occupied  the 

"I    1 k-keeper  for    six    months  and    was 

then  admitted  to  a  partnership.  In  1855  he  came 
to  Chicago,  entered  into  a  grain  commission  busi- 
ness and  represented  David  Dows  &  Co..  of   New 


York,  as  their  Western  representative.  His  con- 
nection with  this  firm  extended  over  a  period 
of  ten  years,  when  he  became  financially  inter 
ested  in  a  lard  and  oil  refining  enterprise,  fur- 
nishing the  capital  for  the  erection  of  the  refinery, 
and  becoming  a  member  of  the  newly  organized 
firm  of  Suieedley.  Peck  &  Co..  who  conducted  the 
business.  The  company  did  a  successful  business 
for  four  years,  when  its  plant  was  destroyed  bj 
tire  and  a  loss  incurred  of  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
But  in  the  following  year.  Is7(>.  the  manufacturing 
plant  now  standing  at  the  corner  of  Eighteenth 
and  Blackwell  streets  was  constructed  at  a  cost 
of  eighty  thousand  dollars.  In  a  little  over  two 
years  after  the  re-building  Mr.  Smeedley  sold  his 
interest  and  subsequently  Mr.  Peck  drew  out  of 
the  lirm.  \V.  H.  Burnet  and  Joseph  Sears  took 
the  places  of  the  retiring  partners,  and  the  pros 
perous,  steadily  growing  business  of  N.  K.  Fair- 
bank  A  Co.  became  one  of  the  most  substantial  of 
Chicago's  enterprises.  The  energy  of  character 
and  the  ability  which  Mr.  Fairbank  has  displayed 
in  his  private  business,  and  that  have  brought  him 
wealth  and  high  commercial  standing,  marked 
also  his  career  as  a  public  spirited  citizen  and 
have  been  very  perceptibly  potent  in  advancing 
the  prosperity  of  Chicago.  The  enterprises  which 
nave  been  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  city,  and 
which  have  felt  the  sustaining  influence  and  ma- 
terial aid  of  Mr.  Fairbank.  are  so  numerous  and 
diversified  in  character  that  in  a  brief  sketch  of 
his  life  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  mention  even  a 
small  part  of  them.  His  sympathies  have  been 
with  any  movement  which  promised  to  result  in 
beautifying  Chicago,  adding  to  the  pleasure  of 
her  citizens  or  serving  their  interests  in  any  prac- 
tical direction;  and  his  purse  has  always  been 
like  his  heart,  open.  In  1874.  when  the  members 
of  the  Chicago  Chili  were  nomads  in  search  of 
comfortable  quarters.  Mr.  Fairbank  suggested  the 
construction  of  a  handsome  and  commodious  club 
house.  It  being  a  season  of  considerable  business 
depression,  however,  the  members  of  theclub  were 
not  inclined  to  invest  in  the  enterprise  and  the  sug- 
gestion was  received  with  an  apathy  that  would 
have  discouraged  a  less  determined  man.  It  was  a 
trifling  obstacle,  however,  to  Mr.  Fairbank.  A 
club  house  was  needed:  it  would  enhance  the 
pleasure  of  the  members  and  be  an  ornament  to 
Chicago,  and  these  reasons  were  quite  sufficient  to 
prompt  him  to  offer  toerect  it  at  his  own  expense, 
trusting  in  the  future  prosperity  of  the  club  to 
reimburse  him.  The  sequence  of  thai  generous 
impulse  is    the   splendid    structure   on     Monroe 


C^^<^^2<^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


'39 


street,  opposite  the  Palmer  House,  which  is  to-day 
the  elegant  home  of  the  Chicago  Club.  It  cost 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. 
But  the  reader  will  suspect  that  Mr.  Fairbank 
was  not  left  to  furnish  that  entire  sum.  The 
magnetic  influence  of  a  public  spirited  citizen  like 
him  inspires  otherB  with  a  like  spirit,  and  before 
tin'  club  house  had  been  completed  eighty  thous- 
and dollars  had  been  subscribed  by  the  a 
The  remaining  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  stock 
Mr.  Fairbank  has  always  retained.  The  club 
moved  into  its  new  home  in  loTtl.  ami  for  thirteen 
years  elected  and  re-elected  Mr.  Fairbank  its  presi 
dent.  At  tin'  cornerof  State  and  Randolph  streets 
stands  another  evidence  of  the  enterprise  and  pub- 
lic spirit  of  Mr.  Fairbank  Central  Music  Hall. 
The  late  George  B.  Carpenter  had  conceived  tie 
need  of  such  a  structure  and  had  completed  the 
plans  of  the  building.  But  both  money  and  influ- 
ence were  required,  and  the  latter  must  be  en 
listed  before  the  former  could  be  assured.  Where 
could  they  be  had'.'  The  average  man.  with  a 
knowledge  of  Chicago  and  of  her  citizens,  would 
naturally  have  turned  to  Mr.  Fairbank  under  the 
circumstances;  that  was  precisely  what  Mr.  Car- 
penter did.  He  explained  the  enterprise  to  Mr. 
Fairbank  ami  showed  him  the  plans  of  the  edifice. 
These  plans  remained  in  Mr.Fairbank'skeepingfor 
aperiodof  about  two  years,  his  wish  being  to  wait 
tor  a  favorable  opportunity  to  present  the  matter 

to  tl apitalistsof  the  city.     The  opportunity  at 

hist  came.  In  1879,  the  year  after  Mapleson's 
first  visit  to  what  was  then  Haverly's  Theater, 
and  when  the  city  was  in  the  midst  of  an  opera 
furore.  Mr.  Fairbank  placed  the  plans  of  a  music 
hall  before  the  public,  and  with  the  influence  of 
his  endorsement  and  the  fact  that  such  a  hull  was 
a  necessity,  every  dollar  of  stock  was  quickly 
taken,  the  budding  commenced  and  pushed  rap 
idly  to  completion,  lint  his  good-hearted  efforts 
have  not  been  limited  to  providing  for  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  upper  classes  of  society.  The  poor 
and  the  neglected  have  had  abundant  reason  to 
appreciate  his  large  benevolence  and  his  practical 
sympathy.  The  Newsboys'  Home  of  Chicago,  an 
institution  of  great  value  to  the  community  and  a 
charity  which  many  a  homeless  boy  prizes,  was 
some  years  ago  heavily  mortgaged,  but  Mr.  Fair- 
bank  engaged  in  the  work  of  raising  the  money 
to  release  the  home  from  its  burden  of  indebted- 
ness.  and  it  goes  without  saying  that  he  succeeded. 
and  this  useful  institution  is  therefore  to  daj  free 
from  incumbrance.  The  St.  Luke's  Hospital  was 
another    institution     which     enlisted     his     most 


earnest    and    active     philanthropy.      When     the 

effort    was    made    to    replace    the    old.   ill iven 

ient  and  insufficient  building  with  a  commodi- 
ous structure.  Mr.  Fairbank  came  forward 
ami  gave  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and 
thus  inspired  a  liberality  among  his  immediate 
associates  that  soon  secured  the  needed  sum  to 
complete  the  work.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
soliciting  subscriptions  for  this  object,  raised  the 
money  to  build  the  new  hospital,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  has  been  a  strong  friend, 
liberal  patron,  and  faithful  officer  of  the  institu- 
tion. Brought  up  a  Presbyterian  he  became  an 
attendant  at  the  South  Church,  of  which  Pro- 
fessor Swing  was  formerly  pastor.  Mr.  Fairbank 
was  seldom  absent  from  the  Sabbath  services 
while  Professor  Swing  tilled  the  pulpit,  and  here, 
as  under  other  circumstances,  his  broad  liberality 
was  a  marked  feature  of  his  character.  When  a 
collection  was  being  taken  one    Sunday    to    raise 

the  i »?   to  paj  lor  an  organ.  Mr.Fairbank  sent 

a  note  to  Professor  Swing  that  he  would  make  up 
any  deficiency  in  the  fund  that  might  exist  after 
the  collection  was  completed.  The  deficiency 
proved  to  be  one  thousand  dollars,  and  on  the 
Monday  morning  following  Mr.  Fairbank  for- 
warded his  check  for  the  amount.  When  Pro- 
fessor Swing  bit  the  pastorate  of  the  South 
Church.  Mr.  Fairbank  was  one  of  the  fifty  men 
who  agreed  to  supply  any  deficiency  in  the  funds 
that  might  lie  necessary  to  sustain,  for  the  period 
of  three  years,  the  Independent  Church,  of  which 
Professor  Swing  became  pastor,  at  Central  Music 
Hall.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  Mr.  Fan- 
bank's  close  personal  attention  to  the  business 
affairs  of  the  society  have  had  a  very  marked  in- 
fluence upon  the  prosperity  of  this  church.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  also  a 
member  of  the  music  committee,  and  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  the  latter  position  he  has 
taken  special  interest  and  pleasure;  passionately 
fond  of  music,  his  constant  aim  is  to  provide  that 
of  a  very  high  order  at  the  Sabbath  services. 
Among  the  many  musical  societies  that  he  has 
helped  to  success,  the  Festival  Asso.  iatioD  is  an 
example,  and  the  great  service  that  he  rendered 
in  conjunction  with  those  famous  festivals  con 
ducted  by  Theodore  Thomas  was  greatly  appreci- 
ated by  the  music  loving  portion  of  Chicago.  A 
work,  too.  in  which  he  has  taken  deep  interest  and 
that  has  been  of  much  benefit  to  the  public  is 
that  of  fish  culture  in  the  Northwest.  The  angler, 
as  he  enjoys  the  sport  of  Ashing  in  Wisconsin  and 
Illinois,  is  always  greatly  indebted  to   the   enter 


I  40 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


prise  of  Mr.  Fairbank  in  .this  direction.  Mr.Fair- 
bank  has  a  splendid  home  in  the  city  and  a  hand 
somecountry  residence  a1  Lake  Geneva,  Wiscon- 
sin, on  a  farm  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  acres.  He 
w;is  married  in  1866  to  Miss  Helen  L.  Graham,  of 
New  York,  and  has  seven  children,  four  sons  and 
three  daughters.  In  person  Mr.  Fairbank  is  tall 
and  well  proportioned.  His  figure  is  commanding. 
There  is  in  his  form  and  carriage,  in  his  broad 
shoulders  his  evenly  poised  head  and  his  benignant 
face  an  assertion  and  maintenanceof  a  vigorous  and 
most  attractive  individuality.  His  domestic  quali- 
ties, the  love  of  wife,  children,  and  home,  are  devel 
oped  in  his  eonstant  solicitude  and  most  generous 
provision  for  their  happiness  ami  comfort.  He  never 
forgets  that  home,  and  his  highest  aspiration  is  to 
have  it  continuously  the  abode  of  contentment, 
comfort,  and  mental  and  moral  advancement.  His 
ancestry  of  ruggedest  New  England  stock  made 
Mr.  Fairbank  physically  and  intellectually  an 
italic  individuality  half  a  century  before  he  wis 
born,  and  the  law  of  heredity  in  him  declares  its 
inexorable  and  imperial  results.  He  looks  after 
not  only  the  comfort  of  his  own  family,  but  the 
enjoyment  of  all  his  near  friends  is  essential  to  his 
own  happiness,  and  his  affectionate  solicitude  for 
their  prosperity,  health  and  recreation  is  eonstant 
and  admirable  beyond  eulogy.  Prom  one  who 
was  with  Mr.  Fairbank  when  the  death  of  his 
nearest  and  dearest  friend,  Mr.  Wirt  Dexter,  was 
communicated  to  him.  tin'  u  liter  has  learned  how 
strong  and  tender  and  womanly  an  emotional 
nature  may  go  along  in  harmony  with  great  busi- 
ness capacity  and  vast  commercial  ambitions. 
For  then  the  tears  came  and  sobs  and  moans 
such  as  a  mother's  heart  sends  out  and  grief 
shook- the  strong  frame  and  sorrow  moved  ever} 
fibre  of  his  being,  as  a  great  storm  twists  and 
rends  the  bravest  oak.  It  seemed  as  though  he 
gladly  would  have  died  himself  to  restore  again  to 
life  the  dear.  lost.  g00d,great  friend  whose  valna 
hie  and  useful  career  had  been  so  suddenly  ended. 
His  fondness  for  Wirt  Dexter  reflects  his  tastes, 
his  social  lines,  and  his  regard  for  the  highest  t.\  pe 
of  intellectual  culture.  The  two  men  were,  by 
natural  laws,  drawn  to  each  other,  useful  to  each 
other,  and  essential  to  the  happiness  of  each  other. 

lint  besides  interesting  himself  in  those  nearest, 
Mr.  Fairbank  reaches  out  into  remoter  circles  and 
lilts  up,  quietly  and  without  ostentation,  very 
many     who     otherwise     would    sink     under    their 

burdens  of  sadness.     Few,  very   few.   know  what 

an  abundance  of  g 1  deeds  grow  out  of  ids  heart 

every  year,  nor  what  solid  satisfaction  he   finds  in 


helping  those  w  ho  need  help,  and  in  being  a  friend 
to  those  who  have  no  other  friends.  But  for  those 
innumerable  kindnesses  and  large  charities  which 
so  far  have  been  shut  out  from  public  view  an- 
other time  will  be  better.  It  is  enough  to  say  now 
that  there  is  probably  no  man  in  Chicago,  who  in 
an  active  and  gainful  pursuit  of  business  has  so 
often  paused  to  distribute  in   generous    gratuities 

so  many  sums  of  money,  and  sums  which  aggre- 
gate so  great  an  amount,  nor  is  there  any  citizen 

who  has  a  greater  contempt  for  mere  inert  wealth. 


WIRT  DEXTER. 

WIRT  DEXTER,  for  many  years  one  of  the 
most  famous  lawyers  at  the  Chicago  bar.  was 
born  in  Dexter.  Mich..  October  25,  1831,  and  died 
May  20,  1890.  His  education  was  conducted 
partly  at  home  and  in  the  academies  of  Michigan. 
and  partly  at  Cazenovia  Seminary,  New  York, 
from  which  latter  institution  he  was  graduated 
after  a  course  of  study  substantially  the  same  as 
the  usual  college  course  of  forty  years  ago.  Mr. 
Dexter  was  twice  married,  first  to  Miss  Catharine 
Durenburg,  of  Marshall,  Mich.,  in  1S.X,  who  died 
in  1864,  and  who  was  the  mother  of  one  child, 
which  died  in  infancy.  He  was  married  in  1866 
to  Miss  Josephine  Moore,  who  survives  him.  Two 
children  were  born  to  them  —  Samuel  Dexter,  a 
recent  graduate  of  Harvard,  and  now  a  student  in 
its  law  school:  and  Katharine,  seme  seven  years 
younger  than  her  brother.  Wirt  Dexter  was  of  a 
family  honored  and  illustrious  in  the  legal  profes- 
sion in  America.  His  grandfather.  Samuel  Dex- 
ter, was  secretary  of  war,  and  afterwards  secretary 
of  the  treasury,  in  the  cabinet  of  President  John 
Adams.  He  was  a  vigorous  advocate  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  constitution,  a  personal 
friend  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  and  was  known  as 
the -great  expounder  of  the  constitution  "  long 
before  the  same  title  was  won  and  worn  by  Daniel 
Webster.  His  son,  Samuel  W.  Dexter,  was  a]. 
pointed  United  States  district  judge  of  the  terri- 
torj  of  Michigan,  and  founded  the  tow  n  of  I  >e\ler. 
where  his  son  Wirt  was  horn.  A  brother  of 
Judge  Dexter  was  Franklin  Dexter,  a  contem- 
porary of  Daniel  Webster,  and  who  was  often 
associated  with    or    pilled    against     him.  and    was 

everywhere  recognized  as.  in  legal  acumen  and 

ability,  tlie  peer   of    the    great    orator.     With    the 
hi 1  of  a  line  of  eminent    lawyers    in    his    veins. 


< z. 


■■■ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


HI 


Wirt  Dexter  naturally  chose  the  profession  of  the 

law  as  the  work  of  his  life.  His  father  was  a  man 
of  considerable  means,  which  he  had  largely  in- 
vested  in  agricultural  and  pine  lands  in  tl 
ol  Michigan.  Before  leaving  home  the  son  had, 
ment  of  his  father's 
business,  and  for  sometime  after  locating  in  Chi 
cago  for  the  study  and  practice  of  the  law  hi-  was 

:  1  in  the  manufacture  of  pine  lumber,  ami 
handled  the  product  of  his  mills  in  tin-  Chicago 
market,  as  well  as  organized  and  equipped  his 
winter  togging  camps.  This  training  in  active 
business  affairs  was  of  the  greatest  advantage  to 
him  in  professional  life.  His  knowledge  of  com- 
mercial law  and  usage  was  not  derived  a; 

hand  from  the  study  of  1 ks,  but    was   from   an 

active  and  interested  mingling  with  men  of  af- 
fairs. In  a  new  country  the  legal  questions 
which  arise  are  largely  of  a  commercial  charac- 
ter, and  Mr.  Dexter's  practical  experience  made 
him  a  safe,  prudent  and  reliable  adviser.  His 
professional  life  was  spent  entirely  in  Chicago. 
although  for  several  years  prior  to  his  death  he 
tilled  the  positionsof  general  solicitor  and  member 
of  the  executive  committee  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Railroad  Company,  the  duties  of  which  position 
usually  called  him  lor  some  months  annually  to 
Boston.  While  a  most  diligent  worker  in  his  pr<  ifes- 

-  early  training  gave  him  an  inclination  for 
business  affairs.  He  was.  from  a  young  man.  in- 
terested at  Elk  Rapids.  Mich.,  where  he  had  a 
saw-  mill,  and  with  others  was  afterwards 
in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  charcoal  pig- 
iron.  He  was  also  a  large  owner  of  pine  land  in 
Michigan  and  Louisiana,  as  also  of  residence  and 
business  property  in  Chicago.  From  his  prac- 
tical experience,  he  distrusted  the  ordinary  meth- 
ods of  charitable  work,  and  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izersofthe  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  of 
which  he  was  for  many  years  an  officer.  This 
society  works  along  the  lines  afterward  adopted 
by  various  charity  organization  societies,  aiming 
to  discriminate  carefully  between  worthy  and  un- 
worthy objects  of  charity  and  to  afford  relief  to 
the  deserving  without  encouraging  pat 
At  the  time  of  the  great  Chicago  tire  tl 
and  Aid  Society  was  made  the  almoner  of  the 
benefactions  of  the  world.  Mr.  Dexter  was  at 
that  time  chairman  of  its  executive  committee, 
and  abandoning  entirely  his  professional  work 
and  business,  he  devoted  nearly  a  year  to  the 
work  of  distributing  in  the  wisest  method  pos- 
sible the  millions  contributed   by   the  be] 


of  all  nations.  His  extraordinary  executive  abil- 
ity, sound  judgment,  ami  knowledge  of  men,  were 
soon  recognized  by  his  associates  in  the  work, 
and  to  him  more  than  any  other  was  it  owing 
that  from  chaos  was  evoked  order:  from  eon 
fusion,  method.  The  admirable  and  wise  man- 
ner in  which  the  $5,000,000  fund  was  distributed 
was  as  noteworthy  as  the  fund  itself;  that  most 
wonderful  exhibition  recorded  in  history,  of  the 
truth  that  God  hath   n  blood  all  the 

nations  of  men.  During  his  professional  life,  a 
period  of  something  over  thirty  years,  he  was  re- 
tained in  the  greater  part  of  the  famous  and  in- 
teresting trials  of  important  causes  heard  in  and 
.about  Chicago.  Mr.  Dexter  seen.; 
by  intuition  all  the  aptitudes  of  -,,  great  lawyer. 
He  Irttd  an  ardent  love  for  his  profession  and  an 
exalted  idea  of  the  term  ■•lawyer."  He  had 
studied  the  characters  of  the  great  lights  of  his 
himself  familiar  with  the 
-  by  which  they  had  achievi 

i  themselves  upon  the  jurisprudence  of 
their  time.  He  knew  Erskine,  Curran  ami 
Brougham,     Webstet  r,    Black 

and  Jeremiah  Mason  as  if  he  had  spent  his  life  in 
their  company.  He  was  familiar  with  1 
and  anecdotes  i"n  which  they  had  a  part.  He  had 
made  studies  of  their  great  causes,  not  that  he 
might  servilely  copy  them,  but  that  he  might  get 
from  them  the  inspiration  of  their  skill,  resources 
and  courage.  T<  •  such  an  equipment  of  enthusiasm 
for  his  chosen  work  he  brought  also  the  belief 
that  the  lawyer  is  essentially  a  minister  of  justice: 
that  he.  as  much  as  the  judge  upon  th 
must  understand  and  act  upon  the  rule  that  the 
aim  of  all  law  is  to  establish  and  uphold  the 
right:  that  no  zeal  in  behalf  of  his  clients  is  war- 
rani  for  an  argument  from  false  premises,  or  an 
attempt  to  maintain  a  false  and  vicious  standard 
of  decision.  In  his  intercourse  with  his  brother 
lawyers  lie  was  frank  and  truthful.  He  conceded 
to  his  opponent  in  a  case  not  only  the  right,  but 
the  duty  to  do  all  that  could  truthfully  and  hon- 
estly be  done  to  obtain  success  for  his  client. 
But.  as  he  adjusted   his  own   conduct   to  a   high 

moral  obligation,  he  also  insisted  that 
1  it  hers  should  do  the  same,  and  hail  neither  patience 
with,  nor  respect  for.  that  lawyer  who  lowered  the 
standard  of  professional  ethics  merely  to  win  a 
case.  Another  characteristic  was  his  high  regard 
for  the  office  and  dignity  of  the  courts.  He  real- 
ized often,  as  all  lawyers  do.  that  judges  are  but 
men  and  fallible  like  other  men.  but  he  also  felt 
that  the  emits  are  the  best  invention    the   wit    of 


'4- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


man  has  yet  devised  to  do  justice  between  man 
and  man,  and  r<  spected  them  according  1"  the  dig 
nily  of  their  office.  His  bearing  toward  them  was 
always  courteous,  and  at  the  same  time  self- 
i-especting,  never  Eorgetting  that  he  too  was  a 
part  of  the  court,  and  interested  in  sustaining  its 
proper  weight  and  dignity.  He  had  been,  and  to 
the  end  of  his  life  continued  to  be,  a  hard  Btudent 
in  the  learning  of  his  profession.  His  mind  was 
richlj  stored  with  the  light  that  books  could 
afford  him,  and  he  could  cite  authorities  copiously 
when  needed.     But  he  depended,  after  all,  for  his 

uccei  :  mainly  upon  a  certain  practical  common 
sense,  with  which  he  was  largely  endowed,  for  the 
solution  of  his  most  complicated  eases.  His  first. 
and  main  effort  was  to  obtain  a  full  and  minute 
knowledge  of  the  facts  of  his  ease.  These  he 
arranged  in  a  logical  order  of  statement,  so  clear 
and  lucid  that  no  rhetoric  or  trick  of  words  could 
add  to  or  detract  from  their  force.  His  diction 
was  well  chosen  and  direct  to  the  point;  his  man- 
ner frank,  confident  and  forcible,  rich  with  apt 
illustrations  to  clinch  or  enforce  his  own  argu- 
ments, or  answer  and  confound  those  of  an  oppo- 
nent. But  while  his  pride,  delighl  and  ambition 
were  in  his  chosen  profession,  and  while  to  this  he 
devoted  largely  Ids  intellectual  energies,  yet,  to 
those  who  knew  him,  any  sketch  of  his  life  would 
seem  singularly  incomplete  without  reference  to 
his  magical  social  endowment  and  his  powers  out- 
side his  chosen  field  of  labor.  He  had  a  quick  ami 
abounding  sympathy  with  nature.  He  was  fond 
of  country  exercise  and  all  manly  sports.  The 
majestic  grandeur  of  the  mountains,  and  the 
flower-sprinkled  tresses  of  the  meadow,  alike,  were 

his  joy  and  inspiration.     His  standing  in  tin o 

u. unity  was  singular  and  almost  unique,  owing  to 
the  universal  belief  that  he  was  a  man  of  special 
moral,  as  we'll  as  intellectual,  force.  His  a  I 'Solute 
integrity  was  never  questioned:  lie  was  a  much 
trusted  man:  his  influence  was  the  more  wide- 
spread because  of  his  independence  of  political 
organizations.  In  early  life  he  appreciated  the 
evils  of  slavery,  and  was  vigorous  in  its  denuncia- 
tion. Duringthe  Civil  War  heupheld  eloquently 
and  at  all  times  the  efforts  of  the  government  to 
do  battle  with  those  who  sought  the  destruction 
of  the  nation's  HIV.  and  with  it  the  chiefest  hopes 
of    humanity;   yel    when    a    military    officer    sup 

pressed  the  publication  of  the  Chicago  Times  for 
alleged  treasonable  utterances,  and  a  mass  meet 

ing  of  citizens  was  called  to  consider  the  matter, 
his  voice  was  first  and  si  effective  in  denounc- 
ing the  arbitrary  act  of  fettering  free  speech  and 


free  discussion  in  the  territory  remote  from  the 
conflict  of  arms.  He  always  acted  in  national 
affairs  with  the  Republican  partj  until  its  nom- 
ination of  Mr.  Blaine  for  President,  when  he  re- 
fused to  support  its  candidate.  In  local  matters, 
he  never  considered  for  a  moment  the  polities  of 
a  candidate,  but  always  aimed  to  support  him. 
hest  lilted  for  the  office.  He  had  a  lifelong  ad- 
miration for  good  talkers,  and  his  friendships 
were  broad,  while  discriminating.  His  lather  was 
a  boyhood  friend  of  Wendell  Phillips,  and  the 
house  of  Mr.  Dexter  was  for  twenty  years  the 
Chicago  home  of  this  graceful  and  brilliant  orator, 
and  this  too  was  true  as  to  James  Russell  Lowell, 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  Theodore  Parker.  Charles 
Dudley  Warner,  Judge  David  Davis.  Henry 
Irving,  and  a  host  of  men  eminent  and  honored 
in  every  walk  of  life.  His  married  life  was  .He 
tying  and  beautiful.  His  home  was  for  him  a 
paradise,  and  was  a  center  of  Chicago  social  and 
intellectual  life.  At  a  time  when  it  is  thought 
that  conversation  is  a  lost  art,  Wirt  Dexter  was 
so  excellent  in  talk  that  we  easily  conceive  lie 
would  have  been  welcome  in  any  circle  in  the 
period  when  conversation  was  most  cultivated. 
He  had  the  equipment  for  conversation;  he  had 
wit  ami  imagination:  his  mind  was  stored  with 
literature  and  knowledge  of  the  world:  hi'  had 
tin  discipline  of  an  important  professional  and  an 
important  business  career;  he  had  an  interesting 
and  almost  phenomenal  verbal  memory,  with  the 
rare  faculty  of  quoting  other  men's  ideas  without 
hindering  the  abundance  of  his  own;  he  had 
quick  and  almost  tumultuous  thought,  which  was 
always  subdued  to  perfect  clearness  and  precision 
by  a  masterful  facility  in  expression;  he  had  a 
rich  vocabulary,  and  a  diction  which,  even  in  the 
quiet  of  conversation,  always  suggested  eloquence. 
This  suggestion  of  eloquence  in  Wirt  Dexter's 
conversation  became  actual  eloquence,  brilliant 
and  powerful,  in  his  public  speech.  He  was  an 
orator,  and  an  orator  of  high  class.  His  profes- 
sional oratorj  was  exceedingly  effective,  but  his 
gifts  were  even  more  fitted  to  public  life  and  its 
greater  and  broader  questions.  His  friends  often 
regretted  that  he  did  not  continue  in  the  public 
career  he  began  when  a  very  young  man,  and 
when  the  question  of  slavery  aroused  him  to  pub- 
lic action  and  public  speech.  They  regretted, 
too.  that  he  did  not  answer  more  readily  to  the 
urgent  wish  of  the  community  that  he  should 
appear    more    frequently   upon   important   public 

-asions  in  Chicago.     No  man   was   more  wished 

for.  and    none    received    quicker  audiences.     The 


^rVa>t>c^_^^    Ari%-*-*--&^ 


■ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


143 


reason  that  he.  who  seemed  go  naturally  allied  to 
public  life,  and  who  had  so  easily  the  ear  of  the 
people,  so  rarely  appeared  in  public  was  that  he 
lived  too  wholly  in  the  inner  life  to  rind  himself 
at  home  in  the  less  inspiring  controversies  of  his 
later  years,  while  his  profession  and  hif 
and  his  friends  gave  to  him  a  life  that  exercised 
satisfactorily  his  intellectual  powers.  To  the 
circle  of  his  chosen  friends,  great  as  was  their  ad- 
miration for  his  intellectual  endowment,  it  was 
his  heart  that  was  greatest.  His  love  of  quiet 
friendship  was  the  most  remarkable  quality  of 
this  man.  who  seemed  born  for  the  combats  of 
the  forum  and  the  storms  of  a  public  career. 
This  personation  of  aggressive  intellect,  to  them, 
was  the  tenderest  and  gentlest  of  men.  His 
death  was  so  unexpected  that  at  tirst  H 
impossible  of  belief.  He  had  seemed  the  im- 
personation of  abounding  mental  and  p 
vitality:  of  a  strong,  vigorous  and  majestic  man- 
hood. In  an  hour,  on  one  of  the  best  and  hap- 
piest days  of  his  splendid  career,  he  had  joined 
the  silent  and  innumerable  host.  His  friends 
wire  grappled  to  his  soul  with  hooks  of  steel,  and 
to  them  life  will  forevermore  be  shadowed  anil 
saddened  by  the  sudden  passing  away,  in  its 
seemingly  supremest  hour,  of  this  rare,  gracious 
and  beautiful  spirit. 


FRANKLIN    II.   HEAD. 

S.  .in"  of  the  sturdiest  characters  in  this  great 
country,  peopled  with  great  men.  wire  born  on 
farms.  Many  of  the  professional  men  who  have 
reached  high  positions  in  their  chosen  callings, 
merchants  and  manufacturers  who  have  acquired 
great  wealth  and  exhibited  a  genius  for  business. 
strangely  at  variance  with  their  early  training  and 
birth,  have  opened  their  eyes  tirst  upon  I 
meadows  of  their  father's  farms.  Perhaps  the  sim- 
ple innocence  of  rural  life  has  much  to  do  in  lay 
ing  the  foundations  for  the  stable  characters  that 
have  been  built  up  and  been  formed  into  honest, 
upright  men.  Franklin  H.  Head,  whose  multi- 
plicity of  affairs,  in  the  management  of  the  differ- 
ent concerns  of  which  he  is  the  head,  or  in  which 
he  is  interested,  show  him  to  be  one  of  1 
most    enterprising   business    men.    had   such   an 

origin.     He  was  born  in  Pari-   0 unty,    X. 

Y.,  January  24th,    1835.     His    father's    name    was 
Harvey  Head,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was 


Calista  Simmons.  They  were  both  natives  of  the 
state  of  New  York.  Mr.  Harvey  Head  was  a 
farmer,  and  Franklin  therefore  spent  his  boyhood 
days  as  a  farm  lad.  Fortunately  for  him  his 
father  was  able  to  give  him  a  good  education.  He 
attended  the  common  schools,  and  prepared  him- 
self for  college  at  Cazenovia  Seminary.  When 
nineteen  years  ■  if  age  he  entered  Hamilton  College, 
and  graduated  therefrom  in  1856.  He  studied  law 
under  Prof .  Theo.  W.  Dwight,  now  president  of 
Columbia  Law  School.  Young  Head  graduated 
from  the  law  school  in  1858,  but  having  the  oppor 
tunity  to  travel,  he  determined  to  spend  some 
time  in  Europe  before  settling  down  to  the  routine 
of  his  profession.  He  spent  a  year  in  the  old 
countries  with  much  profit  to  his  mind  and  body. 
and  returning  home,  set  his  face  toward  the  west. 
He  made  Kenosha.  Wisconsin,  his  abiding 
and  there  opened  a  law  office  and  practiced  for 
eight  or  nine  years.  From  there  he  went  to  Uti 
and  to  California,  and  spent  four  years  on  cattle 
ranches.  In  l^To  he  came  eastward,  finally  locat- 
ing, that  year,  in  Chicago,  and  engaged  at 
business.  His  tirst  enterprise  was  in  conjunction 
with  the  late  Wirt  Dexter  and  X.  K.  Fairbank.  in 
the  organization  of  the  Elk  Rapids  Iron  Company, 
the  lumber  and  iron  departments  of  which  are 
located  at  Elk  Rapids.  Michigan.  Of  this  concern 
Mr.   Head  was   made   vice-president   and  general 

■ .  which  position  he  continued  to  till  until. 
in  the  spring  of  1890,  he  disposed  of  his  interest 
in  the  company.  Mr.  Head  also  organized  the 
Bangor  Chemical  Company;  and  has  been  presi- 
dent  of   the   Chicago   Malleable    Iron    Company 

382.  He  is  also  vice-president  of  the 
American  Trust  A  Savings  Rank,  director  in  the 
Northwestern  National  Bank,  director  in  the 
Atheneum.  president  of  the  Chicago  A-  Iowa  rail 
road,  president  of  the  Illinois  Industrial  School 
for  Roys,  and  a  director  in  the  World's  Columbian 

[n  1886  Mr.  Head  b  ok  an  inl 
the  firm  of  Dole  &  Co.,  which  owns  and  operates 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  A-  Quincy  railroad  eleva- 
tors. This  firm  is  the  largest  warehon- 
in  Chicago.  They  have  a  capacity  of  over  sixand 
one  half  million  bushels  of  grain.  He  was  one  of 
the  principal  parties  who.  about  1882,  organized 
the  town  of  Cedar  Rapids  in  Nebraska,  near  which 
he  owned  a  large  amount  of  land,  and  where  he 
has  ever  since  been  largely  interested  in  the  busi- 
ness of  manufacturing  Hour,  cattle  raising,  bank 
ing.  ami  selling  lumber.  Mr.  Head  was  married 
on  June  14th.  1860,  to  Catherine  P.  Durkee  of 
Kenosha.  Wisconsin,  who  died   October   30,   1890. 


'  l-l 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


He-has  three  children,  all  daughters  and  all  now 
living.  Though  sociable  in  a  mark.,]  degree,  be 
is  not  a  club  man  in  the  usual  acceptance  of  the 
term.    He  became  a  member  of  the  Union  League 

clubs after  its  organization   in  1880.    He  has 

always  been  in  active  sympathy  with  all  political 
reform  movements,  and  as  it  was  with  that  objei  I 
in  view  that  this  club  was  organized,  Mr.  Head 
lias  warmly  supported  every  action  tending  toward 
that  end.  He  has  also  interested  himself  in  no 
small  degree  in    the   business   affairs  of  the  club 

and  has  been  twi elected    its   president,  which 

position  he  rilled  with  honor  and  credit,  both  to 
himself  and  the  organization.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  University  and  Commercial  clubs. 
Some  few  among  Mr.  Head's  friends  his  intimate 
friends  at  least-  know  that  he  is  something  of  a 
literary  genius,  and  they  have  a  souvenir  of  thai 
fact  in  the  shape  of  a  small  and  neatly  bound 
volume  of  which  Mr.  Head  is  the  author.  Like  so 
many  of  our  overworked  business  men.  he  was 
greatly  troubled  by  sleeplessness,  and  this  fact 
probably  brought  to  his  notice  that  no  writer  has 
SO  many  beautiful  ami  expressive  passages  regard- 
pas  Shakspeare.  He  speaks  everywhere 
of  sound  and  refreshing  sleep  as  the  greatest  of 
■■■..  and  the  loss  of  such  sleep  as  the  greatest 
of  calamities.  Inasmuch  as  one  rarely  appreciates 
.1  blessing  until  it  is  at  least  partially  lost,  he 
argues  that  Shakspeare  must  have  been  troubled 
with  sleeplessness,  or  he  would  not  haveso highly 
appreciated  and  valued  its  opposite.  The  tirst 
part  of  the  little  volume  is  devoted   to    a    study  of 

the  various  passages  in  Shakspeare  which  have  a 
bearing  upon  this  theory.  He  assumes  that  if  tin- 
busy  ami  troubled  people  of  Shakspeare's  time 
were  vexed  with  sleeplessness,  inasmuch  as  his 
w  ratings  are  a  mirror  of  tin'  age,  such  fact  would 
be  evidenced  therein.  He  says:  -If.  therefore, 
insomnia  had  prevailed  in  or  before  his  time,  in  his 
pages  we  shall  find  it  duly  set  forth.  If  he  had 
suffered,  if  the  ' fringed  curtain  of  his  eyes  were 
all  the  night  undrawn,' we  shall    find  his  dreary 

experiences     his     hours    of    pathetic     misery,    his 

of  desolation     voiced  by  the  tonguesof  his 

men  and  women."     Mr.  Head  consumes  a  number 

in  giving  quotations   from    tin-    works  of 

the  poet,  showing  that  the  distress  produced    by 

insomnia  is  "  voiced  by  his  men  and  women."  The 
are  taken  from  one    play    after   another. 

showing  that  the  subject  of  -hep  was  a  burden 
end  at  all  times,  and  was  not  confined  to 
.!  acti  i  -    in    any    on,      pla) .      His    ranee    of 

quotations    run     through     Henry    IV.    Henry  Y. 


Julius  Caesar,  Richard  III.  Romeo  and  Juliet, 
Hamlet  and  Macbeth.  They  each  and  every  one 
teem  with  the  subject  ol   sleep,   and    confirm    Mr. 

Head's  belief  that  Shakespeare,  if  not  really  a 
victim  of  insomnia,  was  at  least  much  exercised 
over  that  subject.  The  latter  half  of  the  book  is 
filled  with  letters  purporting  to  have  been  written 
to  William  Shakspeare  during  the  years  of  1593, 
L602  and  1609  by  various  people.  These  letters 
are  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the 
cause  of  Shakspeare's  supposed  insomnia.  From 
the  Utters  it  would  appear  that  when  a  young 
man  and  inexperienced,  Shakspeare,  like  the 
ge  young  man  of  all  times,  was  willing  to 
occasionally  indorse  a  note  fora  friend  as  a  matter 
of  form,  and  that  in  his  day  the  same  result  fol- 
lowed which  so  often  does  in  our  own;  that  in 
later  years,  as  he  became  more  prosperous  in 
worldly  matters,  he  made  the  mistake,  common  to 
many  people  under  such  circumstances,  of  buying 
more  property  than  he  could  pay  for.  thereb) 
again  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Hebrew 
brethren;  and  that,  still  later  in  life,  when  poE 
sessed  of  a  competence,  he  was  sometimes  dazzled 
and  bewildered  by  the 

■■  Light  which  lies 
Pi  woman's  eyes." 

The  letters  .11  3U]  posed  to  have  been  found  in 
the  donjon  of  the  castle  of  the  Duke  of  South- 
ampton, and  are  now  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.  Prom  the  book  it  would  be  inferred 
that  Mr.  Head  had  secured  copies  of  these  letters 
and  had  produce.)  them  in  his  work.  The  greater 
part  of  the  book  was  originally  read  before  the 
Chicago  Literary  Club,  of  which  Mr.  Head  i>  an 
active  member,  and  in  1890  its  president,  and 
afterward  250  copier,  were  printed  for  private  cir 
culation.  As  these  were  circulated  a  demand  was 
developed  for  additional  copies,  and  the  work, 
with  some  additions,  was  thereupon  published  by 
the  well  known  Boston  house  of  Houghton, 
Mifflin  &Co.  Many  of  the  letters  purport  to  be 
from  lawyers  who  have  in  their  hands  accounts 
for  collection,  and  show  up  in  a  clear  light  the 
generally  conceived  opinion  of  Shakspeare's  early 
impecunious  condition.  Some  of  them  appear  to 
be  from  the  characters  in  his  own  plays.  One  of 
them,  from  Mordecai  ShyloCk,  will  serve  as  a  fair 
index  of  the  rest.     It  is  as  follows: 

••  Fleet  Street,  near  the  Sign  of  the  Hog  in  Armor. 

Nov.  22,  1593. 
••'I'..  William  Shakes  | 

•■I  have  been  active  in  the  waj  you  -..me  days 

since  besought  me;    namely,  the  procuring  for  you 


fcwfL^L^ 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


145 


of  ;>  loan  of  £5,  that  you  might  retire  a  bill  upon 
which  you  were  a  guarantor.  As  I  then  told  you, 
I  have  no  money  myself,  being  very  poor;  but  I 
have  a  friend  who  has  money,  with  which  I  can 
persuade  him  to  relieve  your  wants.  Hail  1  my- 
self the  money  I  should  gladly  meet  your  needs  at 
a  moderate  usance,  not  more  than  25  in  the  hun- 
dred, I 'lit  my  friend  is  a  hard  man.  who  expects 
urn-  for  his  means,  and  will  be  very  ur- 
gent that  repayment  be  made  on  the  day  named 
in  the  bill.  He  hath  empowered  me  to  take  your 
bill  for  two  months — for  him.  mind  you— for  610, 
tin'  payment  to  be  assured,  as  you  wished,  by  tie- 
pledge  of  your  two  new  plays  in  manuscript 
'Midsummer  Night's  Dream'  ami  'Romeo  and  Ju- 
liet' lor  which  bill  he  will,  at  my  strong  instance 
and  because  you  are  a  friend  to  me,  give  65.  My 
charge  for  services  in  tins  behalf,  which  hath 
1  much  time,  will  In-  61,  which  I  shall 
straightway  pay  out  in  the  purchase  of  a  new- 
gown  much  needed  by  my  little  daughtei  Ji 

-  you  and  recalls  often  the  pleasant  talcs 
you  do  repeat  for  her  diversion." 

Aside  from  the  amusement  Mr.  Head  lias  de- 
rived from  this  work,  he  has  every  reason  to  be 
proud  of  it  from  a  literary  standpoint.  His  esti- 
mate of  Shakespeare's  character  lias  been  favora- 
bly commented  upon  by  many  literary  people  into 
whose  hands  the  work  has  fa  lien,  [t  shows  a  close 
study  of  the  poet's  works,  ami  the  extracts  he  has 
taken  evidence  the  diligence  with  which  he  pe- 
rused his  pages.  Mr.  Head  has  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  matters  pertaining  to  the  good  govern- 
ment of  Chicago,  and  has  occasionally  made  ad- 
dresses, not  of  a  partisan  nature,  upon  matters  of 
public  interest,  one  of  the  most  notable  of  these 
being  the  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  Hay 
market  monument,  which  was  erected  in  memory 
of  the  brave  defenders  of  the  city  who  fell  in  the 
famous  conflict  with  the  anarchists  in   May.  1886. 


EDWARD   S.   ISHA.M. 

EDWARD  SWIFT  ISHAM,  the  senior  part- 
ner in  the  widely  known  law  firm  of  Isham.  Lin- 
coln A-  Beale,  was  born  January  15,  1836,  in  Ben- 
nington, Vermont,  and  descends  in  all  lines  from 
old  and  honored  colonial  families  of  New  England. 
The  Ishams,  both  in  New  England  and  Virginia. 
are  English,  from  Northamptonshire.  Tie  Brsl  ol 
the  line  in  New  England  was  John  Isham.  who 
was  born  in  England,  and  settled  at  Barnstable. 
Massachusetts.  He  married  December  111.  1667, 
Jane,  daughter  of  Robert  Parker,  of  Barnstable. 
His  will  was  there  admitted  to  probate  Octobei 
10.  171:!.    To  him  succeeded  his  second  sou.  Isaac 


Isham.  born  at  Barnstable  February.  1682,  married 
May  3, 1716,  to  Thankful,  daughter  of  Thomas  Lum- 

bert,  Jr.,  and  whose  will  was  admitted  to  probate 
August  5,  1771.  at  Barnstable.  His  third  son  was 
John  Isham  second,  of  Colchester.  Connecticut, 
born  at  Barnstable,  Massachusetts.  August  6,  1721, 
died  at  Colchester  March 2,  1S02,  and  married  De- 
cember 19,1751, to  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Ephriam 
Foote,  of  Colchester.  He  was  captain  of  a  com 
pany  during  the  French  and  Indian  war.  His 
son.  Ezra  Isham.  was  born  in  Colchester  March 
L5, 1773,  and  settled  at  Manchester,  Vermont,  in 
1800,  where  for  many  years  he  was  the  leading 
physician  of  that  region,  and  died  February  8. 
18:35.  He  married  June  21,  1801,  Nancy  (Anna) 
Pierpont,  a  daughter  of  Robert  Pierpont,  of  Man- 
and  born  at  Litchfield.  Connecticut. 
Robert  Pierpont  was  tin- son  of  James  Pierpont 
and  grandson  of  the  Rev.  James  Pierpont,  the 
pastor  of  the  First  Church  at  New  Haven;  and 
thus  was  the  cousin  of  President  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, of  Princeton,  of  Aaron  Burr,  and  of  Presi- 
dent Timothy  Dwight.  Pierpont  Isham  was  tin- 
son  of  Dr.  Ezra  Isham  and  Nancy  Pierpont.  He 
was  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont  and 
was  born  August  5,  1802,  at  Manchester,  and  died 
in  New  York  March  8, 1872.  He  married  Seman- 
the,  daughter  of  Noadiah  Swift.  M.  D..  of  Ben- 
nington. Vermont,  who  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Job 
Swift.  D.  D.,  and  Mary  Ann  Sedgwick,  of  Stock - 
bridge,  Massachusetts.  Dr.  Job  Swift  was  a  grad- 
uate of  Vale  of  the  class  of  1765,  and  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  divines  in  that  part  of  New 
England.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  eldi  st 
son  of  Pierpont  Isham.  His  early  childhood  was 
spent  in  the  beautiful  region  lying  on  the  borders 
of  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  among  the 
mountains  which,  just  over  tin-  bonier  of  Massa 
chusetts,  break  down  into  what  are  known  as  the 
"Berkshire  Hills."  Here  in  the  midst  of  that 
famed  Taghconic  Valley,  which,  with  Bennington, 
includes  tin-  towns  of  Manchester.  Williamstown, 
Pittsfield,  Lenox  and  Stockbridge,  were  the  lo- 
calities and  a  people  animated  by  the  personal 
associations  and  daily  life  of  Ethan  Allen,  Seth 
Warner,  Remember  Baker  and  the  Green  Moun- 
tain Boys:  and  by  the  traditions  of  the  early  strug- 
gles of  Vermont  as  an  independent  state  in  the  days 
of  the  Council  of  Safety,  and  of  one  of  thegreat  bat- 
tles of  the  Revolution.  From  these  scenes  he 
passed  some  two  years  in  New  York.  Later  it 
became  necessary  to  interrupt  his  preparatory 
course  for  college  and  send  him  South  in  search  of 
health  and   strength  to  make   a   delicate  physique 


146 


BIOGRAPHY'    OF    ILLINOIS. 


equal  to  ;i  mind  of  more  than  usual  demands.    He 
was  in  South  Carolina  during  the  years  1850  and 
L851,and  had  personal  experience  of  the  exeite- 
, ,i,.,,i  caused  in  thai  community  by  the  powerful 
and  aggressive  resistance  of  the  anti-slavery  senti- 
ment ofthe  North,  and  of  thebitternessinto  which 
the  people  there  were  cast  by  the  death,  in    1850, 
of  their  great  nullification  leader,  John  C.Calhoun. 
Heretumed  to  the  North,  and  completed  his  pre- 
paratory   course   for    college    at    the    Lawrence 
Academy  at  Groton,  Massachusetts.    In  1853  he 
entered  Williams  College,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1857,  and  is  a  member  from  his  class  of 
the  <l>  B.  K.,  and  in  18G0  was  selected  by  the  fac- 
ulty to  deliver  a   master's  oration  for  his  class  at 
the   commencement   exercises  of   that  year.     He 
studied  law  in  his  father's  office  and  at   the  Law 
School  of  Harvard   University,  and  was  admitted 
to   the  bar   at  Rutland,  Vermont,  in   the  fall  of 
1858.    Intending  to  go  to  St.  Paul  or  St.  Louis  as 
more  favorable  to  health  than  the  climate  of  New 
York,  Mr.  Isham  reached  Chicago  about  the  25th 
of  October,  1858,  and  found  opportunities  there 
which  made  him  content    to  postpone  his  journey 
to   St.  Louis  or  St.  Paul   indefinitely.    After   a 
short  time  spent  in  the  law  office  of  Hoyne,  Miller 
A    Lewis,  Mr.  Isham  in  the   early  spring  of    1859 
formed  a   partnership  with  Mr.  James  L.Stark, 
of    Vermont,   under   the   firm    name   of   Stark   i- 
Isham.     This  was  continued  until  1861.     In  the 
tall  of  lsili  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature, 
and  during  his  term  was  a  member  of  the  judi- 
cial committee.    In  May.  1865,hewen1  to  Europe 
where  he   remained   about   two   years.     Immedi- 
ately after  his  return  from  Europe  the  business 
of  his  office  grew  rapidly  upon  his  hands  and  from 
that  time  has  wholly  absorbed  his  attention,  and 
in  February,  1872, he  formed  with  Mr.Robert   T. 
Lincoln   a  partnership  under  the  name  of   Isham 
&  Lincoln  which  continued  until  a  few  years  ago, 
when,  with    the  introduction  of  another  partner, 
the   firm  became  Isham,  Lincoln   &   Beale,  which 
still    continues.     Among   important   cast's    which 
have  most  largely  engaged  the  attention  and  in- 
terest of  the  public  was  one  that  arose  concerning 
the  distribution  of  the  estate  ofthe  late  Walter  L. 
Newberry   and    the   establishment   of   the   great 
library    which   he   endowed,  and    which,  from  its 
public  importance,  is  deserving  of   particular   no- 
tice here.    Mr.  Isham  has  always  been  the  counsel 
of   the  trustees  of  the  estate  and  has  conducted 
tin-  important    litigation   in  which  that  estate  has 
been   from   time  to  time  invoh  ed.     1  a  that   case 
the   question    was   o f   construction,  and   in- 


volved   not    the     validity     of     the    will,    hut   the 
judicial     determination    of     the     meaning    of    a 
specific   direction    in  it.    The   testator,  who  died 
at   sea    November   6th,  18G8,  left   his   widow   and 
two   young    daughters.      In   his   will,   after  pro- 
viding for  them,  he  considered  the  contingency  of 
tin-  death,  without  issue,  of  both  his  daughters, 
which  meant  the  complete  extinguishment  of  his 
immediate   family.     In  that  event  Mr.  Newberry 
directed  that  upon  the  death  of    the  last  survivor 
of  its  three  members  tic  estate  should  be  divided 
by  his  trustees  into  two  equal  parts,  one  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  "the  surviving   descendants  "  of 
his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  the  other  to  be  ap- 
plied   by  the  trustees   to  the  founding  of   a   free 
public   library.     He  reflected   upon   this  contin- 
gency, and  it  is  known  that  he  estimated  at  Id  per 
cent,  the  chances  that   this  provision  for  a  library 
would  take   effect.     Mrs.  Newberry    declined    the 
provision   made  for   her   by  the  will,  and  claimed 
and  received  instead  of  it  the  share  of  the  estate 
given   her  by  statute,  and  when  Mary,  the  elder 
daughter,  died  at  Pau,  February   IS.  1871,  it   be- 
came obvious,  in  the  extremely  precarious   health 
of  her  younger  sister,  Julia,  that  the  chance  for  a  li- 
brary had  become  practically  a  certainty.  Julia  died 
a1  1;.. me.  Italy,  April  1,1876.  The  contest  was  com- 
menced by  the  collateral  relatives  in  April,  1877,  by 
an  application  to  the  court  of  chancery  to  compel  at 
once  ,i  distribution  of  the  estate  to  them,  though 
only  the  two  daughters  had  died  and  Mrs.Newberrj 
was   still    living.     Incidentally,    the    library    pro- 
vision would  take   effect   at    the   same   time.     As 
Mrs.  Newberry  had  survived  both  her  daughters, 
the   direction  of  the  will  was,  in  effect,  to  divide 
the  estate   at   her  death.     The  theory  of  the  con- 
tention  was   that    tie-   devise  was   of   three   life- 
tes,  and  that  the  object  of  the  postponement 
of  distribution  was    to    give  effect   to   them:  that 
the  gift  over  to  complainants  was  intended  to  fie 
limited   not   upon   the   lives,  but   upon  the   life- 
estates,  and  the  estates  being  ended  by  the   death 
of   the   daughters   and   the   renunciation   of   the 
widow,  the  distribution  should   lie    made  at  once. 
To  this  it  was  answered  for  the  trustees   that   the 
life-estate   of   the  widow  was   not    ended   by   her 
renunciation;  that  she    thereby  had  merely  sub 
stituted  the  life-estate   given   by  statute   lor   the 
life-estate  given  in  lieu  of  it  by  will,  so  that  even 
if  the  gifts  over  were  in  fact  not  limited  upon  the 
end  of  the  three  lives,  but   upon   the  end  of  the 
estates,  the  estates  were  not  ended,  and  th.-  dis- 
tribution  could   not   be  accelerated.     Moreover, 
the  direction   to  distribute  at   the  death  of  Mrs. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


'47 


Newberry  could  not  be  construed  to  mean  at  the 
end  of  her  life-estate,  for  the  death  entered  into 
the  description  of  the  persons  to  whom  th 
was  given.  The  "surviving  descendants"  meant 
thosi  surviving  at  the  time  of  distribution,  and 
that  being  appointed  at  the  death  of  Mrs.  New- 
berry, the  donees  of  tlic  estate  were  described  as 
"descendants  surviving  at  her  death."  Until 
then  those  donees  must  remain  uncertain.  There 
was  no  other  description  or  means  of  ascertain- 
ment of  the  persons  to  whom  the  estate  was  given, 
and  no  gift  at  all  to  anyone  excepting  persons  so 
described,  and  if  the  court  should  give  the  word 
"death"  the  meaning  of  "the  end  of  her  life- 
estate,"  or  any  other  than  its  natural  and  ordi- 
nary meaning,  it  would  not  merelj  accelerate  the 
possession  of  the  property  by  an  owner  certain  at 

sometime   to   b( me   entitled    i :eive  it,  but 

would  change  the  donees  from  survivors  atone 
time  to  survivors  at  another,  and  so  give  to  one 
elass  of  persons  an  estate  that  was  devised  to 
another  class.  In  the  Circuit  Court  decree  was 
made  as  sought  by  complainants  in  July.  1877. 
for  the  immediate  distribution  of  the  estate. 
Appeal  was  taken,  however,  to  the  Supreme  Court, 

and  upon  argument  at  Springfield  the  decri f 

the  court  below  was  reversed  in  June,  1878. 
Afterwards,  a  petition  and  an  amended  petition  for 
rehearing  were  filed  by  Mr.  Wirt  Dexter  and  Mr. 
E.  1).  McCagg  and  Judge  Charles  li.  Lawrence. 
The  rehearing  was  granted,  and  the  cause  was 
again  argued  at  Springfield  in  January,  1880. 
From  the  fact  that  the  rehearing  was  thus  allowed 
it  was  generally  anticipated  that  the  conclusions 
of  the  court  would  be  changed,  and  the  decree  for 
distribution  affirmed;  but  after  the  argument  the 
court  held  to  its  original  judgment,  and  ordered 
the  first  opinion  to  be  refiled.  Then  again,  in  June. 
1880,  another  rehearing  was  obtained  from  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  an  oral  argument  ordered. 
but  before  the  cans.'  was  reached  for  reargument 
Mr.  Isham  moved  the  court  to  rescind  the  order 
for  rehearing,  on  the  ground  that  when  it  was 
made  the  court  had  no  power  to  make  it.  and  that 
the  time  was  past  within  which  it  had  any  power 
to  disturb  the  twice  entered  judgment.  In  this 
situation  the  complainants  secured  the  interven- 
tion of  the  attorney  general  of  the  state,  asking  a 
reconsideration  on  behalf  of  the  public  interest 
in  the  library  bequest.  The  order  for  rehearing 
was  rescinded  by  tie-  Supreme  Court,  ami  the  ap- 
plication of  the  attorney  general  was  refused. 
Then,  when  the  cause  was  redocketed  in  the  court 
below,     the     complainants    amended    their    bill. 


making  the  attorney  general  a  party.  Hi-  tiled  a 
cross  bill,  to  which  the  trustees  demurred;  the 
demurrer  was  sustained,  and  the  amended  and 
cross  bills  wen'  dismissed.  Then  an  appeal  was 
taken  by  the  complainants  and  the  attorney  gen 
eral  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  subject  of  the 
relation  of  the  attorney  general  to  trusts  for  pub 
lie  charities  was  argued  at  Ottawa.  The  COurl 
refused  to  change  its  conclusions,  and  in  April. 
1883,  the  struggle  to  disturb  tin'  disposition  of 
the  will  at  last  came  to  an  end.  99  Illinois  Re- 
ports, 11;  bHi  Illinois  Reports,  HI;  100  Illinois 
Reports,  584.  Mrs.  Newberry  died  in  December. 
1885,  and  the  library  endowment,  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  accumulations  during  her  lifetime, 
amounted  then  to  nearly  three  millions  of  dollars. 
case  of  great  public  interest  at  the  time 
related  to  the  mayoralty  .  .1'  the  city  of  Chicago 
when  it  became  incorporated  under  the 
law  of  the  state,  in  April,  1875.  At  that  time 
Harvey  1).  Colvin  was  the  mayor  of  the  city, 
elected  under  the  old  charter.  It  was  claimed 
by  his  adherents  that  the  new  corporation  oper- 
ated to  extend  his  term  of  office  nearly  two  years, 
until  April.  1S77.  The  matter  was  taken  in  hand 
by  the  Citizens'  Association,  and  a  petition  for  a 
writ  of  mandamus,  directing  the  City  Council  to 
call  a  special  election  for  the  election  of  a  mayor, 
was  riled  by  Isham  A  Lincoln  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  on  the  petition  of  Charles  M.  Henderson, 
George  Armour  and  Mark  Skinner.  The  cause 
was  argued  in  the  Supreme  Court  in  January. 
1S7G.  by  Melville  W.  Fuller,  th.'  present  chief 
justice  of  the  United  States,  and  by  Mr.  Isham 
for  the  relators,  and  by  Mr.  Root  and  Judge 
Corydon  Beckwith  for  the  respondents.  There 
being  at  the  time  one  vacancy  in  the  bench,  the 
court  consisted  of  six  judges,  and  was  equally 
divided  upon  the  question  submitted,  so  that  under 
the  constitution  the  singular  instance  occurred  of 
a  court  unable  to  render  any  decision  whatever  in  a 
cause  which  the  court  declared  "  involved  public 
interests  of  the  gravest  importance."  Afterwards 
an  election  was  held.  In  lss:>,  Mr.  Isham  argued  be- 
fore Judge  Mc<  'l'eary.  in  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court  at  Topeka,  the  case  of  Benedict  v.  the  St. 
Joseph  A-  Western  Railway  Company,  and  pro- 
cured the  appointment  of  a  receiver,  by  which 
that  road  was  taken  from  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
way Company  and  reorganized.  His  firm  was  in- 
strumental in  procuring  from  Judge  Gresham  a 
change  of  receivers  for  a  portion  of  the  Wabash. 
St.  Louis  A  Pacific  Railway  system  east  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  subsequently  continued  to 


,|N 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


be  connected  with  the  widelj  discussed  litigation 
towhich  that  change  was  introductory.  I"  L886 
the  strikes  of  railway  employes  obstructed  the 
operation  of  a  great  many  roads,  and,  among 
others,  the  service  of  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michigan 
Southern  Railway.  The  general  Bupineness  and  in- 
efficiencj  of  the  state  authorities  had  led  the 
strikers  to  hold  them  lightly,  and  they  were  con- 
vinced by  experience  thai  the  popular  tenure  of 
office  and  a  sympathy  inspire.!  by  sentiment  or 
prudence  enabled  them  to  despise  with  im- 
punity the  executive,  judicial  and  military  forces 
of  the  state.  But  strikers  everywhere  shrank 
from  coining  athwart  the  track  of  the  federal 
power.  'The  trains  that  carried  the  mails  were 
allowed  to  pass  unmolested,  and  it  had  been  ob 
served  that  bankrupt  roads  in  the  hands  of  re- 
ceivers  appointed  by  the  United  States  courts 
were  not  seriously  molested,  while  those  roads 
which  had  to  depend  upon  the  state  authorities 
were  prevented  from  doing  any  business.  It  was 
manifestly  desirable  tor  any  road  to  gain  tin'  pro 
tection  of  the  federal  jurisdiction.  The  Lake 
Shun-  A-  Michigan  Southern  Railway,  extending 
from  Chicago  to  I  luffalo,  ran  almost  immediati  ly, 
after  leaving  Chicago,  out  of  Illinois  into  Indiana 
and  across  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  into  New 
York.  It  was  thus,  in  almost  its  entire  traffic,  a 
road  engaged  in  inter-state  commerce.  Statutes 
of  the  United  States  conferred  authority  on  rail- 
road companies  whose  roads  were  operated  by 
strain  Pj  carry  on  inter-state  transportation,  and 
to  carry  passengers,  troops,  government  supplies, 
mails  and  property.  They  authorized  the  trans 
portation  of  imported  goods  in  bond  to  interior 
ports  of  entry;  and  a  part  of  the  Civil  Rights 
act.  made  penal  any  conspiracy  to  hinder  the 
exercise  of  anj  right  secured  by  the  constitution 
or  laws  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Isliain  pre- 
sented for  the  Lake  Shore  Road,  to  Judge 
Gresham,  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States  al  [ndianapolis  in  June,  1886,  a  bill  Hied 
mii:  i  a  number  of  the  principal  strikers  on 
thai  road,  invoking  the  intervention  by  injunc- 
tion of  the  federal  court,  on  the  ground  that  the 
commerce  obstructed  was  carried  on  in  the  exer 
cise  of  a  right  secured  by  the  laws  of  the  United 
States.  The  intervention  of  the  federal  court 
was  secured,  and  on  the  30th  of  June  an  order  for 
a    temporary    injunction    was     granted  bj    Judge 

Gresham.  The  order  asserted  the  jurisdiction  of 
tie'  federal  court,  and  " signified  a  change  from 
the  local  to  the  national  authority  and  law  in  the 
matter  .if  dealing  with  the  obstructionists."    The 


injunction  was  issued,  and  it  became  unneces- 
sary to  make  actual  service  of  the  writ."  Among 
tic  important  eases  which  he  has  argued,  some  of 
which  have  become  leading  cases  upon  the  sub- 
jects involved,  and  some  of  which  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of   the   United   States   have   involved   grave 

constitutional  questions,  may  he  special!)  noted: 
Brine,  v.  The  Hartford  Fin  Insurance  Company, 

96  U.  S.,  G'JT.  with  its  connected  ease  of  Suitterlin 
v.  The  Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany,90  III.  R.,  483,  approved  in  105  U.  S.,  -JIT: 
Richer  v.  Powell,  100  U.  S.,  104;  Warner  v.  The 
Connecticut  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company, 
109U.S..357;  Pickard,  Comptroller,  v.  Pullman 
Southern  Car  Company, -117  U.  S..  34;  Rand  \. 
Walker,lh,  340;  Pullman's  Palace  Car  Company 
v.  Texas &Pa>  ific  Railroad  Company  11  Fed.  Ref., 
629;  Union  Trust  Company  v.  Illinois  Midland 
Railway  Company,  117  U.S.,  434;  Kingsbury  v. 
Buckner,  To  TIL.  514;  Central  Transportation 
Company  v.  Pullman's  Palace  t  'ar  <  'ompany,  139 
U.  S..  24;  Windett  v.  The  Connecticut  Insurance 
Company,  130  111.  R.,  621.  Mr.  Isham  belongs  to 
the  inner  temple  of  the  bar.  His  practice  lies 
chiefly  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States  and  in 
the  argument  of  appealed  eases.  His  intellect  is 
vigorous  and  acute,  his  judgment  quick  and  com- 
prehensive, his  argument  is  close  and  rigid  in 
logic,  skillful  in  method,  agreeable  and  forcible 
in  manner,  and  has  a  scholarly  finish  which 
is  always  noticeable.  In  legal  learning,  in 
what  may  be  called  the  erudition  of  his  profes 
sion,  he  has  no  superior  at  the  bar,  and  these 
qualities  have  given  to  him  the  eminent  standing 
so  readily  accorded  him.  His  literary  and  oratot 
ical  powers  give  Ids  appearance  in  court  a  more 
than  legal  interest.  His  arguments  are  models  of 
statement,  and  belong  to  the  domain  of  literature 
as  well  as  law.  From  the  earliest  years  of  the 
(_ ihicago  Literary  Club  Mr.  Isham's  wide  and  ele- 
gant culture  have  made  him  one  of  its  most  hon- 
ored members.  He  has  been  among  those  whose 
essayE  have  been  read  at  the  public  receptions  of 
that  society,  which  has  been  one  of  the   most  act 

ive  forces  al  work  in  the  creation  at  Chicago  of  a 

new  literary  center.  He  wrote  the  article  on  the 
Social  and  Economic  relations  of  Corporations  in 
the  "Encyclopedia  of  Political  Science."  and  an 
address    before  the   New  York    Historical    Society 

on  "Frontenac  and  Miles  Standish  in  the  North- 
west," which  is  published  by  the  society.  During 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion  hewasamongthemostact- 
ive  of  the  many  patriotic  Chicagoans  who  b)  word 
and  deed  assisted  in  the  support  of  the  Union  cause. 


<F  oC< 


c>~ 


f- 


BKMiRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


I49 


and  some  of  his  public  addresses  may  be  found  at 
length  in  the  journals  of  that  time.  Mr.  Isham 
was  married  in  1861  t<>  .Miss  Fannie,  dau{ 
Hun.  Thomas  Burch,  of  Little  Falls.  Herkimer 
county.  New  York.  They  have  four  children  two 
suns  ami  two  daughters.  The  eldest  sun.  Pier- 
pont  Isham.  graduated  from  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point  in  lssT:  served 
for  a  time  first  in  tin-  Seventh  Cavalry 
Riley,  and  afterwards  in  tin-  Third  Cavalry  ;ii  San 
.  Texas,  ami  is  now  the  junior  partner  in 
tin-  firm  of  Isham.  Lincoln  &  Beale.  The  younger 
son,  Edward  S..  graduated  at  Vale  in  1891. 


STEPHEN    T.   LOGAN. 

JUDGE  STEPHEN  TRIGG  LOGAN  was  born 

in  Franklin  county.  Kentucky,  on  the  24th  "f 
February,  1800.  His  paternal  ancestry  were  of 
Scotch-Irish  extraction:  on  the  maternal  side    be 

was  of  English  descent.  His  great  grandfather 
emigrated  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Augusta 
county,  Virginia,  about  theyeaT  17.">o.  Hi-  father, 
David  Logan,  died  in  Kentucky  in  the  prime  of 
manhood,  about  1821.  His  mother  was  the 
daughter  of  Colonel  Stephen  Trigg,  a  native  of  the 
■'<)M  1  (ominion,"  who  moved  to  Kentucky  in  1779, 
and  lost  his  life  in  the  disastrous  battle  with  the 
Indians  at  the  Blue  Licks,  in  August  ITs-j.     His 

grandfather,  Colonel  John  Logau.  was 

early  pioneers  of  Kentucky,  and  was  a  representa- 
tive in  the  Virginia  legislature  from  one  of  the 
counties  of  Kentucky  before  the  admission  of 
Kentucky  into  the  Union  as  a  state.  Subsequently 
he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  formed 
the  Kentucky  constitution  of  1799,  and  held  for 
several  years  the  office  of  treasurer  of  that  com- 
monwealth. General  Ben.  Logan,  his  brother, 
was  the  first  of  the  family  to  remove  from  Virginia 
to  Kentucky,  and  figured  conspicuously  with 
Boone  and  other  famous  pioneers  in  the  Indian 
wars  of  the  period.  Stephen  received  his  early 
education  in  Frankfort,  the  capital  of  the  commi  m- 
wealth,  and  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  office 
of  the  secretary  of  state,  under  Martin  D.  Hardin. 
son-in-law  of  General  Ben.  Logan,  and  father  of 
Colonel  John  J.  Hardin  of  Illinois.  While  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  here,  when  only  thirteen 
years  of  age.  he  made  out  the  commissions  for  the 
officers  of  ( leneral  Shelby's  command  in  their  ex- 
pedition to  our  northern  frontier  during    the  war 


of  lsrj.  As  a  boy,  young  Logan  was  remarked 
for  his  quickness,  sound  understanding,  and  apti- 
tude for  both  study  and  business.  In  1817  he 
went  to  Glasgow,  Barren  county,  and  studied  law 
under  his  uncle.  Judge  Tompkins.  He  was  admit 
ted  to  the  bar  at  Glasgow  before  attaining  bis 
majority,  but  did  not  at  onci  1  ractice. 

He  supported  himself  in  the  meantime  by  teach- 
ing school,  and  serving  as  a  deputy  in  the  circuit 

clerk's  offii f  Barren  county.     In   this  position 

himself  familiar  with  the  various  forms 
of  legal  procedure,  and  acquired  much  of  that 
skill  and  facility  in  the  drafting  of  legal  docu- 
ments for  which  he  was  noted  throughout  his 
mal  life.  Shortly  after  entering  upon  the 
practice  of  law.  he  was  appointed  Commonwealth's 
low  circuit.  His  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  law.  his  command 
over  complicated  facts,  his  analytical  power  in 
dealing  with  evidence,  and  above  all  his  incisive 
and  animate.!  style  as  a  sneaker,  won  for  him  in  a 
few-  years  an  established  reputation  and  a  lucrative 
clientage.  On  the  "25th  of  June.  ls-j:;.  1,,.  married 
Miss  America  T.  Bush,  eldest  daughter  of  Will- 
iam T.  Bush,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow.  They  had  eight 
children,  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom 
only  the  two  youngest,  Mrs.  Ward  H.  Lamon  and 
Mrs.  L.  H.  Coleman,  survived  their  father.  Mrs. 
Logan  was  a  lady  of  refined  manners,  of  unaffected 
piety  and  unpretentious  benevolence.  She  died 
in  L868,  in  her  sixty  second  year.  In  the  spring 
of  1832,  Mr.  Logan  removed  with  his  family  to 
Illinois.  The  journey  was  made  with  carriage 
ami  wagons,  and  was  long  and  tedious.  They 
arrived  at  Springfield  about  the  middle  of  May, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  near  the  Sangamon  river, 
about  six  miles  northwest  of  the  city.  For  a 
time  he  contemplated  devoting  himself  entirely  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  but  at  the  instance  of 
William  L.  May.  with  whom  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship, he  returned  to  Springfield  in  the  spring  of 
Is:;:;,  and  resumed  his  practice.  Mr.  May  repre- 
sented the  Springfield  district,  then  embracing 
the  entire  northern  half  of  tin' state,  in  Congress 
from  1834  to  1838.  Judge  Logan  speedily  acquired 
a  leading  position  not  only  at  the  Sangamon  bar, 
but  in  the  state  at  large,  his  reputation  continu- 
ing to  increase  until  his  final  relinquishment  of 
his  prof ession.  In  January,  1835,  he  was  elected 
by  the  legislature  judge  of  the  first  judicial 
circuit  of  Illinois,  embracing  Sangamon  county. 
He  held  this  office  until  the  March  term,  1837, 
when  he  resigned  on  account  of  tic-  inadequacy 
of  the  salary;  and   in    1839,    being   again   chosen 


I  =?0 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


circuit  judge,  he  declined   to  serve.    <  >n    retiring 

fr the  bench  in  L837,  he  formed   ;i    partnership 

will.  Col.  E.  D.  Baker.  He  was  afterwards  asso- 
ciated Eroin  L841  to  HI!  with  Abraham  Lincoln, 
.  later  period  with  his  son-in-law,  Bon. 
Milton  Hay.  Shorl  aswasthe  time  he  remained 
on  the  bench,  he  attracted  at  that  time  the  atten- 
tion and  admiration  of  many  of  his  must  eminent 
contemporaries  anion-  them  such  men  as  the 
late  Senator  David  Davis;  Judge  Caton  and  Judge 
Drummond.  Speaking  of  him  in  the  United 
States  Court  after  his  death.  Senator  Davis  re- 
called some  interesting  memories  of  this  period  of 
Judge  Logan's  career. 

" The  first  time  I  saw  him,"   said   the   Senator, 
"was  in  Springfield  in  the  autumn  of  L835,   when 

he  was  holding  a  term  of  the  Sanga i   Circuit 

Court.  I  had  just  come  to  the  state,  and  was 
naturally  desirous  of  observing  the  proceedings 
in  the  courts.  Having  pursued  my  legal  studies 
in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  1  was  im- 
ed  with  the  idea  that  justice  was  adminis- 
tered in  these  states  \>\  magistrates  who  were 
superior  to  any  I  should  meet  in  Illinois,  and  was 
therefore  not  prepared  at  the  outset  to  have  this 
opinion  changed.  I  was  a  diligent  observer  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  business  of  the  court  was 
conducted,  and  recollect  that  Judge  Logan  dis- 
posed of  some  intricate  points  of  evidence  with  a 
clearness  of  statement  and  power  of  reasoning 
that  not  only  carried  conviction  to  my  mind,  hut 
satisfied  me  of  the  largeness  of  his  capacity  and  of 
his  ability  to  discharge  the  duties  of  any  judicial 
tribunal  in  the  country.  The  admiration  which  I 
conceived  for  him  then,  instead  of  being  dimin- 
ished by  the  lapse  of  time,  as  often  happens,  was 
increased  as  I  knew  him  better  and  observed  the 
development  of  his  marvellous  powers." 

Speaking  of  him  as  an  advocate.  Senator  I  >li \  is 
said: 

"In  all  the  elements  that  constitute  a  great 
nisiprius  lawyer.  I  have  never  known  his  equal. 
I  loved  to  hear  him  try  an  important  jury  cause, 
and  have  quite  often  been  surprised  by  the  re- 
markable  powers  displayed  bj  him  when  he  was 
hard  pressed  for  victory.  1  will  mention  one 
In  the  winter  of  1S44  45,  one  Chapman 
was  indicted  for  perjury  under  the  bankrupt  law 

Of  1811.  The  ease  excited  a  great  deal  of  interest, 
for  the'  reason  that  the  party  charged  with  the 
crime  had  previously  borne  a  good  character,  and 
because  manj  persons  bi  lieved  a  beneficent  law 
had  1"  n  repi  all  d  on  accounl  of  the  perjuries  and 
frauds  committed  under  it.  Justin  Butterfield 
was  tin  ii — cutor,  and  Logan  and  Lincoln  de- 
fended. Butterfield  exerted  all  Ins  intellectual 
power  to  procure  a  conviction.  As  usual  when 
Logan  was  engaged  in  a  ease,  no  matter  who  was 

associated  with  him,  the  chief  management  of  it 
was  conceded  to  him.  He  never  appeared  to 
bettei  advantage  than  in  this  defence.  The  trial 
lasted  sevi  .1  the  lawyers  from  abroad, 

as  well  as  thus.'  living  here,  were  attracted  to  the 


courtroom.  The  legislature  was  in  session,  and 
though  a  member  of  it.  I  was  so  fascinated  by 
the  intellectual  struggle  that  1  heard  the  trial 
through,  to  the  neglect  < if  my  official  duties. 
Chapman  was  convicted,  but  1  thought  at  the 
time  the  result  would  have  been  different  had  not 
the  Judge  charged  so  stronglj  against  the 
prisoner." 

■•When  I  first  met  him."  said  the  Hon.  Thomas 
I  Irummond  on  the  same  occasion,  "fortj  five 
.  ears  ago,  he  was  a  judge  of  tie-  circuit  court  of 
'this  state.  He  had  exchanged  with  Judge  Ford, 
and  went  into  the  hitter's  circuit,  in  the  northern 
pari  of  the  state,  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  L835. 
He  was  flic  first  judge  before  whom  I  appeared, 
and  his  was  the  first  court  in  which  I  tried  a  case 
in  the'  state  of  Illinois.  I  was  engaged  in  several 
during  the  term,  and  was  an  attentive  oh 
=erver  of  the  manner  in  which  he  administered  the 
law  during  the  whole  sitting  of  the  court.  The 
qualities,  in  my  opinion,  most  conspicuous  in  him 
eat  clearness  of  statement,  a  preternatural 
quickness  of  apprehension,  extraordinary  fertility 
of  i-i  sources,  ami  a  glowing,  ardent  nature,  which 
almost  compelled  the  tribunal  he  addressed  to 
share  in  his  own  conviction.  To  these  were  added 
ceptional  fullness  the" power  of  nice  discrim- 
ination and  cogent  analysis,  a  true  sense  of  the 
justice  of  the  cause,  and  tile  capacity  to  reject  all 
extraneous  matter  and  confine  himself  to  the 
essential  points  in  the  controversy.  He  was,  be- 
sides, a  broad,  comprehensive  reasoner,  never  dif- 
These  qualities  fitted  him  peculiarly  forthe 
trial  of  nisi  prius  eases,  in  which  he  was  con- 
nl.  ied  unrivalled.  I  do  not  think  that  in  general 
he  made  great  preparation  for  his  cases,  or  studied 
them  very  elaborately.  He  often  trusted  with 
confidence  to  his  resources  at  the  time  of  trial. 
and  these  rarely  failed  him.  Above  all.  though 
faithful  in  the  utmost  to  the  cause  of  his  client. 
In  was  an  honest  lawyer,  and  true  to  the  court, 
to  which  lie  left,  after  urging  every  argument 
which  a  fertile  imagination  and  full  knowledge 
could  suggest,  the  decision  of  the  cause,  relying 
upon  its  real  merits  for  success.  The  impression 
he  made  upon  me.  as  a  young  lawyer  having  Ins 
lust  experience  in  the  state  in  his  profession,  has 
never  been  effaced." 

His  relations  with  Mr.  Lincoln  in  these  days 
have  been  graphically  described  by  Hon.  Orville 
II.  Browning,  ol  Quince  who  said: 

"Younger  men.  who  afterwards  attained  greal 
distinction  at  the  bar.  ami  have  done  honor  to  the 
stale,  had  their  training  in  his  office  and  under 
his  instruction.  Among  others  who  had  the  hen 
etit  of  Ids  association,  example  and  instruction 
was  the  lamented  Lincoln,  who  afterwards  be- 
came so  illustrious  in  the  history  of  our  countrj 
and  before  the  world,  and  whose  memory  is  en- 
shrined in  all  our  hearts.  As  his  law  partner.  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  lone  ami  intimately  associated  with 
Judge  Logan,  and  no  doubt  during  that  period 
received  much  of  the  preparation  which  fitted  him 
for  the  brilliant  and  useful  career  which  awaited 
him.  and  which  enabled  him  to  achieve  immortal 
renown  as  a  patriot   and  statesman.     Mr.  Lincoln 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS, 


151 


al  one  time  exerted  all  his  influence,  which  was 
not  then  so  greal  as  ii  afterwards  became,  to  have 
his  friend  and  former  partner  placed  upon  the 
bench  of  a  Federal  court.  For  such  a  station  he 
was  mosl  eminently  qualified,  and  had  he  held  the 
position  he  could  not  have  failed  to  add  to  the 
exalted  reputation  of  the  American  judiciary.  I 
know  thai  Mr.  Lincoln  then  regardedjudge  Logan 
as  the  must  thorough  and  accomplished  lawyer  he 
had  ever  known,  and  through  his  whole  life  he 
cherished  Cor  him  an  affection,  admiration  and  re- 
spect which  approached  to  reverence  and  adora- 
tion." 

Judge  Oaton  also  tells  an  anecdote  which  is  in- 
teresting as  showing  one  quality  which  Judge 
Logan  eminently  possessed: 

"  He  had  to  l>c  convinced   of    the  justice   of   his 

cause,"  says  Judge  Caton,  "al  least  he  had  to  be 
persuaded  that  he  was  qoI  advocating  injustice 
before  he  raised  his  voice  in  support  of  a  cause; 
but  that  cause,  when  once  espoused,  he  pursued 
with  relentless  energy.  I  recollect  once  when  he 
was  engaged  with  his  partner,  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  the 
time  they  were  partners,  in  the  argument  of  a 
cause   before    this    court    (the   Illinois  Supreme 

C 1  1.   I   happened   to   meet    him,  and   inquired, 

while  Mr.  Lincoln  was  making  his  address,  if  he 
proposed  to  argue  the  case.  'I  don't  think  I  shall 
trouble  you.' he  said;  -I  don't  see  it  as  clear  as 
Mr.  Lincoln  does;  I  prefer  to  leave  it  with  him.' 
I  confess  I  appreciated  the  compliment,  thai  he 
thought  an  intimation  from  him  that  he  did  nol 
believe  his  associate  was  right  would  qoI  affeel 
my  judgment;  I  say  I  appreciated  it  as  a  verj 
high  compliment.  But  it  happened  that  the  cause 
was  decided  as  Mr.  Lincoln  had  argued  it." 

Sometimes  it  happened  that  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
Judge  Logan  were  retained  on  opposite  sides. 
When  1  Ids  was  tin-  case,  the  struggle  was  certain 
to  be  a  sharp  one,  and  ii  never  tailed  to  interest 
the  whole  community,  though  it  never  disturbed 
the  harmonious  personal  relations  which  con 
tinued  to  exist  between  these  two  distinguished 
men  throughout  their  lives.  In  1842  Judge 
Logan  was  elected  a  representative  in  the  Legis 
lature  from  the  county  of  Sangamon,  and  re- 
elected in  1844  and  1846,  serving  throughout  with 
greal  ability  and  credit.  In  1847  he  was  chosen  a 
delegate  to  the  convention  which  formed  the  state 
constitution  of  Illinois,  and  took  a  leading  and 
influential  part  in  the  deliberations  of  that  body. 
His  efforts,  both  in  the  Legislature  ami  in  the 
convention,  were  specially  directed  to  securing 
economy  in  the  public  expenditures  and  making 
adequate  provision  for  the  payment  of  the  stale's 
indebtedness,  in  each  of  which  he  was  meas- 
urably successful.    One  incident  of  his  can  eras  a 

legislator  will  lie  remembered  to  his  lasting  h r. 

Ii  cannot  be  better  told  than  in  the  words  of  the 
Hon.  Mason  Brayman,  in  his  address  to  the  Sanga- 


mon county  circuit  court  on  the  announcement 
of  Judge  Logan's  death  : 

"Oneoccason  I  recollect  well,  when,  as  a  men 
her  of  the  House  of  Representatives  here,  he  rose 
to  thi  dignity  of  statesmanship,  and  at  a  most 
critical  mom  1 'lit  saved  Illinois  from  the  danger  of 
repudiation,  and  aided  in  laying  the  foundation 
upon  which  was  built  a  restored  credit,  and  after 
which  in  natural  sequence  came  an  era  of  tin  an 
cial  greatness  and  prosperity  scarcely  matched  in 
the  histon  of  Slates.  It  was  when  the  bill  for 
refunding  our  old  State  debt  was  brought  into  the 
House.  Our  internal  improvement  system  Nad 
been  a  disastrous  and  disgraceful  failure.  We 
owed  fourteen  millions,  mostly  in  bonds  not 
worth  fourteen  cents  to  the  dollar.  The  interest 
was  unpaid.  The  shadow  of  repudiation  had 
fallen  upon  the  public  mind,  and  infected  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Assembly.  At  the  bottom  the 
people  of  Illinois  were  honest.  While  confessing 
that  they  could  not  pay,  tiny  stoutly  resolved 
that  tiny  would  pay  some  time.  A  night  session 
was  held  for  the  tinal  struggle  upon  the  moment- 
ous measure.  Judge  Logan  held  himself  in  re- 
serve until  this  hour.  All  were  1  agi  r  t"  know-  his 
position,  for  it  was  felt  that  the  fate  of  the  bill 
was  in  his  hands.  The  old  hall  was  packed  to  the 
utmost.  He  took-  the  floor  the  venerable  and 
honored  Ninian  W.  Edwards  being  in  the  chair 
and,  in  one  of  the  most  brilliant  efforts  of  his  life, 
supported  the  bill.  1  recall  one  of  his  thrilling 
sentiments:  'I  know  my  constituents  of  Sanga- 
mon county,  and  they  know  me.  I  know  that 
they  did  not  send  me  here  to  make  repudiators  of 

them,  and   they  know  that   n< ustituency  can 

make  a  repudiator  of  me!'  Tim  bill  was  safe. 
When  he  closed  it  was  passed  under  the  previous 
question.  Prom  that  hour  Illinois  went  forward. 
Her  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  then,  go  be 
yond  three  millions  now  (1881).  Her  overshadow- 
ing debt  has  disappeared.  To  him  whose  memorj 
you  here  commemorate,  and  to  those  who  stood 
with  him  in  those  trying  hours,  Illinois  is  indebted 
for  a  credit    restored  and  an    honor   untarnished." 

In  1848  he  was  the  Whig  candidate  for  Con 
gress  in  the  Springfield  district.  Lincoln.  Baker 
and  Logan  then  constituted  a  triumvirate,  and 
were  the  three  political  leaders  in  the  C'ongres 
sional  district.  Each  was  ambitious  to  serve  Ids 
country  at  Washington,  and  it  was  understood 
that  they  would  be  candidates  in  rotation.  Baker 
had  been  elected,  and  was  occupying  the  seat 
when  the  war  with  Mexico  commenced.  Lincoln 
succeeded  him.  Logan  in  time  became  a  candi- 
date, but  his  party  was  then  under  a  cloud  in 
consequence  of  its  opposition  to  the  war.  while 
the  Democratic  candidate.  Maj.  Thomas  L.Har- 
ris, had  just  returned  with  military  laurels  won 
on  the  fields  of  Mexico.  The  dashing  soldier  of 
course  carried  tin  day.  and  Judge  Logan  was  sig 
nally  defeated.  He  now  withdrew  from  all  active 
participation    in    politics,   and   for  a  number   of 


■  5; 


BIOGRAPHY     Otf    ILLINOIS. 


jrean  applied  himself  sedulouslj  to  the  practiceof 
his  profession.  He  had  at  this  time  a  large,  di 
vereified  aud  lucrative  business,  both  in  the  State 
and  Federal  courts.  In  1854  he  was  elected  for 
the  fourth  time  to  the  Stair  Legislature.  During 
this  session  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  judi- 
ciary and  other  committees,  and  was  the  author 

of  several  useful  measures  of  legislation.     In  185") 

he  was  nominated  without  his  consent  as  a  candi- 
date for  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  Sec 

I   Grand    Division  of  Illinois,  in  opposition  to 

Judge  O.  ('.  Skinner,  of  Quincy.  In  May,  L860,  he 
was  a  delegate  from  the  State  at  large  to  the  Re 
publican  national  convention  at  Chicago,  and 
with  David  Davis,  Leonard  Swett,  Norman  1!. 
Judd  and  other  friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln  secured  his 
nomination  to  the  Presidency.  The  election  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  brought  to  a  crisis  the  differences 
which  had  so  long  agitated  North  and  South,  and 
threatened  a  disruption  of  the  Union.  At  the  hi- 
st  r  n[  the  Legislature  of   Virginia  a  national 

peace  conference  assembled  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington on  the  ith  of  Februarj .  1861,  to  devise  cer- 
tain amendments  to  the  Federal  constitution, 
which  it  was  hoped,  if  adopted  by  Congress  and 
the  several  States,  would  restore  peace  to  the 
country,  preserve  the  Union,  and  avert  the  calam 
ities  of  the  impending  civil  war.  Thirteen  free 
and  seven   1. order  States  sent   delegates  to  this 

i gress.    The  five  commissioners  appointed  by 

Governor  Yates  to  represent  the  State  of  Illinois 
were  Judge  Logan,  Gen.  John  M.  Palmer.  Thomas 
J.  Turner.  John  Wood  and  Burton  C.  Cook.     The 

Peace    Congress    included    a ng    its    members 

many  of  the  most  eminent  jurists  and  statesmen 
of  the  United  States.  Judge  Logan  took  with 
him  into  that  body  the  same  noble  characteristic 
which  marked  him  in  the  law  office,  that  of  the 
peacemaker.  As  he  had  striven  in  the  Legisla- 
ture to  save  his  Slate  from  public  dishonor,  so  he 
now  sought  to  save  his  country  from  threatened 
dismemberment.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
deliberations  of  this  historic  assembly,  favoring  an 
honorable  compromise  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  sections  of  the  Union.  "As  the  friend 
of  President  Lincoln."  says  the  Hon.  W.  S.  Groes- 

I  Hiii  i.  a  member  of  the  conference,  in  a 
letter  to  a  gentleman  in  Springfield,  "  Judge  Lo- 
gan  uas  often  heard,  and  always  with  profound 
interest.  T  recall  one  of  his  speeches,  made 
toward  the  close  of  our  conference,  when  we  were 

ery  much  discouraged.  It  was  a  grand,  pa- 
triotic appeal.  It  touched everj  heart;  it  moistened 
neaiU  ever)  eye.     I  have  not   met  Judge  Logan 


Since  that  day.  but  if  1  were  to  live  a  hundred 
years  I  would  not  forget  him."  Il  was  probably 
I  his  speech  to  which  reference  was  made  by  the 
lion.  John  T.  Stuart  in  Ins  remarks  at  the  memo 
rial  meeting  of  the  Sangamon  county  bar.  and 
from  which  the  following  extract  was  given  by 
Hon.  James  C.  Conkling  in  a  lecture  on  tic 
"Early  Bench  and  Bar."  delivered  on  the  12th  of 
January.  1881,  before  the  Bar  Association  of  Chi- 
cago: 

"Instead  of  dreaming  of  news  from  the  seat  of 
war.  and  of  marching  armies.  I  have  thought  of  a 
country  through  which  armies  have  marched, 
leaving  in  their  track  the  desolation  of  a  desert. 
I  have,  thought  of  harvests  trampled  down;  of 
towns  and  villages,  once  the  seat  of  happiness  and 
prosperity,  reduced  to  heaps  of  smoking  ruins;  of 
battle  tieids   red  with   blood,  which  has  been  shed 

by  those  who  ought   to  have   1 n   brothers;   of 

families  broken  up  or  reduced  to  poverty;  of  wid- 
owed wives,  of  orphaned  children,  and  all  the 
other  misfortunes  which  are  inseparably  con- 
nected with  war.  This  is  the  picture  which  pre- 
sents itself  to  my  mind  every  day  and  every  hour. 
It  is  a  picture  which  we  are  d tied  soon  to  wit- 
ness in  our  country  unless  we  place  a  restraint 
upon  our  passions,  forgot  our  selfish  interests,  and 
do  something  to  save  our  country." 

Sectional  animosities  and  party  feelings  were 
too  strong  for  the  friends  of  peace.  Judge  Logan's 
stirring  appeals,  which  electrified  the  conference, 
had  no  effect  upon  tin-  fomenters  of  strife  out- 
side. He  succeeded  in  the  object  for  which  he 
went  into  the  conference.  That  body  adopted 
and  reported  to  Congress  a  number  of  resolutions 
embodying  various  concessions  to  Southern  de- 
mands; but  Congress  threw  all  these  aside,  and 
passeil  as  a  substitute  an  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution proposed  by  Senator  Douglas,  which  for- 
bade Congress  ever  to  interfere  with  slavery  in 
the  states.  Before  the  necessary  number  of 
states  could  vote  on  the  adoption  of  this  amend 
ment  the  Civil  War  had  begun.  Speaking  before 
the  Illinois  Supreme  Court  in  memory  of  Judge 
Logan,  the  Hon.  Orville  H.  Browning,  of  Quincy, 
referred  to  this  speech  of  Judge  Logan  at  the 
peace  conference,  and  said: 

-I  was  not  present,  and  had  not  the  pleasure 
and  benefit  of  hearing  Judge  Logan  on  that  occa- 
sion; but  after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  and  after 
the  Southern  states  had  been  devastated  by  a 
war  which  that  congress  strove  in  vain  to  avert, 
in  conversation  with  learned  and  able  men  who 
were  present  as  members  of  the  congress.  I  have 
been  assured  that  the  speech  he  then  delivered 
was  remarkable  for  its  wisdom,  its  patriotism,  its 
conciliatory  tone  ami  temper,  its  forecast  of  the 
future,  and  its  eloquence  and  power;  and  that 
had    the   counsels   of   our   deceased  brother  been 


^/■^l-c^^&y         /  d 


,<pl  hc^. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


'50 


followed  all  conflicting  opinions  ami  intrusts 
would  have  been  reconciled,  and  the  country  have 
escaped  the  calamities  which  ensued." 

His  service  in  the  peace  a  inference  was  the  last 
of  his  public  and  official  employments.  He  not 
onlj  retired  from  political  life,  but  gradually 
withdrew  from  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
His  last  public  appearance  was  in  1872,  when  he 
was  unanimously  chosen  to  preside  over  the  Re 
publican  state  convention  of  that  year.  The 
evening  of  his  days  was  passed  in  dignified  retire- 
ment, surrounded  by  his  family,  and  in  tl  enjo; 
ment  of  the  ample  estate  which  he  had  accumu- 
lated 1>\  his  industry,  economy  and  foresight,  lb- 
died  after  a  brief  illness  at  his  residence  in  Spring- 
H.  Id.  ni!  the  17th  of  July.  1880.  His  funeral  was 
attended  bj  distinguished  judges  and  members  of 
the  bar  from  all  parte  of  the  stair;  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Sangamon  countj  bar  and  of  the  City 
Council  attended  in  a  body.  His  remains  were 
interred  in  I  >ak  Ridge  Cemeterj  .  Special  tributes 
of  respeel  were  paid  to  his  memory  by  tl 
im m  county  bar.  whose  menu. rial  resolul  li 
presented  to  tin-  United  States  Court,  tie-  Sanga 
ni'  n  county  Circuit  Court,  and  the  Supreme 
Court  ni'  the  state,  and  also  by  the  ('it.  Coun 
cil  of  Springfield.  The  liar  expressed  their 
regrel  for  the  loss,  "nol  onlj  of  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  but  also  an  illustrious  citizen  of  the  state. 
who  bj  bis  energj  and  ability  contributed  much 
to  its  material  prosperity,  and  by  his  wisd 
legislator  and  inflexible  integrity  as  a  judge  was 
instrumental  in  giving  to  person  and  property  the 
protection  of  wise  laws,  wisely  and  honestly  ad- 
ministered." Judge  Logan's  life  began  with  the 
century  when  Napoleon  was  first  consul  in  France 
and  John  Adams  was  President  of  the  United 
States.  In  his  fourscore  years  he  lived  to  S<  e  thi 
nation  grow  from  six  millions  to  fifty  millions  of 

1 |il'-:  to  see  slavery  abolished,  and  the  Republic, 

tried  by  the  greatest  civil  war  that  history  records. 
emerge  from  it  stronger  and  more  firmly   rooted 

in  tie-  hearts  of  the  people  than  ever  before. 


-MILTON  HAY. 

There  are  many  men  who  become  well  known  to 
the  public  at  large  by  obtaining  prominent  offices. 

Such  men  may  or  max  not  possess  tie-  quality  of 
greatness.  Party  conventions  do  not  alwav  s  select 
as  candidates  the  wisest  orthe  best  citizens.  Mere 
wire-workers  are  often  more  successful    than  real 


statesmen.  On  the  other  hand  there  may  be 
found  in  almost  all  American  communities  quiet, 
retiring  men.  who  never  ask  for  office  for  them- 
selves, who  never  seek  to  obi  ations  at 
the  hands  of  caucus  or  convention,  yet  by  sheer 

fori f  mind  and  character  exert  a  wide  influence 

and  leave  their  impress  on  their  age.  Such  a  man 
is  Milton  Hay.  of  Springfield,  Illinois.  During 
the  whole  course  of  his  life  Mr.  Hay  has  never  pre- 
sented himself  voluntarily  as  a  candidate  for  any 
civil  olli.-r.  nor  has  he  ever  asked  any  man  to  vote 
for  him.     It  is  true  that  he  j  member 

of    tin-    convention    by  which    the  constitution  of 
1870  was  framed,  and    was  also   a  member  of  the 
islature  held  under  that  constitution. 
In  each    o  ented  to 

ffice  oti  the  most  in-rent  solicitation  of 
his  friends,  and  in  each  instance  he  was  so  urged 
by  many  members  of  both  political  parties  on  the 
grounds  of  public  interest.  Never  having  any 
private  ends  to  accomplish,  and  being  at  all  times 
free  from  entanglements  with  cliques  and  rings. 
he  has  for  nearly  forty  years  been  consulted  by 
Republicans  and  Democrats  alike  during  almost 
every  crisis  in  public  affairs.  Mr.  Hay  was  born 
in  Fayette  com  ty,  Kentucky,  on  the  .'id  day  of 
July,  1817.  In  the  fall  of  1S:12  In-  removed  with 
his  father's  family  to  Springfield.  Illinois.  Six 
years  afterwards,  in  1838,  he  became  a  student  in 

the  law  offic f  Stuart  &  Lincoln,  the  well  known 

firm  of  tin-  late  John  T.  Stuart  and  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. Mr.  Stuart  was  then  in  Congress  and  absenl 
a  greater  part  of  the  time,  but  Mr.  Hay  was  left 
in  almost  daily  communication  with  Mr.  Lincoln. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1840,  and  at  once 
removed  to  Pittsfield,  Pike  county,  where  h<  com 
menced  practice.  At  that  time  the  celebrated 
Edward  D.  Baker,  afterwards  U.  S.  Senator  from 
Oregon,  lived  in  Springfield,  but  like  other  law- 
yers of  his  standing  traveled  on  circuit,  visiting 
many  county  seats  during  term  time,  and  Mr. 
Baker  and  Mr.  Hay  formed  a  co-partnership  in 
Pittsfield,  the  latter  remaining  at  that  point  and 
the  former  attendingat  eachtermof  court  Thus 
at  the  outset  of  his  professional  career  Mr.  Hay 
had  the  advantage  of  the  instructions  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  of  partnership  relations  with  Mr. 
Baker,  the  great  orator  and  daring  soldier, 
the  man  who  delivered  the  marvelous  address 
over  the  body  of  the  murdered  Broderick  — an 
address  that  rang  throughout  the  civilized 
world  —  who  became  the  champion  of  I 
in  California,  and  who  was  shol  down  w) 
lantly  leading  his  forces  at    Ball's   Bluff.     While 


'5  1 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


uilding  up  an  extensive  practice  in  Pitts 
field,  Mi.  1 1  /  >  n  passed  through  an  experience  corn- 
leading  lawyers  of  l1 
He  rode  Erom  count)  seal  to  county  seal  during 
the  sessions  of  court,  getting  whal  practice  he 
could,  lit-  tried  cases  before  justicesof  the  peace 
far  and  near,  and  "  roughed  it."  as  was  the  custom 
OI  thai  period.    And    here  we  are  tempted   I"  di- 

omenl  for  the  purpose  of  cot 

the  two  chief  modes   by  which  the   characters   of 

lawyers  were  built  up  in  early  days. an. 1  are  in  less 

i,     i       Eoundto-day.     One  class  spend  their  early 

in  schools  and  colleges,  learning  ( Sreek  roots 

omposii  g    Lai  in  is.    When   admitted  to 

the  bar  they  begin  practice  in  courts  of  record,  the 
ire  supposed  to  be  men  well  in- 
formed as  to  matters  of  law.    Such  youngpracti- 
tioners   may  try  many   causes   before  juries,  but 
the)  know  little  of  the  passions,  prejudices  and 
of  theaverage  juror.    Theother 
to  which    we  refer,  ride   or   walk   over   the 
prairies  or   through   the   woods   to   the   country 
school  house,  or  the  home  of  the  country  justice, 
putup  with  their  clients,  talk  with  witnesses 
and  meet  cm  terms  of  exact  equality  with  that 
class  of  people   from  which   ordinary  juries  are 
drawn.    The)  become  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
feelings  of  thai  class  and   canform   a    ver)  clear 
opinion  as  to  the  manner  in  which  any  given  propo- 
sition will  strike  the  common  juror.    Again,  ordi- 
nary justices  of   the  peace   know  little  or  nothing 
of  the  law,  consequently  the  young  lawyer  trying 
a  ease  before  such  a  man  must  not  only  prove  his 
facts,  hut    also  his   law.     He  is  compelled    to  pre- 
pare himself   to  establish  ever)  thing  and   to  fore- 
sec  all   objections,  whether  of   law  or   fact.    We 
■i  no  collegiate  course,  no  city  practice. 
can  so  well  equip  a  young  lawyer  for  the  life  be- 
fore him,  either  with    regard   to   law.  or   facts,  or 
knowledge  of  character,  as  a  few  years  of  "rough- 
ing it  "  before  justices  of  tin'  peace.     Mr.  Hay  had 
the  advantage  of  such  an  experience   as    well   as 
that  derived  from  a  growing  practice  in  the  higher 
is.      The    result    was.  that    in    what    a    great 
writer   calls -far   sighted   and   sure  footed  judg- 
I  "  he  had  hardly  an  equal.     The  demands  of 
practice  not  being  very  extreme  at  the  outset  of  his 
r,  Mr.  Hay  entered  for  a  year  or  two  into  the 
service  of  the  press.     During  the  first    session   of 
the  ]  oval  of  the  seat  of 

government  to  Springfield,  he  became  a  reporter 
for  the  Sangamon  Journal,  the  leading  Whig 
paper  of  thai  day.  published  at  Springfield  by 
Simi  i  "id   brothers.     Stenography  was 


then  unknown  in  Illinois  and  reporters  were  com- 
pelled to  make  such  hasty  notes  as  the)  could,  and 
afterwards  expand  the  substance  of  such  notes 
into  arguments  and  speeches.  Politics  "ere  very 
bitter  and  there  were  constant  wrangles  as  to  the 
manner    in  which  the  speeches   of  one  party  were 

reported  in  the  papers  of  tiie  other.  Mr.  Hay 
many  excellent  stories  of  tin- disputes  that 
arose  about  the  manner  in  which  legislative  pro- 
ceedings were  reported  in  the  old  days  when  he 
was  a  member  of  the  press.  As  soon  a-  a  session 
of  the  Legislature  ended  he  returned  to  Pittsfield 
and  resumed  his  practice.  After  building  up  as 
large  a  professional  business  as  a  small  place  like 
Pitt-Held  could  furnish,  he  removed  to  Springfield 
8.  At  that  time  Stephen  T.  Logan  was 
nized  as  one  of  the  first  lawyers  of  America. 
In  quickness  of  apprehension  and  fertility  of  re- 
sources he  was  perhaps  unequaled.  Men  of  his 
generation  never  tire  of  speaking  of  his  wonder- 
ful powers.  The  Judge  was  never  a  ver)  strong 
man  physically,  and  was  growing  old  when  Mr. 
Hay  returned  to  Springfield.  A  copartnership 
was  formed  between  them.  Judge  Logan,  however, 
intending  to  gradually  withdraw-  from  practice. 
In  1861  this  purpose  was  carried    out.  and   there- 

U] Mr.Ha)  I id  a  co-partnership  with  Hon. 

Shelby  M.  Cullom,  now  United  States  Senator 
from  Illinois,  and  the  late  Antrim  Campbell. 
Within  a  year  or  two  Mr.  Campbell  retired,  but 
Mi.  Hay  and  Mr.  Cullom  continued  the  business 
untill866.  During  the  year  last  mentioned  Mr.  Cul- 
lom withdrew  and  Mr.  Hay  formed  a  new  partner- 
ship with  the  Hon.  John  M. Palmer,  now  the  col- 
league of  Mr.  Cullom  in  the  Senate  of  theUnited 
States.  In  L868  Mr.  Palmer  was  elected  Governor 
of  Illinois,  and  the  firm  dissolved.  During  the 
same  year  Mr.  Hay  formed  his  last  co-partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Henry  S.  Greene  and  David  T. 
Littler.  On  the  last  day  of  December,  1879,  Mr. 
Hay  and  Air.  Littler  both  retired  from  practice. 
Thus  for  a  period  of  forty  years  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  a  leading  figure  in  tic  State 
and  Federal  courts,  and  had  much  to  do  with  the 
building  up  of  our  system  of  law.  In  his  profes- 
sional relations,  the  life  of  Mr.  Hay  is  very  re- 
markable. In  addition  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
student  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  CO  part 
nership  which  he  formed  in  1858  brought  him 
into  pleasant  connection  with  Judge  Logan,  and 
into  relations,  by  succession  with  Lincoln.  Stuart 
and  Baker.  By  subsequent  changes  his  firm 
embraced  Shelby  M.  Cullom  and  John  M.  Palmer, 
each  of  whom  became  Governor  of  Illinois  and 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


155 


both  of  whom  are  now  United  State?  Senators. 
During  more  than  fortj  years  his  firm  has  always 
embraced  at  least  one  member  whose  relations 
extended  back  in  such  a  way  as  to  connect  in 
professional  succession  all  the  prominent  names 
above  mentioned;  and  Mr.  Hay  himself  forms 
the  link  by  which  that  dynasty  of  lawyers  was 
connected  in  unbroken  succession  with  the  firm 
now  in  existence.  In  ever)  instance  in  which 
one  firm  was  dissolved  and  a  new  one  formed  one 
or  more  of  the  old  members  entered  into  the  new. 
so  that  the  line  is  unbroken  to  this  day.  Wehave 
already  said  that,  greatly  against  his  will.  Mr. 
Hay  allowed  himself  to  he  elected  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1870,  and  the 
second  Legislature  that  followed  the  adoption  of 
that  instrument.  His  standing  in  the  Constitu 
tional  Convention  is  lust  attested  by  the  fact 
that,  being  of  the  minoritj  in  that  body,  he  was 
appointed  first  minorit)  member  of  the  judicial-) 
committee,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
revenue.  He  was  also  on  the  committee  on 
municipal  corporations.  He  was  prominent  in 
thedelilieratiiais.it'  the  convention,  and  many  of 
the  wisest  provisions  of  the  constitute 
shaped  by  him  in  the  committees,  a 
in  convention  by  his  efforts,  as  will  he  seen  by 
reference  to  the  journal  and  debates  "l  I 
vention.  The  provisions  relating  to  the  , 
ti'Hi  of  the  courts  and  their  jurisdictioi 
relating  to  revenue  and  the  limitations  on  the 
taxing  powers  of  the  state,  and  of  subordinate 
municipalities,  engaged  hit  particular  efforts  and 
attention.  In  the  Legislature  of  which  he  was  a 
member  he  was  chairman  of  the  revenue  com 
mittee.  and  was  a  member  of  the  commission  by 
whom  the  last  revision  'if  the  statutes  was  made. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  a  committee  appointed 
in  1S85  to  revise  the  entire  revenue  system  of  the 
state,  hut  tile  proposed  law  prepared  by  that 
committee  with  extreme  care  was  never  adopted 
by  the  Legislature,  the  tierce  conflict  of  diverse 
interests  rendering  united  action  on  any  plan 
whatever  seemingly  impossible.  In  his  practice 
Mr.  Hay  was  always  bitterly  opposed  to  sensation- 
alism. He  detested  sharp  practice,  and  uever 
resorted  to  it.  X' 1  man  had  any  excuse  for  quar- 
reling with  him.  His  opponents  were  always 
treated  with  perfect  courtesy.  In  beginning  an 
argument  he  invariably  spoke  slowly,  and  with 
some  degree  of  hesitation,  but  as  he  warmed  up 
his  speech  became  fluent  and  powerful.  When 
thoroughly  aroused  he  became  extremely  forcible. 
The  late  Emory  Storrs,  of  Chicago,  was  ■<■  told 


by  a  legal  friend  that  he  was  about  to  try  a  case 
against  Mr.  Hay.  of  Springfield,  and  asked  what 
sort  of  an  antagonist  the  latter  was.  "Young 
man,"  said  Mr.  Storrs,  "  the  best  investment  you 
can  make  is  to  deal  gently  with  Mr.  Hay.  for  if 
you  provoke  and  rouse  him  he  will  knock  your 
case  into  a  cocked  hat."  Mr.  Hay  might  have 
figured  much  more  extensiveh  before  the  public 
had  he  desired  to  do  so.  Many  men  not  possessed  of 

b  of  his  ability  have  attained  widespread 

notoriety  by  persistently  seeking  it.  and  by  playing 

"Such  fantastic  Tricks  liefer--  High  Heaven 

angels  weep." 

Such  was  not  the  character  of  thesubjectof  the 

present    sketch.       A     retiring    man    always,     he 

shunned  instead  of  courted  publicity.     He  never 

sought   to  figure   per-  crowds  or  in 

the  newspapers.     Tie    i  laracter 

and   his  judgment   was   best    exercised    in   those 

assemblies  in  which  men  were  trying  quietly,  and 

Faith,  and  without  any  desire  for  parade. 
Eor  the  public; 
ami  he  has  always  been  valued  most  by  those 
men  who  net  him  mi  such  occasions,  and  were 
sincerelj  prompted  by  the  same  motives  which 
controlled  him.  Although  Mr.  Hay  has  retired 
from  practice,  having  quite  sufficient  occupation 
in  attending  to  his  large  property,  he  still  loves 
the  old  arena  in  which  he-  played  so  prominent  a 
part.  He  says  that  he  still  likes  to  see  the  old 
harness,  even   though   In-   no  1-  it.     To 

this  day  he  keeps  his  office  with  his  former  pari 
ners,  and  takes  a  constant  interest  in  the  business 
of  the  fin,  his  last   firm  was  sn 

The  leading  quality  of  Mr.  Hay  is  the  excellence 
of  his  judgment.  For  thirty  years  he  ha 
consulted  by  every  Governor  of  the  state  on  all 
matters  of  great  public  importance.  No  man  has 
ever  questioned  his  motives  or  his  integrity.  A 
strong  Republican,  he  is  trusted  by  the  best  men  of 
both  parties,  and  dislikes  a  Republican  rascal  worse 
than  a  Democratic  one.  The  next  quality  for 
which  ilr.  Hay  is  noted  is  his  extreme  simplicity 
and  kindness.     In  this  respect  he  greatly  resem- 

great  preceptor,  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  may 
be  approached  by  anyone,  and  will  listen  kindly 
and  patiently  to  rich  and  poor,  the  learned  or  the 
ignorant.     The    first    wife    of    Mr.    Hay   died    in 

1  many  years  ago.  His  second  was  the 
daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Logan,  and  she  de- 
parted this  life  about  the  year  1874.  He  has  two 
children.  Mrs.  Stuart  Brown  and  Mr.  Logan  Hay. 
now  a  student  of  Yale  College.  His  nephew. 
John  Hay.  of  the  New  York    Tribune,  one  of  the 


•56 


BIOGRAPHY   OP   ILLINOIS. 


authors  of  the  standard    life   of    Lincoln,  is  well 
known  both  in  this  country  and  in   Europe.     In 
person  Mr.  Hay  is  large  and  robust,   and  well 
preserved,  having  never  injured   himself  by  any 
kind  of  excess.    All  his  life  he  has  followed  the 
even  tenor  of  his  way.  and  maintained  a  calm  and 
collected  spirit,  even    while   practicing   the    most 
exciting  of  all  professions.     As  a  consequence  his 
body  is  still  vigorous  and  his  mind  .-is  Btrong  and 
clear  asever.     Nothing  can   be    more   interesting 
than  to   listen   to  Mr.  Hay  as    he   describes   the 
events  and  the  men  of  the  past  times,  and  traces 
the  history  of  the  State  and  its  institutions.     He 
knew  all  the  leading  men  of  Illinois  who  were  in 
the  field  of  active  life  when  he   began   his  career, 
and  he  can  describe   their   peculiarities  with   ad- 
mirable discrimination  and  humor.     It  is  always 
interesting  to  hear  men  who  have  helped  to  make 
history  descanting  upon  the  characters  and  events 
of  past  times;    and   this   interest    is    vastly   in- 
creased when  the  narrator,  like  Mr.  Hay,  is  in  the 
full  possession  of  every  faculty  of  mind  and  mem- 
ory.   One  slight  circumstance  will  illustrate  the 
estimation  in  which  Mr.  Hay  is  held  by  those  who 
know  him  best  and  who  are  best  qualified  to  judge. 
Some  years  ago  two  judges  of  the  State  Supreme 
Court  had  such  business  relations  as  promised 
to   result    in  complicated   litigation.     Both   con- 
sulted Mr.  Hay  as   their   counsel,  being   prompted 
solely  by  what  they  knew  of  him  as  a   lawyer  and 
safe  adviser,  and  both   succeeded    in    avoiding  all 
trouble.    During  the  period  covered  bj  the  pro 
fessional  life  of  Mr.  Hay,   nearly  every  question 
of  importance   in   our  judicial  history  has  arisen. 
In  1840  but   three   volumes  of    Illinois    Reports 
were     in     existence.      Litigation    generally     in- 
volved actions  of  trespass  and  suits  on   prom- 
issory  notes  or    criminal   prosecution.     Scarcely 
any  constitutional  question  had  ever  been  passed 
upon.    The  law  of   corporations  was  almost   un- 
known.    Commercial    law    was    in    its    infancy. 
Since  that  time  the  whole  field  of  law  practice  has 
changed.     The  old  elements  of  litigation  have  be- 
come comparatively  unimportant,  and  those  which 
were   scarcely  thought   of  have   risen   to  the  first 
magnitude.    It  may  be  safely  said  that  within  the 
hist   fiftyyears     that  is,  since  1840— the  courts  of 
Illinois  have  built    up  a  system  of  state  common 
law.      A     new     constitution    has    been    adopted. 
Almost    the    entire    code   of    statutes    has    been 
changed,   ami    our   system   of    practice    has    been 
greatly  simplified.     In  all  these  changes  and  de- 
velopments Mr.  Hay  has  borne  an  active  part.   In 
almost  every  instance  in  which  he  ilid  not  partici- 


pate in   producing  a  change  of  the  law  he  shared 
largely  in  adapting  it  to  our  system.     His  judg- 
ment with  respect  to  the  interpretation  of  all  con- 
stitutional and  statutory  provisions,  and  with  re- 
gard   to   such    new    principles   or    rules   as    were 
required  by  new  conditions,  was  always  accorded 
great   weight.     The    powers  of  corporations   and 
their   obligations    to    the     public,    and    the     best 
menus  of  compelling  Hie  performance  of  their  du- 
ties  without    at    the   same   time   wronging   such 
bodies  and  disabling  them  for  the  discharge  of 
their    proper   functions,   have    been    matters  to 
which  Mr.  Hay  lias  paid  great  attention  for  many 
years.     His  conclusions  in  these   most    important 
subjects  have  been  eminently  reasonable  and  con- 
servative.    In   his   view    the    law   should    be   so 
framed  and  administered  that  no  evasion  of  cor-   • 
porate   duty  should   be  tolerated,  while,  on   I  he 
other   hand,  no  oppression  should  be  permitted 
under  pressure  of  clamor  of  demagogues.     There 
is   no    doubt  that,   in    the    course   of    his    prac- 
tice, Mr.  Hay  has  done  as  much  as  any  man  in  the 
State  to  guide  both  legislative  and  judicial  action 
into  that  course  which  is  most  consistent  with 
justice  and  public  interest.     The  writer  of  this 
would  not  speak  as  freely  as  he  has  done  of  any 
man  in  the  full  career  of  professional  practice,  and 
with  whom  hundreds  of  others  are  in  daily  com- 
petition;    but    Mr.    Hay   has    voluntarily    with- 
drawn from   the  arena  of  law.  and  will  no  longer 
struggle   with  any  rival.     He   retires  with  all   his 
powers,  but    his  retirement   is  absolute.     We  can 
therefore  speak  with  perfect  propriety  of  one  who 
has  closed  his   professional   career  and   left    the 
field   to  younger   men.     We  feel    that   it  is   due 
to  him  and  to  his  friends  to  say  that  for  forty 
years  he  has  given  the  lie  to  those  who  say  a  law- 
yer cannot  be  an  honest  man.     He  owes  no  man 
anything.      He   has    never    oppressed   the    poor. 
Even  litigants  to  whom  he  has  been  opposed  make 
no  reflection  on  his  conduct.   Whoever  bears  such 
;,    record    through  a  long  and    busy' life   reflects 
honor  on  his  profession,  and  deserves  the  highest 
meed  of    praise    as   he    passes  out   of    professional 
life. 


ALFRED  COWLES. 

ALFRED  COWLES,  for  thirty -five  years  con- 
nected with  the  Chicago  Tribune,  first  as  I k- 

keeper  and  after  the  organization  of  the  Tribune 
Company,  its  secretary  and  treasurer  and  business 
manager,   was   born    in    Mantua,  Portage  county. 


<ZL. 


■ 


];!<)<  IKAI'MY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


l57 


Ohio,  in  1832.  His  father  was  Dr.  Edwin  W. 
Cowles.  His  ancestors  for  several  generations 
were  people  of  ragged  and  hardy  character,  en- 
dowed with  stern  convictions  of  duty,  who  occu 

pied  pioneer  positions  i ng  the  first   settlers  of 

tliis  country.  They  were  the  people  who  laid  the 
foundations  for  the  present  advanced  civilization; 
they  were  all  men  of  untiring  energy  and  possessed 
of  strong  religious  sentiments.  On  the  Cowles 
side,  Alfred  was  descended  Erom  one  of  Hirer 
brothers  who  came  to  this  country  from  I 
about  the  year  1638,  and    settled   in  the  town  of 

Farmington,  Connecticut.    O f  his  ancestors 

was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hunker,  the  first  clergyman 
of  that  state.  Mr.  Cowles'  grandfather  was  the 
Rev.  Giles  Hooker  Cowles,  who  was  1  mm  in  Farm 
ington.  On  the  side  of  his  grandmother,  Abigail 
White,  born  in  Stamford,  Connecticut,  he  was  de- 
scended from  Peregrine  White,  the  lirst  white 
child  born   in    New    England.     His   great    grand- 

tier  on  the  White  side  of  the   family,  was  a 

descendant  from  the  Huguenot  family,  De  Grasse. 
This  name  was  in  later  years  changed  to  Weed, 
the  English  definition  of  the  Huguenot  name.  <  in 
his  mother's  side  he  was  a  descendant  of  Nathaniel 

Foote.the  lirst  settler  in  Wet  llersfield.C leetient. 

His  father.  Dr.  Edwin  W.  Cowles,  was.  during  the 
lattei  j  ears  of  his  life,  a  citizen  of  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
and  many  of  the  older  inhabitants  of  that  city 
will  remember  his  kind  and  benignant  face.  I  >r. 
Cowles,  with  his  father,  [lev.  Giles  Hooker  Cowles, 
removed  from  Connecticut  to  Ashtabula  county, 
Ohio,  in  1810,  where  two  years  later  Alfred's 
grandfather  founded  the  first  church  in  that  state 
which  had  a  steeple.  Edwin  Cowles  received  his 
early  education  from  his  father  and  thus  became 
imbued  with  a  profound  and  deep  respect  for 
religious  sentiment.  This  was  also  a  marked  trait 
in  the  character  of  his  son  Alfred.  Hut  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  religion  so  deeply  impressed 
Edwin,  he  did  not  take  up  the  study  of  the  min- 
istry. He  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Hawley  of 
Austinburg,  and  later  cm  took  his  Medical  degree 
and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Portage 
county  until  1S."»"J,  with  the  exception  of  four 
years,  from  1834  to  1838  (which  were  spent  in 
Detroit,  Michigan >  when  he  reim  >ved  t<  >  Cleveland. 
Ohio.  Here  lie  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life 
and  won  for  himself  a  high  reputation  as  a  phy- 
sician and  as  a  generous  public-spirited  citizen. 
With  such  antecedents,  the  successful  business 
career  and  the  exemplary  life  of  Alfred  Cowles  are 
not  to  lie  wondered  at.  He  received  a  fair  com- 
mon school  education    in    the   place  of   his   birth 


and  then  went  to  the  University  of  Michigan,  at 
Ann  Arbor,  where  he  took  only  a    partial    course. 

I  [e  t  hen  went  to  <  ileveland  and    entei  in::    ; 

mercial  college,  received  a  lirst  class  business 
education.  His  brother,  Edwin  Cowles.  the  late 
proprietor  of  the  Cleveland  Leader,  was  then 
running  a  job  printing  office,  and  \  If  red  accepted 
a  clerical  position  in  his  concern  in  Is.VJ.  While 
here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Joseph  Medill 
who  had  just  established  the  Cleveland  Leader, 
and  alter  his  brother  Edwin  and  Mr.  Medill  con- 
solidated the  two  establishments,  as  they  did  in 
Is.',:;,  Alfred  continued  his  connection  with  the 
joint  concerns  as  bookkeeper,  and  this  position  he 
held  until  he  was  induced  to  go  to  Chicago.  It 
was  the  acquaintance  Mr.  Cowles  formed  with  Mr. 
Medill  that  led  to  his  "Garden  City." 

in  1855,  Mr.  Medill  sold  his  interest  in  the  Leader 
and  removing  to  Chicago,  bought    an   interest   in 

the  Tribunt  of  that  city,  from  A.  T.  Stewart  .V  Co. 
Mr.  Medill  remembered  the  bright  business  man 
who  was  occupying  a  bookkeeper's  position  in 
Cleveland,  and  made  him  such  offers  as  induced 
Hue  to  him.  He  v,  as  at  once  installed  as 
bookkeeper  for  liie  Tribune,  but  a  few  months 
later  falling  heir  to  about  $10,080,  he  purchased  a 
block  of  Tribune  stock  and  tin'  same  year  was 
made  business  manager.  It  was  three  \.. 
this,  in  1859,  that  the  Tribune  was  consolidated 
with  tie-  Press,  owned  by  the  late  Lieut.  Goa 
ernor  Bross  of  Illinois,  and  Mr.  Scripps,  and  the 
Tribune  Company  was  organized.  Alfred  Cowles 
was  elected  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  new 
organization  and  was  also  its  business  manager, 
positions  In' held  until  his  death.  December  20, 
1889,  attending  to  all  the  duties  of  these  positions 
up  to  within  two  years  of  his  demise,  at  which 
time  he  found  his  health  failing  and  felt  that  it 
was  necessary  for  him  to  jm,  abroad.  Though 
born  in  Ohio,  Mr.  Cowles  was,  so  far  as  his  busi- 
ness career  was  concerned,  in  every  sense  a  Chicago 
man.  and  the  record  of  his  success  is  a  matter  to  be 
proud  of.  (Inly  once  did  he  depart  from  the  business 
life  he  was  so  well  fitted  for  by  nature  and  educa- 
tion, to  enter  the  arena  of  politics,  and  then  it  was 
in  a  most  modest  and  quiet  way.  H-.  in  1872,  gave 
a  warm-hearted  support  to  Horace  Greeley  when 
the  latter  was  running  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States.  He  entered  heartily  into  this  cam- 
paign, but  it  was  his  only  deviation  from  strictly 
business  pursuits.  Though  no  politician,  noreven 
actively  identified  in  a  personal  way  in  the  meat 
public  mo veu lent s.  he  was  an  interested  observer  of 
events  and  a  warm  sympathizer  with  everything 


is  8 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


that  tended  toward  the  success  of  the  city  he  bad 
made  his  home,  and  was  ever  a  generous  contrib- 
utor t.i  its  needs.  Mr.  Cowles,  besides  the 
judicious  and  careful  attention  he  gave  to  the 
management  of  the  Tribune  affairs,  made  some 
outside  investments  in  real  estate,  the  returns  of 
which  are  testimony  to  his  business  sagacity.  He 
was  successful  in  all  his  undertakings  and  this 
was  due  to  his  conservatism  on  the  one  hand,  anil 
his  good  judgment  and  sound  business  qualities 
on  the  other,  as  well  as  to  the  close  attention 
which  he  gave  to  everything  with  which  be  was 
connected.  As  a  man.  Mr.  Cowles  was  most  affa- 
ble and  genial.  Strong  and  bonestin  his  purposes, 
generous  and  quick  in  his  sympathies,  and  in  all 
his  relations,  whether  in  business  or  in  Bociety, 
his  life  was  regulated  by  the  highesl  mural 
standards.  "He  was  the  must  just  man  I  ever 
knew,"  was  the  tribute  paid  to  his  memory  by  a 
man  who  bad  worked  under  him  for  many  years, 
and  this  sentiment  was  echoed  by  all  who  knew 
him.  He  sought  to  do  justice  on  all  occasions. 
No  employe  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain.  No 
matter  what  his  rank,  if  he  had  a  grievance,  Mr. 
Cowles  was  ready  to  bear  it  and,  what  is  more,  to 
investigate  ii  and  see  that  justice  was  done.  This 
was  true  of  him  in  trivial  matters.  He  wished 
always  to  gel  at  the  truth  of  a  matter,  and  if 
wrong  had  been  done,  he  would  remedy  it  if  it  lay 
in  his  power.  His  judgment  was  excellent  and 
he  never,  so  tar  as  known,  made  an  error  in  the 
estimation  of  a  man.  The  Tribune  was  not.  in  the 
early  days  of  Mr.  Cowles'  connection  with  it,  the 
paper  it  is  to-day.  lie  was  with  it  during  all  its 
early  struggles.  It  was  to  his  business  ability 
that  much  of  its  sueeess  is  due.  as  he  did  much  to 
build  it  up.  He  was  a  man  of  excellent  personal 
habits,  and  even  in  his  earlier  days,  when  his  in- 
come was  small,  he  not  only  lived  within  it,  but 
saved  money.     This  he  put  into   real    estate    to    a 

tent,  though  some  be  invested  in  the  stock 
of  the  Commercial  National  Bank,  of  which 'he 
was  a  director  from  the  time  of  its  organization. 
He  had  stock  also  in  the  Kansas  City  cable  mad 
and  in  other  corporations.     Alfred   Cowles   was  a 

generous  man;  a :  knows  what  he  has  done  for 

charity's  sake,  for  he  was  a  man  who  let  not  his  right 
hand  know  what  his  left  hand  doeth.  It  was  im 
possible  for  him  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  any  just  ap 
peal  for  help,  and  he  never  forgot  his  old  friends. 
He  had  been  through  every  grade  in  the  median 
ical  and  business  departments  of  a  newspapet .  and 

i  ing  lo  men  w  ho  were  still  setting  t\  pe  Or 
running    presses   was  just    as  cordial   as   when    he 


was  doing  the  same  kind  of  work  himself.  Mr. 
Cowles  was  by  nature  a  man  of  domestic  tastes. 
In  January,  i860,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  P. 
Hutchinson,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Mosely  Hutch 
inson,  of  Cayuga,  N.  Y..  and  they  had  four  chil- 
dr<  ii.  Edwin  \V..  Sarah  P.,  Alfred,  Jr..  and  William 
11.,  who  are  living,  and  Edwin  \V„  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. Mrs.  Cowles  died  in  1881.  Devotedly  at- 
tached to  his  home  as  he  was.  this  was  a  sad  blow- 
to  Mr.  Cowles.  It  seemed  to  break  in  upon  his 
naturally  social  disposition,  and,  though  by  no 
means  souring  it.  had  the  effect  of  drawing  him 
from  the  enjoyments  of  the  outer  world.  He  was 
at  that  time  a  member  of  the  Calumet  Club,  and 
its  tiist  vice  president,  but  he  soon  after  resigned, 
and  would  never  again  run  for  office,  though  he 
could  have  been  its  president  at  any  election 
could  he  have  been  induced  to  accept  that  honor- 
able position.  He  was  one  of  the  club's  first 
members,  and  in  1881  was  a  director.  In  188:2  and 
1883  he  held  the  office  of  second  vice  president, 
and  in  1881  was  made  first  vice  president.  Mr. 
Cowles  was  a  great  admirer  of  Prof.  Swing, 
He  attended  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
for  some  time,  but  later  went  to  the  Fourth 
Church,  the  pulpit  of  which  was  then  occupied 
by  the  professor,  and  when  the  latter  lilt  thai 
church  Mr.  Cow  lis  went  with  him,  and  was  one 
among  others  who  subscribed  liberally  to  estab- 
lish a  new  society,  the  Independent  Church. 
After  partially  giving  up  his  club  Mr.  Cow  lis'  fa- 
vorite resort  became  the  president's  office  of  the 
Commercial  National  Hank.  For  the  latter  half 
of  the  year  before  his  death  he  dropped  in  there 
almost  daily  and  remained  two  or  three  hours. 
either  reading  or  talking  with  Mr.  Eames,  the 
president.  Mr.  Cowles'  death  was  sudden,  but 
not  unexpected.  He  was  stricken  with  paralysis 
while  in  conversation  with  some  of  his  friends  at 
the  Calumet  Club  on  Thursday  evening,  Decern 
ber  L9.  A  physician  was  sent  for,  and  he  was 
taken  to  his  home,  18(15  Michigan  avenue.  He 
was  entirely  conscious,  and  remained  so  until  the 

next    i ■ning.  when  he  bad  a  second  stroke,  and 

at  4:30  expired.  There  had  been  nothing  during 
Thursday  to  warn  him  or  his  friends  of  the  ap- 
proach of  death.  He  had.  in  fact,  been  feeling 
particularly  well.  On  this  point  Mr.  Barnes  may 
be  quoted:  ••Thursday  at  :'.  o'clock,"  said  that 
gentleman  in  an  interview  just  after  Mr.  (  lowli  S! 
death,  "he  came  into  the  bank  and  remained  until 
half-past  4  o'clock.  I  had  discovered  for  the  last 
month  that  he  was  failing,  but  had  no  idea  the  end 
was  so  near.     We  could  see  week  by  week  he  was 


r 


& 


^ry^ou^Keti^HA^ 


■ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


'59 


failing;  each  time  the  directors  met  il  was  plain  he 
was  a  notch  lower.    We  did  not  talk  to  him  about 

his  health,  forw uld  see  he  wished  to  avoid  the 

subject.  Occasionally  a  visitor  would  ask  him 
how  he  was.  when  he  would  reply  'About  the 
same,'  and  change  the  talk  to  something  else. 
Some  time  ago  Mr.  Cowles  was  induced  l>y  his 
friends  al  the  bank  to  consul!  Dr.  I; rooks.  Imt  we 
felt  all  that  could  be  done  would  be  to  prolong  his 
life  a  few  months.  It  was  Dr.  Bishop  who  was 
summoned  at  the  time  of  the  seizure,  ami  lie  at 
once  recognized  the  fact  that  no  hope  could  be 
entertained  of  Mr.  ( lowles'  recovery."  The  funeral 
was  from   the   residence  on    Sunday   afternoon, 

l> mlier  22,  at  2  o'clock,  and  Lis  remains  were 

taken  to  Oakwoods  Cemetery  for  interment. 
There  Has  a  very  large  attendance  at  the  house, 
ami  most  of  Ins  old  friends  also  went  to  the  ceme 
tery.  The  body  lay  all  the  morning  in  its  hand- 
some red  cedar  casket  in  the  late  home  in  a  per- 
fect hank  of  flowers.'  The  friends  and  employes 
of  Mr.  Cowles  testified  to  their  regard  not  only  by 
their  presence,  Imt  by  the  donation  of  many  hand- 
some floral  pieces.  The  most  notable  among  these 
was  an  office  chair  of  white  flowers  ami  smilax, 
from   the  employes   in    tile    business  office,   and    a 

facsimile  of  a  Tribune  first  page,  with  the  date 
line  December  20,1889.  This  offering  was  from 
the  mechanical  department  of  the  paper.  Long 
before  the  services  began  by  the  quartette  sine,- 
■•  Lead.  Kindly  Light,"  the  house  was  thronged. 
The  Tribune  was  represented  in  all  its  depart 
ineiils  by  large  delegations.  All  tin-  members  of 
the  businessoffi.ee  ami  nearly  all  of  the  editorial 
force  ami  local  staffs  were  there  to  pay  their  last 
respects  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Cowles.  The  ser- 
vices were  conducted  bj  the  Rev.  Dr.  McPherson 
ami  the  Rev.  Dr.  Matthews,  assisted  by  the 
Plymouth  choir.  Dr.  McPherson  preached  the 
funeral  sermon,  and  many  of  the  hearers  were  af- 
fected to  tears  by  his  words.     The  doctor  said: 

"It  was  my  privilege  to  enjoy  personal  ac- 
quaintance ami  friendship  with  this  man  whom 
you  are  here  to  day  mourning.     With  many  other 

qualities  there  are  certain  other  things  al t    his 

character  which  seem  to  lie  obvious,  certain 
things  which  are  more  precious  because  they  were 
obvious,  and  some  things  that  I  can  dwell  on 
more  heartily  and  thoughtfully  because  tln\  are 
told  me,  not  only  by  liis  more  intimate  associates 
ami  his  family  here.  Imt  1 1  \  friends  who  knew  him 
before  he  came  to  Chicago.  The  common  testi 
moin  of  all  is  that  this  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
sagacity,  a  quality  in  the  human  mind  that  we 
can  scarcely  overestimate  in  business  anil  in 
many  relations  of  life;  a  man  who  saw  much 
sooner  than  he  spoke;  a  man  who  was  careful  and 


prudent;  a  man  with  honesty;  a  man  therefore 
favored,  not  by  chance,  but  favored  by  the  due 
exercise  of  his  own  good  qualities.  All  honest 
man;  not  in  the  sense  that  he  never  rendered 
himself  amenable  to  the  [aw,  hut  in  the  higher 
and  original  sense,  where  the  root  of  honest)  is 
the  root  of  honor.  Honor  and  honesty  are  not 
two  things,  but  one,  and  they  involve  something 
even  sweeter  and  higher  and  more  far-reaching 
than  square  dealing.  They  imply  fairness  and  a 
good  degree  of  unselfishness,  a  willingness  ami 
even  eagerness  to  see  that  all  men  have  opportu 

nities.  They  imply  also  a  desire  to  see  that  all 
men  are  favored.  His  was  what  I  should  call  a 
highly  conservative  nature:  by  which  I  do  not 
mean  that  he  was  reactionary  at  all.  Imt.  as  I  said. 
a  careful,  prudent,  thoughtful  man.  hoi, line-  fust 

to  the  things  that  wen-  g 1   and  going  forward 

from  that  secure  anchoring.  And  I  suppose  this 
was  the  reason  that  lie  was  a  reticent  man,  and 
particularly  reticent  along  the  line  and  theory  on 
which  he  thought  the  most  deeply,  and  alone-  the 
line  that  is  nearest  to  ami  affects  the  inti 
human  life.  I  have  reason  to  know,  and  those 
who  knew  him  better  had  greater  reason  than  ], 
that  he  cherished  warmer  and  larger  and  holier 
hopes  than  he  was  ever  accustomed  to  express. 
In  connection  with  that  carefulness  and  sagacity, 
and  this  reticence,  too,  I  think  it  was  his  habit  to 
work  things  out  pretty  thoroughly  in  his  own 
mind  before  he  spoke  of  them,  so  that  generally 
he  had  come  to  a  conclusion  before  he  expressed 
an  opinion.  It  is  a  matter  of  temperament,  I  sup- 
pose, and  it  must  always  be  a  question  whether  a 
man's  happiness  is  accomplished  by  the  ease  with 
which  In:  expresses  himself  and  the  natural  out- 
pouring of  confidence  which  he  shows  to  his  asso- 
ciates, or  by  this  course  of  working  out  problems. 
As  to  the  highest  problems,  he  did  not  venture  to 
burden  others  with  theories  only  part  tally  sol  veil. 
He1  was  also  a  man,  I  find,  who  loved  quiet  humor, 
a  remarkably  even  tempered  man,  a  man  not 
easily  changed  by  the  shifting  breezes  of  life,  a 
man  who  worked  deeply  on  the  problems  that 
came  to  him.  He  was  a  man — a  matter  that  I  can 
testify  to — who  did  not  die  without  hope.  Al- 
though in  these  later  years  a  lonely  man,  he  had 
great  hopes,  and  cherished  with  them  remarkably 
tine  qualities  toward  his  associates.  The  charac- 
ter of  this  man  we  may  well  hold  up  to  the  emu- 
lation of  his  fellows.  The  qualities  that  I  have 
named  I  think  we  can  any  of  us  well  imitate,  and 
the  qualities  he  lacked  and  any  one  of  us  possesses, 
for  those  we  may  lie  grateful,  and  consider  that  it 
is  in  God's  great  plan  that  these  various  tempera- 
ments and  dispositions  shall  make  up  the  great 
sphere  of  human  usefulness  and- comfort." 


NORMAN  WILLIAMS. 

The  literary  and  educational  enterprises  of 
Chicago  have  a  warm  friend  in  Norman  Williams. 
and  there  are  few  movements  of  note  in  which  he 
is  not  interested.     By  birth  Mr.  Williams  is  a  New 


i6o 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


England  man, but  in  all  thai  pertains  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  adopted  city  he  is  thoroughly  a 
Dative  Chicagoan.  His  parents  were  Norman  and 
.Mary  Anne  (Wentworth)  Williams,  who  lived  at 
Woodstock,  Vt.  He  was  born  on  Februarj  I.  Is:;.".. 
passed  his  boyhood  amid  the  rugged  lulls  of 
Vermont,  and  was  fitted  for  college  at  the  Kimball 
Union  Academy  at  Meriden,  X.  II.  After  com- 
pleting his  studies  there  be  attended  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont,  from  which  he  graduated  with 
the  class  of  1855.  This  was  followed  by  a  course 
a i  i  In1  Albany  Law  School  and  service  in  the  office 
of  Tracy,  Converse  <S  I  la  net  t.  at  Woodstock,  Vt., 
after  which  Mr.  Williams  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice as  a  lawyer  in  New  York  and  Vermont  courts. 
Mr.  Williams' ancestors  had  long  been  prominent 
in  New  England  history.     His  great  grandfather 

was  01 f  the  grantees   in  whom   the  English 

crown  intrusted  title  to  the  town  of  Woodstock, 
and  the  succeeding  generations  were  identified 
»:ili  the  earlj  political  and  military  struggles. of 

Ver tit.    Mr.  Williams'  grandfather,  Jesse  Wil- 

ii  in- .  and  his  father,  Norman  Williams,  wen-  also 
interested  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  state,  and 
were  men  of  much  influence.  Nor  was  this  prom- 
inence confined  to  the  paternal  side.  The  Went- 
worth family,  of  which  Mr.  Norman  Williams' 
mother  was  a  member,  was  of  English  descent, 
and  some  of  the  male  members  served  as  ( lovernors 
of  Xew  Hampshire  under  the  English  kings  in 
colonial  days.  They  were,  of  course,  members  of 
the  Tory  party,  and  left  the  country  when  the 
liritish  troops  evacuated  Boston.  Naturally,  with 
a  family  history  of  this  kind,  there  were  many 
ties  which  hound  Mr.  Williams  to  New  England, 
hiii  he  w  us  ambitious  and  saw  his  opportunity  in 
Chicago.  He  removed  here  in  October,  1858,  and 
for  two  years  practiced  law  alone.  In  I860  he 
formed  a  co-partnership  with  Messrs.  King  & 
Kales,  the  linn  name  being  King.  Kales  &  Wil- 
liams. This  was  continued  until  1866,  when  Mr. 
Williams  withdrew  and  became  associated  with 
Gen.  John  L.  Thompson,  under  the  style  of  Wil- 
liams &  Thompson,  an  arrangement  which  was 
only  disturbed  by  the  death  of  ( }en.  Thompson  in 
ls.ss.  Mr.  Williams'  reputation  as  a  business 
lawyer  was  won  early,  and  he  has  been   identified 

in  the  formation  of  soi if  the  largest  and  st 

successful  enterprises  ever  undertaken  in  the 
West.  In  his  professional  capacity  he  assisted  in 
the  organization  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Com- 
pany, and  became  a  member  of  its  lirst  hoard  of 
directors.  Mr.  Williams  also  organized  the  West- 
ern Electric  Company  and  the  Chicago  Telephone 


Company.  The  lirst  telephones  used  in  Chicago 
Were  brought  here  under  his  direction.  Always 
heartily  interested  in  electrical  matters,  and 
being  an  expert  in  their  theory  and  mechanism, 
as  well  as  in  the  legal  conditions  surrounding 
them,  it  was  a  natural  sequence  that  Mr.  Wil- 
liams was  appointed  United  states  commissioner 
to  the  Paris  Electrical  Exposition  of  1881.  The 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  is  another 
corporation  in  which  Mr.  Williams  has  been 
prominently  interested,  and  he  has  been  active  in 
the  management  of  most  of  its  legal  battles  with 
the  opposition  companies  in  the  West.  Owing  to 
his  faculty  for  disposing  of  business  quickly,  Mr. 
Williams,  although  giving  minute  attention  to 
the  details  of  the  many  affairs  entrusted  to  him. 
has  found  the  time  to  take  an  active  interest  in 
literary  matters.  He  aideil  his  brother.  Edward 
H.  Williams,  who  founded  the  public  library  in 
his  native  town  of  Woodstock.  Vt..  which  is  called, 
in  honor  of  his  lather,  "The  Norman  Williams 
Public  Library."  When  the  late  John  Crerar 
made  Ins  magnificent  bequest  for  a  great  public 
library  in  Chicago,  he  named  Norman  Williams 
and  Huntington  W.  Jackson  as  trustees,  and  Mr. 
Williams  as  the  first  president  of  the  institution, 
and  t he  work  of  organization  will  be  done  under 
then-  direction.  As  a  director  of  the  Chicago 
Public  Library,  Mr.  Williams  was  an  active 
worker  for  the  educational  interests  of  the  people, 
and  suggested  many  valuable  changes.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Chicago  Club,  the  Calumet  Club, 
the  Literary  Club,  and  the  University  Club  (Chi- 
cago and  New  Fork).  In  addition  to  native  qual- 
ities which  make  him  a  widely  beloved  and  re- 
spected man.  Mr.  Williams  has  the  advantage  of 
a  thorough  education  both  by  books  and  travel, 
having  made  extensive  tours  in  the  United  States 
andforeign  lands.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  views,  and 
has  the  confidence  of  all  who  know  him.  He  is 
the  guardian  and  executor  of  many  large  estates, 
and  has  been  solicited  to  act  in  other  responsible 
positions  where  good  judgment,  integrity  and 
honor  were  essentials.     Mr.  Williams  is  one  of  the 

trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chi- 
cago, and  takes  a  very  active  interest  in  its  welfare. 
In  church  matters,  as  in  many  other  things,  Mr. 
Williams  is  strictly  orthodox,  and  those  who  know- 
best  the  warmth  and  broadness  of  his  views  at- 
tribute his  well  balanced  course  to  his  early 
training  in  the  Puritanism  of  New-  England.  The 
Chicago  Orphan  Asylum  is  another  institution 
of  which  Mr.  Williams  has  long  been  president. 
In    politics    he    is  a  Republican,   ami   while   he 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS, 


161 


has  never  held  or  sought  office,  he  is  much  in- 
terested in  the  good  conduct  of  public  affairs, 
and  labors  assiduously  to  secure  it.  In  the  city 
and  state  campaigns  his  advice  is  always  given 
for  uprighl  and  honorable  action,  Mr.  Williams 
ive  during  the  first  year  of  the  Civil  War 
i  Hi",'  arms  for  the  first  regiment  of  colored 
soldiers  recruited  in  Chicago.  Hi  ai 
organizing  the  first  Irish  Republican  club,  which 
i  '  '.  a  power  in  polities.  Mr.  Williams  was 
married  at  Ottawa.  111.,  December  11.  1867,  to 
Miss  Caroline Caton, daughter  of  Hon.John  Dean 
Caton,  ex-chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 

Illinois.    They  have   tin ;hildren  living  — two 

daughters,  Laura    and    Mary,  ami   one  son,  Nor- 
man.    Another  child  died  in  infancy . 


MARSHALL  M.  KIRKMAN. 

MARSHALL  MONROE  KIRKMAN,  a  citizen 
of  Chicago,  second  vie.  president  of  the  Chicago 
and  Northwestern  Railway  Company,  author  o!  a 
Dumber  of  valuable  works  on  railway  . 
was  born  in  Morgan  county,  Illinois,  Julj  10th, 
1842.  He  in  time  became  possessed  of  a  di  ire 
go  to  work  for  himself  and  a1 

years  found  employment  as; ssengerin 

vice  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railway 
Company.  All  his  leisure  time  was  devoted  to  the 
study  of  the  telegraph.  Within  two  months  he 
had  mastered  it  so  completely  thai  he  was  able  to 
receive  and  transmit  messages.  His  superior 
placed  him  in  charge  of  an  office,  afterwards  he 
was  transferred  to  Chicago  where  he  served  Ln  the 
telegraph  department  and  also  as  a  train  dis- 
patcher until  1861.  He  thi  n  served  in  the  freight 
department  as  a  clerk  until  1864,  when  he  was 
made  a  subordinate  accounting  officer.  In  1868 
he  was  made  chief  accountant.  Two  years  later 
he  was  promoted  to  the  oilier  of  local  treasurer 
and  placed  in  charge  of  the  company's  local 
finances.  The  duties  of  this  position  were  dis- 
charged by  him  during  the  long  period  of  eighteen 
years  and  in  1889  he  was  appointed  to  the  position 
ofseeond  vice-president.  Mr.Kirkman  performed 
the  duties  of  comptroller  with  clearly  defined,and  in 
main  respects  original  ideas  regarding  the  manage 
incut  of  the  accounts  and  finances  of  a  company. 
During  his  previous  clerical  experience  he  had 
become  thoroughly  familiarized  with  the  various 
systems  in  vogue  in  the  several  subordinate  de- 
partments, but   to   his   intensely   practical    mind 


none  of  them  seemed  as  simple  and  effective  as 
In-  believed  they  might  be  made.  As  chief  execu- 
tive officer  of  the  department  of  accounts  and 
local  finance,  he  had  now  an  opportunity  to  carry 
his  views  into  practice  and  without  delay  pro- 
ceeded to  do  so.  Aided  by  his  long  experience 
he  devised  and  perfected  a  system  which,  when 
practically  tested,  was  found  to  be  nol  only  sim- 
ple and  more  effective  than  those  hitherto   em- 

it  adequate  to  every  demand  ami  also  suf- 
ficiently elastic  to  meet  the  most  varied  require- 
ments. Having  approached  his  present  office  by 
gradual  steps  he  brought  to  it  a  degree  of  prac- 
tical knowledge  somewhat  rare  in  its  scope  and 
variety.  This  knowledge  enabled  him  to  deal 
with  all  problems  arising,  both  summarily  and 
atisfactorily.  1  lis  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
road  have  bei  o  paramount;  and  to  judge  by  his 
labors  in  their  behalf,  he  is  almost  as  great  a  de- 

i  lie  welfare  of  American  railroads  in  gen- 
eral. The  latter  fact  is  evinced  bj  his  thought- 
ful, explieit.  practical  and  varied  contributions  to 
the  literature  of  railway  management,  already  far 
exceeding  in  number  those  from  the  pen  of  any 
other  wiilei-  on  these  subjects.  His  published 
volumes,  taken  together,  form  a  small  library. 
In  every  work  the  topics  treated  are  discussed 
and  elucidated  in  a  masterly  manner,  and  yet 
with  such  simplicity  that  it  would  he  difficult 
for  the  merest  two  to  quit  tin  perusal  of  any  one 
of  the  volumes  without  having  derived  material 
advantage.  One  of  the  secrets  of  their  great 
helpfulness  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  author  is  an 
expert  whose  heart  as  well  as  brains  is  in  his  work. 
"  All  Kirkman's  books."  says  an  eminent  critic, 
"  harmonize  with  his  business  as  a  railroad  man. 
and  fulfill,  it  is  apparent,  an  inclinatii  id  as  well  as 
a  duty."  No  technical  works  ever  published  have 
luable  to  railway  men.  and  the  in- 
creasing demand  for  them  has  induced  the  author 
to  undertake  the  task  of  re-editing  them,  with  ad- 
ditions embracing  the  results  of  his  more  recent 
I  studies.  Mr.  Kirkman  is  a  direc- 
tor in  the  Northwestern  National  Bank  of  Chicago 
and  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  is 
chairman  of  its  committee  on  transportation.  As 
chairman  of  this  important  committee  he  has 
brought  into  requisition  a  practical  knowledge  of 
the  perplexing  transportation  problems  that  has 
been  and  will  continue  to  be  of  incalculable  bene- 
fit to  the  Exposition.  He  is  also  president  of  the 
two  prominent  clubs  at  Bvanston, where  he  resides, 
and  where  he  and  Mrs.  Kirkman  are  active  in  all 
social  and  literary  events. 


r6: 


BIOGRAPHY   OP    ILLINOIS. 


HENRY    J.  WILLING. 

HENRY  ,1.  WILLING  was  bom  in  Westfleld, 
Chautauqua  county,  X.  Y.,  July  10th,  1836.    He  is 
Samuel   and   Mary  Jane  (Maybome) 
Willing,  whose  home  was  near  Jamestown,  X.  V. 
The  Mayborne  family  is  ot  Huguenot  origin,  and 
stablished   in   England  by    those  who  fled 
from  France  in  the  latter  part  of  the  17th  century 
!  persecutions  by  the   Catholics.    In 
L843Henrj  Willing's father  died, and   the  family. 
three  years  later,  removed  to  Chicago,  making  the 
journey  by  steamer  from    Buffalo.    The   boy  was 
theribut  ten  years  old;  a  few  years  later  he   be 
gan  his  early  struggle  Eor  recognition  in  the  busi- 
ness world  by  obtaining  employment   with   U.  P. 
Harris.     After  a  number  of   changes   during   the 
succeeding  three  years  he  settled  down,  in  1851,  to 
a  permanent  position  in   the   dry-goods   house   of 
in  as  B.  Carter  A  Co.,  with  whom  he   remained 
eight  years.    In  1859  Mr.  Willing  joined  the  force 
of  Cooley,  ParwellA  Co.,  where  he  occupied  a 
position  until    1865   when   he  became   connected 
with    Field,   Liter   &   Co.,   and   was  soon   after 
admitted  to  the  Arm.     In  1883  Mr.   Willing   sold 
out  his  interest  in  the  firm  (then  Marshall  Field  & 
Co.)  and  retired   from   business.     In  many  ways 
that  tend  to  advance  the   interests  oi  Chicago,  to 
secure  good  government  for  its  people,  and  uphold 
the  cause  of  law.   order,  humanity   and   religion, 
Mr.  Willing  has   been  a   foremost   worker.    Suc- 
cessful   in   business   beyond  the   hopes  of    most 
merchants;    having    large    and   varied    financial 
interests  to  look  alter,  and   being   in   many    ways 
fully  occupied,  he  has  nevertheless  found  time  in 
which  to  foster  and  encourage  public  enterprises 
which  have  tended  to  advance   the   material   and 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  with  whom   he  has 
lived  so  long.     In  religious  faith  Mr.  Willing  is   a 
Presbyterian  and  has   served    as   an    elder  in  that 
church  since  1868.     His  first   service   was   in   the 
Second  Church  under  the   pastorate   of  Rev.  Dr. 
R.  W.  Patterson,  and  since  the  latter's  retirement 
he  has  served  in  the  Fourth  Church,    under   Rev. 
Dr.  W.  M.Stryker.     Hehasbeen  vice-president  of 
the    Young    Men's   Christian   Association:  was  a 
trustee  of  the  McCormick  Theological   Seminary 
(when  it  was  known  as  the  Northwestern  Theolog 
ical  Seminary  i  and  has  in   many    ways    shown    an 
active    interest    in   all    religious  works.     One   of 
Chicago's  leading  merchants,  who  has  known  Mr. 
Willing  from  boyhood,  says:    "He  is  an  energetic, 
outspoken  man.  of  high  moral  principle  and  deep 
religious  conviction,  always   ranking   hir.  church 


liter  his  family,  lie  has  been  generous  in 
his  gifts  to  religious,  moral  and  civil  enterprises, 
ami  is  iii  every  way  a  model  citizen.  His  advice 
is  of  ten  sought  not  alone  because  he  has  been  a 
successful  business  man.  hut  as  thai  of  a  sympa- 
thizer with  young  men  who  an-  trying  to  work 
their  way  upward,  and  it  is  always  given  in  a  man- 
ner which  shows  that  he  is  keenly  alive  to  all 
that  concerns  the  welfare  and  advancement  of 
bis  fellow  men."  In  politics  Mr.  Willing  is  a 
Republican,  but,  while  he  takes  an  active  interest 
in  political  affairs  as  a  citizen  whose  duty  it  is  to 
help  to  secure  good  government,  he  has  always 
refused  to  accept  office  for  himself  the  sole  ex- 
ception being  his  non-partisan  nomination  and 
election  as  a  member  of  the  drainage  hoard.  In 
the  hard  work  of  organizing  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Sanitary  Drainage  District  of  Chicago. 
none  of  the  nine  gentlemen  chosen  by  the  people 
of  this  city  to  put  this  important  improvement 
under  way.  took  a  more  active  part  than  Henry  J. 
Willing.  He  accepted  a  trusteeship  underpres- 
sure from  his  friends,  without  reference  to 
political  ties,  feeling  reluctant  to  enter  upon  a 
task  of  such  magnitude  at  a  time  when,  worn  by 
business  cares,  he  needed  rest  and  recreation. 
Once  enlisted  ill  the  enterprise,  however.  Mr. 
Willing  became  enthusiastic  ill  his  efforts  to 
secure  the  consummation  of  the  great  project,  and 
was  an  intelligent  and  energetic  member  of  tie 
board.  He  served  for  two  years  and  was  finally 
compelled  to  retire  on  account  of  ill  health. 
While  not  what  is  termed  a  club  man.  Mr.  Willing 
is  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Club,  the  Union  Club 
and  the  Union  League.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Chicago  Home  for  In- 
curables, and  hoi, Is  a  similar  position  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital.  The  work 
of  the  Citizen's  League  has  always  commanded 
his  earnest  moral  and  financial  support,  and  many 
of  the  reforms  secured  by  this  body  owe  much  to 
him.  Mr.  Willing  is  interested  in  the  encourage- 
ment of  art.  and  served  for  some  years  as  a 
director  of  the  Art  Institute.  In  all  historical 
matters,  and  especiallj  those  referring  to  Chicago 
and  the  United  States,  he  is  well  versed.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Chicago  Historical  Society,  of  the 
American  Historical  Society,  and  of    the    Chicago 

branch  of  the  Archaeological   Society  of  America. 
In  L870  Mr.  Willing  was  married   to   Fiances,  the 

second  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Mark  Skinner. 
Thej  have  two  children.   Evelyn    Pierrepont  and 

Mark  Skinner  Willing.     The  health   of   both   Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Willing  has  been    poor  for   some    years. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


16- 


and  it  is  largely  on  this  account  that  he  has  with- 
drawn from  all  active  business,  refused  all  tenders 
of  official  advancement  and  trust,  and  has  passed 
much  of  his  time  traveling  in  Europe. 


ALEXANDER  C.  McCLURG. 

To  the  good  judg tit  and  business  enterprise 

of  the  tinn  of  A.  C.  McClurg  .V'  Co.  is  due  much  of 
the  great  prestige  which  Chicago  has  attained  as 
a  book  distributing  center.  The  head  of  this 
firm,  and  the  man  who  gives  direction  to  the  man- 
agement of  its  affairs  is  ( reneral  Alexander  C.  Mc- 
Clurg, the  grandson  of  a  stur.lv  Scotch-Irishman, 
who  came  to  America  in  1798  from  Coleraine, 
County  of  Londonderry,  Ireland.  General  Mc- 
Clurg's  father,   Alexander  McClurg,   was    quite 

young  when  the  family  immigrated  to  thii    i 

try,  and  his  mother,  Sarah  Trevor,  who  was  born 
near  Chester,  Eng.,  was  a  very  young  girl  when 
her  father  removed  to  western  Pennsylvania. 
Alexander  McClurg  was  the  pioneer  of  the  iron 
industry  in  Pittsburg,  and  planned  and  erected  thi 
first  iron  foundry  in  that  city.  Though  born  in  Phil- 
adelphia, where  his  parents  were  temporarily  re- 
siding, i  ieneral  Mc<  ilurg's  b<  13  hood  was  pa 
Pittsburg,  which  was  the  more  permanent  resi- 
dence 1  if  t he  family,  and  i here  lie  prepa red  Eoi 
college.  Be  attended  Miami  University  at 
Oxford,  Ohio,  and  after  he  had  graduated  began 
the  study  of  law  at  Pittsburg  with  Hon.  Walter 
H.  Lowrie,  then  chief  justice  of  Penn 
He  was  obliged  to  abandon  his  legal  studies  be- 
cause his  health  would  not  bear  the  strain  he  put 
upon  it.  and  in  1859  he  came  to  Chicago  and  en- 
tered the  book  store  of  S.  C.  Griggs  &  Co.  as  a 
junior  clerk.  This  was  an  occupation  much  to 
Mr.  McClurg's  liking,  and  by  his  earnest  applica- 
tion 1"  the  business  lie  soon  attained  prominence 
in  the  establishment.  Intensely  patriotic,  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861  led  Mr.  McClurg 
to  enlist  as  a  private  in  Company  D,  of  the  Six- 
tieth Regiment,  Illinois  state  Militia,  under  1 1 

mand  of  Captain  L.P.Bradley.  The  organiza- 
tion, however,  was  not  needed  to  make  up  the 
quota  of  three-months  men.  and  was  disbanded, 
young  McClurg  returning  to  his  duties  in  the 
book  store,  bul  spending  all  Ids  spare  time  in  the 
study  of  military  tactics,  as  he  felt  sure  the  time 
when  lie  would  he  needed  in  the  field  was  only 
deferred.    Upon  a  later  call  for  troops,  Mr.  Mc- 


Clurg assisted   in  raising  tl Crosby  Guards," 

and  was.  with  the  command,  mustered  into  serv- 
ice August  15,  1862,  as  a  private  soldier.  Shortly- 
after  this,  ami  contrary  to  Ids  expectation  or  de- 
sire, he  was  unanimously  elected  captain  of  the 
company  which  became  Company  II.  of  the 
Eighty-eighth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  or  the 
second  Board  of  Trade  regiment,  Colonel  Frank 
Sherman  commanding.  The  regiment  left  Chi- 
cago for  Louisville.  Ky.,  September  hand  was 
then  sent  to  the  defensi  ati,  which  was 

threatened  by  General  Kirby  Smith.  Returning 
to  Louisville,  the  command  participated  in  the 
hat  tie  of  Perryville,  where  in  one  month  from  the 
time   of  leavini  I  impany   II   had   two 

men  killed  ami  several  wounded.  At  Nashville 
Captain  McClurg  was  detailed 

ral  court  martial  presided  over   1 

era)    W Iruff,    of    Kentucky.      His    fidelity    and 

ability  were  noted  by  General  Met '00k-.  who.  in 
May.  1863,  tendered  him  a  position  on  his  staff  as 
acting  assistant  He   served   in 

this  capacity  through  tin-  Tullahoma  campaign, 
and  also  I    which    culminated   in   the 

battle  of  ('lie!- ga.     General  McCook  was 

then   relieved   from   command,  and  Captain  Mc- 
Clurg was  offered  positions  ■  ffs  of  Gen- 
erals Thomas,  Sheridan  and  Baird.    He  ai 
tin-  latter,  and  becami 

of  General  Baird's  division.  While  Captain  Mc- 
Clurg was  serving  in  this  capacity,  i  Jeneral  Sheri- 
dan wrote  to  him  subsequently  from  the  Army  of 

t  he  Pi  itoi e 

and  urging  him,  at   the 
earliest]-!  nt,  to'join  him  (Sheridan) 

and  take  a  position  on  his  stall'.  At  that  time 
Captain  McClurg  was  so  situated  that  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  decline  this  high  compliment,  and  he 
continued  with  (Ieneral  Baird  while  the  Union 
army  was  besieged  at  Chattanooga  and  through 
the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge,  in  which  engage- 
ment his  horse  was  t w  ice  shot  under  him.  Cap- 
tain McClurg  was  one  of  the  very  first  of  the  Union 
army  to  gain  the  cresl  of  the  ridge,  and  was  the 
only  officer  in  that  part  of  the  field  who  scaled  the 
ridge  on  horseback.  On  April  12,1864,  Captain 
McClurg  became  adjutant-general  of  the  Four- 
teenth Army  Corps,  under  command  o)  I 
John  M.  Palmer,  since  Governor  of  Illinoi  ,  and 
now  United  Statei  Senator  from  this  state. 
After  months  of  fighting  and  hardships  in  the 
campaign  against  Atlanta,  General  Palmer  was 
succeeded  in  the  command  of  the  corps  by  Gen 
eral  Jeff  C.  Davis,  about  three  weeks  lief,, re  the 


164 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILUNOIS. 


capture  of  the  Georgia  stronghold.  General 
Davis  at  once  made  application  to  the  War  De- 
partment to  have  Captain  McClurg  promoted  to 

the   rank   of   lieutenant   colonel  and  retai las 

adjutant-general  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps,  giving 
as  his  reason  for  the  promotion  "especially  gallant 
conduct  in  the  battle  of  Jonesboro',"  which  had 
just  occurred.  The  appointment  was  made,  and 
Colonel  McClurg  took  an  active  and  honorable 
part  with  his  corps  in  the  pursuit  of  General  Hood, 
in  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea,  and  especially  in 
the  culminating  battles  of  Averysboro'  and  Ben- 
tonville;  and  finally  participated  in  the  grand 
review  at  Washington,  previous  to  being  mustered 
out.  In  further  recognition  of  meritorious  service 
General  McClurg  was  promoted  to  the  raid;  of 
colonel  and  then  brevetted  as  brigadier-general. 
A  handsome  sword  was  also  presented  to  him, 
which  bore  upon  it  the  names  of  Perryville,  Stone 
River,  Liberty  Gap,  Chickamauga,  Chattanooga, 
Missionary  Ridge,  Ringgold,  Resaca.  Adairsville, 
Big  Shanty,  New  Hope  Church,  Kenesaw  Moun- 
tain. Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta.  Jonesboro',  The 
March  to  the  Sea,  Savannah,  Averysboro'  and 
Bentonville,  in  all  of  which  battles  and  campaigns 
he  had  been  actively  engaged.  General  McClurg, 
in  addition  to  these  honors,  received  complimen- 
tary letters  from  Generals  Sherman,  Thomas, 
Baird,  Mitchell,  Davis,  and  others.  General 
Davis  was  especially  urgent  that  General  Mc- 
Clurg should  accept  a  commission  in  the  regular 
army,  but  he  preferred,  in  compliance  with  the 
wishes  of  his  family  ami  friends,  to  return  to  civil 
life.  He  did  so,  and  quickly  resumed  his  connec- 
tion with  the  firm  of  S.  0.  Griggs  &  Co.,  in  which 
he  shortly  afterwards  became  a  junior  partner. 
When  the  publishing  and  mercantile  departments 
were  divided,  ( leneral  McClurg  became  a  partner 
in  the  new  firm  of  Jansen,  McClurg  it  Co..  which 
purchased  the  latter  branch  of  the  business. 
This  firm,  of  which  General  McClurg  had  always 
been  practically  the  head,  was  succeeded  early  in 
1-^7  by  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  of  which  he  is 
the  head  in  name  as  well  as  in  fact.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  speak  in  detail  of  the  stand- 
ing and  business  of  this  firm.  It  is  a  singular  fact 
that  it  has  gone  on  steadily  prospering  while  the 
general  trade  in  books  in  Chicago  has  been  noted 
for  the  number  of  wrecks  that  have  marked  its 
course.  Since  the  great  tire  not  less  than  five  ■lit' 
ferent  firms  doing  a  large  wholesale  or  retail  busi- 
ness in  bunks  have  failed  and  retired  from  business; 
and  only  verj  recently  (in  January,  1891 1.  the  only 
(■tlier  stomg  competitor  of   the    house,  viz.:    S.  A. 


Maxwell  &  Co.,  voluntarily  sold  out  to  A.G.  Me 
Clurg  A  Co..  and  retiring  from  the  book  business 
havedevoted  themselves  entirely  to  the  wall  paper 
business.  No  publishers  or  booksellers  have  done 
more  to  give  the  people  of  the  West  the  best  of 
English  and  American  literature;  they  have  the 
confidence  and  patronage  of  scholars,  writers  and 
literary  men  all  over  the  country.  In  an  extended 
review  of  the  book-making  and  bookselling  busi- 
ness in  Chicago,  recently  printed  in  a  local  paper, 
the  secret  of  the  firm's  success  is  thus  explained: 
"General  McClurg,  the  senior  member  and  man- 
ager of  the  business,  is  a  true  bibliophilisl  whose 
labor  in  preparing  a  bookfor  the  market  is  a  work 
of  love.  To  him  the  mechanical  construction  is 
just  as  important  as  the  literary  contents  of  the 
book,  hence  he  tries  to  have  both  first -class.  That 
he  has  striven  conscientiously  to  obtain  this  re- 
sult is  fully  evidenced  by  the  number  of  fine 
books  having  the  imprint  of  his  house."  General 
McClurg's  integrity  and  worth,  coupled  with  his 
dignity  and  courtesy,  have  won  for  him  the  re- 
spect and  friendship  of  all  with  whom  he  comes  in 
contact.  With  all  his  long  and  varied  experience 
in  the  handling  of  books,  General  McClurg  is  too 
modest  to  set  himself  up  as  an  authority.  He 
says  that  the  book-publishing  business  is  just  as 
much  of  an  experiment  to-day  as  it  was  when  he 
first  entered  it.  Years  of  experience  bring  rnuck 
mental  discretion  as  to  what  should  not  be  pub- 
lished, but  so  far  as  being  able  to  predict  a  bril- 
liant future  for  an  untried  book  is  concerned,  he 
thinks  the  publisher  of  half  a  century's  experience 
is  quite  as  apt  to  be  wrong  as  the  newcomer  in  the 
trade.  General  McClurg  has  been  president  of 
the  Chicago  Literary  Club,  and  is  now  the  vice- 
president  of  both  the  University  Club  and  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society;  he  is  also  president  of 
the  Chicago  branch  of  the  International  Copy- 
right League.  He  is  doing  earnest  work  for  the 
advancement  of  the  literary  interests  of  the  West, 
and  the  writers  and  authors  of  this  section  of  the 
country  have  in  him  a  watchful  and  powerful 
friend.  The  organization  and  present  efficiency 
of  t  In  I  Qinois  National  Guard  is  largely  the  result 
of  General  McClurg's  efforts.  He  was  called  upon 
in  1874,  when  threats  of  communist  agitators 
drew    attention   to   tin'   defenseless  condition  of 

Chicago,  to  lead   in   the   movement    t gani/.e  a 

regiment  of  citizen  soldiers.  Others,  backed  by 
the  best  influence  in  the  city,  had  attempted  to 
carry  out  the  plan,  but  had  failed  of  success. 
There  was  a  call  for  a  leader  who  was  not  only  a 
military  tactician   and  organizer,  but  whose   pri- 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


165 


vate  character  ami  standing  would  inspin 
dence.  In  this  emergency  General  McClurg  was 
asked  to  undertake  the  important  task.  Private 
reasons  led  him  to  decline  at  first,  but  considera- 
tion tor  his  duty  as  a  citizen  finally  impelled  him 
to  yield  to  the  pressure  which  was  dailj 
stronger.  He  began  the  work  with  every  thing  per- 
taining to  it  in  a  chaotic  condition,  and  in  twelve 
months'  time  had  a  perfectly  drilled,  throughly 
armed  and  well-uniformed  command  now  known 
as  the  First  Regiment,  Illinois  National  Guard. 
The  appearance  of  these  soldiers  and  their  mastery 
of   military   maneuvers   won   the   highest    praise 

from    General    Sheridan   and  other  unquesti id 

authorities  on  army  matters.    Havingbeen  largely 

instrumental  in  providing  the  1 pie  ol 

u  iili  ibis  safeguard  against  riot  and  insurrection, 
General  McClurg  retired  late  in  1877  from  the 
command  of  the  regiment,  leaving  it  in  a  most 
creditable  and  efficient  shape.  He  still,  however, 
maintains  a  lively  interest  in  public  affairs, 
especially  in  matters  of  government  and  has  ac- 
complished much  good  as  an  independent  in  pol- 
ities, lie  is  a  strong  advocate  of  civil  service 
reform  and  has  taken  advanced  grounds  for  the 
improvement  of  the  public  service.  In  1887  <  in 
eral  McClurg  married  Miss  Eleanor  Wheeler. 
daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Nelson  K.  Wheeler,  o) 
New  York  City,  and  niece  of  the  late  Hon.  Wm. 
B.  Ogden,  first  mayor  of  Chicago.  Her  mother 
was  Emily  (Butler)  Ogden,  sister  of  the  late  Win. 
B.  Ogden.  To  them  have  been  horn  two  sons. 
Ogden  Trevor  and  Alexander  C,  Jr.  The  latter 
died  in  infancy. 


WILLIAM   E.    STRONG. 

In  the  death  of  General  William  Emerson 
Strong,  which  occurred  at  Florence.  Italy,  on 
April  10th,  1891,  Chicago  lost  one  of  its  ablest 
and  most  prosperous  business  men.  the  associa- 
tions of  military  veterans  a  tried  and  true  com- 
rade, society  a  cultivated  and  genial  gentleman, 
and  the  cause  of  humanity  a  devoted  and  liberal 
advocate.  William  Emerson  Strong  was  bom  in 
Granville,  Washington  county,  New  Fork,  on  the 
10th  of  August,  1840.  The  Strong  family  is  one  of 
the  largest  and  best  of  the  original  families  of 
New  England,  and  its  members  have  ever  been 
zealous  in  their  advocacy  of  those  great  bulwarks 
of  civilization,  the  Church  and  the  School.  Few 
families  in  any  part  of  the  country  have  produced 


more  men  of  education — scholars,  physicians,  law- 
yers, teachers,  clergymen,  judges,  senators  and 
military  officers.  The  Strongs  are  of  old  Puritan 
stock,  the  real  builders  of  the  nation,  and  the  in 
spirers  of  its  aims  and  purposes.  The  Strong 
family  in  England  was  honorably  mentioned  as 
early  as  1545.  John  Strong,known  as  Elder  John 
Strong,  having  vigorous  Puritan  sympathies, 
sailed  from  Plymouth  for  America  March  20th. 
1630,  in  the  ship  "Mary  and  John,"  arriving  at 
Nantasket,  Mass.,  after  a  passage  oi  more  than 
seventy  days,  on  Sunday.  May  .'kith.  1630.  Gen- 
eral Strong  was  the  seventh  direct  descendant 
from  Caleb  Strong,  the  lirst  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  who  was  also  a  state  senator  and 
United  States  Senator  in  the  lirst  federal  Con- 
iii  1788  to  1794.  John  Emerson  Strong, 
father  of  William  Emerson  Strong,  was  a  wealthy 
wool  manufacturer  in  Granville,  when,  in  1849,  he 
met  with  business  reverses.  In  the  spring  of  1853 
In*  removed  with  his  family  to  Jefferson  Prairie. 
Rock  county.  Wisconsin,  where  he  purchased  a 
farm.  In  General  Strong's  own  words:  "Wear- 
rived  at  Clinton  early  in  June  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  farm.  I  being  then  aearly  thirteen 
years  of  age.  Prom  this  date  until  November, 
1857,  I  worked  upon  the  farm  with  my  father,  do- 
ing a  man's  labor  after  I  reached  the  n. 
teen.  Up  to  the  age  ol  thirteen  I  had  all  the  ad  van 
rded  fcrj  the  g  1  id  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood in  which  we  lived,  but  from  thirteen  to 
seventeen  1  attended  school  during  the  winter. 
with  the  exec] it  ion  of  about  six  months  during  the 
winter  of  1856,  when  I  had  the  privilege  of  enter 
ing  the  preparatory  department  of  Beloit  College." 
In  1856  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Strong  .V  Ful 
ler,  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  as  student  and  clerk. 
full  of  health  and  strength,  and  with  a  lixed  de- 
termination to  do  his  best,  and  to  do  everything 
better  than  it  had  ever  been  done  before,  an  aim 
which  never  deserted  him  while  life  lasted,  thus 
realizing  tin-  old  motto  on  the  Strong  escutcheon, 
placed  there  three  hundred  years  before.  Young 
Strong  later  went  to  Phillips  Academy.  Amherst, 
white  he  prepared  for  Harvard  College,  being  ad- 
mitted as  a  Bophomore  without  condition.  Early 
in  1861  lie  was  admitted  to  practice  in  all  the 
courts  of  the  first  judicial  circuit.  The  day  he 
was  examined  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Port  Sumter 
was  received,and,  enlisting  in  the  armj  bi 
was  twenty-one,  he  served  his  country  for  over 
rive  years  with  ardor  and  distinction,  and  quickly 
rose  to  liiyli  rank.  He  raised  a  company,  the 
Belle  City  Rifles,  which  was  assigned  as  Company 


[66 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


K,  of  the  2nd  Wisconsin  Infantry.    Willi  this  reg- 
iment he  joined  the  brigade  commanded  by  Col. 
Wm.  T.  Sherman.     Ee  commanded  bis  company 
at  the  engagement  of  Blackburn's  Ford,July  18th, 
andal  the  battle  of  Bull  liun.Juh  21st;  waswith 
and  commanded  bis  company  at  the  next  advance 
of  the  army  into  Virginia,  by  way  of  Chain  Ridge, 
early   in   September,   L861.    He  was  Captain  of 
Company  P  from  April  24th,  L861,  to  September 
L2th,  L861.     Tt  was  during  this  time  that  Captain 
Strong,  while  engaged  in  extending  his  pickets, 
ventured  too  far  beyond  our  lines  and  was  capt- 
ured   by   five    Confederates,  and    was    marched 
away  to  what  was  jocularly  called  "a  hanging- 
bee."    Noticing  his  fine   pistols,  the  captors  of 
Captain  Strong  demanded  them,  and  the  latter, 
with  true  Northern  courtesy,  replied:   "Certainly, 
gentlemen."    Ashe  pulled  the  pistols  from  their 
holsters  he  cocked  and  fired  them,  killing  three 
of  the  Confederates  and  inducing  the  others  to 
beat   a   rapid  retreat.    Captain  Strong  escaped 
with   his    first  scratch,  an  uncomfortable    shot 
through  the  cheek  and  a  cut  in  the  tongue.    On 
the  12th  of  September  he  was  commissioned  Ma- 
jor  of  the  12th  Wisconsin  Infantry.    Late  in  De- 
cember the  regiment  received  marching  orders, 
being  directed  to  report  to  Major  General   David 
Bunter,  in  command  at   fort  Leavenworth,  Kan 
sas.    lie  1 ame  Lieutenant  Colonel  ..f  the  com- 
mand on  November  24th,  1864.     He  was  detailed 
from  his  regiment   in  October,  1862,  an. I  was  as 
signed  to  duty  on  the  stall' of  Gen.M.  Kean  as  In- 
spector General,  Oth  Division.  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee, serving  two  months.     He  was  then  de- 
tailed and  assigned  to  duty  on  the  staff  of  Major 
General  James  B.  McPherson,  and  was  announced 
in  orders  as  the  Inspector  General.  Right  Wing, 
Army  of  the  Tennessee.     In   February,  1SG3,  he 
received  a  commission  as  Lieutenant  Colonel  and 
Assistant    Inspector  General   of   the   17th   Army 
Corps,  bearing  date  February  10th,  1863.     April 
20th,  1864,  he  was  appointed  Inspector  General  of 
the     Department    and    Army   of    the   Tennessee. 
sei  \  bag  in  this  capacity  until  after  the  close  of  the 
war.  May  19th,  1865.  Be  served  as  Chief  of  Staff  to 
Major  General  O.  O.  Howard,  commanding  the 
Army    of    the   Tennessee,    during    the    campaign 
from   Atlanta  to  the   sea.  and  in  the  campaign 
through   the  Carolinas  from   Beaufort  to  Golds- 
boro,   Raleigh    and    Washington.      He  was    lire- 
vet,,!  Colonel,  to  rank  from  September  1st.  1864; 
1, reveled  Brigadier  General,  to  rank  from  March 
21st,   1865.     General    Strong    took    part   in   the 
Grand   Review  of  the  Armies  by  the  President, 


Generals  Grant,  Sherman  and  Meade  at  Wash 
ington,  .Max  23d  and  24th,  1865.    On  the  19th  of 

Ma\   he  was   transferred   from    the   army,  the   war 

being  over,  and  assigned  to  duty  with  Major  Gen- 
eral <».  O.  Howard,  serving  as  Inspector  General 
of  the  Frecdman's  Bureau  until  September  1st," 
1866,  at  which  date  he  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  at  his  own  request  and  honorably  dis- 
charged, being  then  onlj  twenty-live  years  of 
age.  and  having  been  in  the  army  from  April 
24th.  1861,  a  period  of  five  years,  four 
months  and  seven  days.  During  this  period 
he  participated  in  the  following  engagements: 
battle  of  Port  Gibson,  May  1:  battle  of  Raymond, 
Maj  12;  battle  of  Jackson.  May  II;  battle  of 
Champion  Hills,  May  1G;  battle  of  Black  River 
Bridge,  May  IT:  siege  of  Vicksburg,  May  IS  to 
July  1  (forty-seven  days).  1SG3;  campaign  to 
Mi  a  idian,  Mississippi.  February  3  to  28, 1864;  cam- 
paign against  Atlanta.  May  5  to  September  5, 
1864;  battle  of  Resaca,  Maj  11.  15  and  16;  battle 
of  Dallas.  May  28  to  June  1;  battle  of  New  Bope 
Church.. Tune  2  to  4;  battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
June  11  to  July  2:  battle  of  Nickajack  Creek, 
July  1:  battle  of  Atlanta,  July  20.  21  and  22;  bat- 
tle of  Ezra  Chapel,  July  28;  battle  of  Jonesboro', 
September  1:  battle  of  Lovejoy  Station,  Septem- 
ber 2  to  5;  campaign  to  the  sea,  Atlanta  to  Savan- 
nah, November  to  December  21,1864;  Fort  Mc- 
Allister, December  13;  engagement  and  skir- 
mishes about  Savannah:  campaign  through  the 
Carolinas  from  Beaufort  to  Goldsboro',  January 
11  to  March  23,1865;  battle  of  Bentonville,  North 
Carolina.  March  19  to  April  22,  1865;  campaign 
from  Goldsboro'  to  Raleigh;  surrender  of  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston's  army.  April  26,  1865.  H 
was  to  Colonel  Strong,  after  the  fall  of  Vicks- 
burg. that  the  raising  of  the  United  States  Hag- 
over  the  courthouse  of  Vicksburg  was  entrusted. 
It  was  Colonel  Strong  who  received  the  last  order 
from  the  brilliant  General  McPherson,  who  fell 
before  Atlanta,  on  the  22nd  of  July.  1SG4.  He 
also  made  the  desperate  ami  daring  charge  to 
recover  the  dead  chief 's  body.  He  had  collected 
a  very  valuable  "War  Library."  inclusive  of  rare 
manuscripts,  autograph  letters,  papers,  docu- 
ments and  photographs,  of  which  it  can  be  said 
no  duplicate  exists.    General   Strong's  military 

career  did  not  end  witli  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War,  for.  in  April.  1S7G.  he  was  commissioned  by 
the  Hon.  John  L.  Beveridge,  Governor  of  Illinois, 
as  inspector-general  of  the  Illinois  National 
Guard,  to  rank  as  lieutenant  colonel  from  April 
6,    1S7G.     In   July    he    was   commissioned  by  the 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


167 


Eon.  Shelby  M.Cullom,  Governor  of  Illinois,  as  in 
spector-general  and  inspector  of  rifle  practice  on 
the  staff  of  the(  lovernor,  and  commander-in-chief, 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  from  July:), 
1877.  In  August,  1879,  he  was  again  commis- 
sioned by  Governor  Cullom  as  inspector-general  of 
hisstaff.  Allot  these  commissions  he  accepted,and 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  organization  "f  the 
National  Guard  of  Illinois  during  the  period  co-* 
ered  by  those  commissions.  January  1.  1867, 
General  Strong  formed  a  business  "connection  with 
the  Peshtigo  Company,  one  of  the  largest  lumber 
corporations  in  the  country,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Chicago.  July  12,  1867,  he  was  elected 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  company,  which 
office  he  held  for  over  six  years.  On  October  24, 
1873,  hewas  elected  president  of  the  company, 
and  held  that  office  at  the  time  of  his  death,  on 
April  10,  L891,  a  period  of  eighteen  y;u~.  May  7. 
1872,  he  was  chosen  as  treasurer  and  assistant 
secretary  of  the  Sturgeon  Hay  and  Lake  M 
Ship  1  'anal  and  Hail. or  Company,  in  which  he 
was  also  a  director.  He  also  took  an  active  pari 
in  the  construction  of  the  Sturgeon  Bi 
In  politics  General  Strong  was  an  anient  Repub- 
lican. He  was  a  member  of  the  local  executive 
committee  having  in  charge  preparations  for  the 
memorable  National  Republican  Convention  held 
in  Chicago  in  June,  1880.  lh- was  appointed  to 
take  control  of  the  convention  building,  and  upon 
the  assembling  of  the  convention  was  unanimously 
appointed  sergeant-  at-arms.  Never  wei 
of  people  so  skillfully  handled.    This  cot 

arkable  for  the  unusual  length  of  time 
it  lasted,  for  the  large  number  of  distinguished 
men  who  participated  in  the  proceedings,  for 
oratory  of  extraordinary  brilliancy  and  p.  n\  er,  f<  ir 
audiences  thai  were  multitudes,  for  the  intense 
inten  si  it  created  in  the  public  mind,  and  for  the 
unexpected  issue  of  the  prolonged  struggle.  Gen- 
eral Strong's  services  on  the  occasion  were  in- 
comparable; at  the  elose  of  the  convention  he 
was  publicly  thanked  in  a  resolution  presented  by 
the  late  President  Garfield.  General  Strong  was 
from  boyhood  an  ardent  sportsman,  and  keenly 
enjoyed  his  outings  with  dog  and  gun.  His 
father,  from  whom  he  inherited  the  love  of  the 
sport,  taught  him  how  to  handle  a  gun  at  the  early 
age  of  seven  years,  ami  from  that  I  i  me  on  he  hunted 
large  game  ami  wild  fowl  all  over  tin-  coun- 
try. Up  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  enthusi- 
astic in  the  chase,  and  possessed  many  Hue 
trophies  of  his  skill.  Hewas  also  an  extensive 
and  intelligent  traveler,  and  leaves  many  charm- 


ingly graphic  sketches  of  his  explorations  of  the 
canons  of  the  Yellowstone  River  and  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  where  lie  had  gone  several  times  upon 
the  invitation  of  the  Secretary  of  War  and 'Gen- 
eral Sheridan.  General  Strong  was  a  near  kins- 
man of  Ralph  Waldo  i  •  had  many  of 
the  tine  traits  of  charact  1  an  I  genius  which  dis- 
tinguished that  famous  philosopher.  He  was 
genial  and  gentle  in  manner  and  disposition.  He 
never  indulged  in  calumny  or  detraction,  ab- 
horred deceit,  fraud  and  flattery,  ami  his  reputa- 
tion was  preserved  without  spot  or  blemish:  he 
was  faithful  in  trust  and  impartial  in  judgment, 
just  in  all  his  dealings,  temperate  in  all  his  pleas- 
ures, grateful  to  his  benefactors,  and  staunchly 
loyal  to  his  friends,  full  of  charity  and  liberality 
to  the  poor  and  pity  for  the  afflicted.  lb-  won 
from  all  love,  confidence  and  respect.  Hi-  enjoyed 
literature,  art  and  music,  anil  was  of  broad  cul- 
ture, true  refinement  and  a  lover  of  nature.  He 
drew  around  him  tin-  best  of  men,  and  enjoyed 
their  affection    ami   their  confidence.     A  man  of 

line   presence,  al st    striking   in    appearance,  il 

was  more  the  brilliancy  of  his  educated  mind. and 
thehonestj  of  his  charming  manners,  that  at- 
tracted a  1  id  won  for  him  the  many  true  friends  he 
..'.  He  died  at  Florence.  Italy,  on  April 
lo.  1891,  aged  fifty  years  and  eight  months,  while 
making  an  European  tour.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  a  director  of  the  World's  Columbian 
ion,  a  charter  member  of  the  military 
order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  Illinois  Com- 
mandery,  a  highly  honored  member  of  the-  Com 
mercial  Club,  and  the  Literary  Club  of  Chicago, 
as  well  as  of  many  prominent  military  organiza- 
tions, including  George  H.  Thomas  Post,  of  the 
G.  A.R.  When  his  remains  were  brought  home 
for  burial,  a  tender  of  military  honors  was  made, 
the  language  of  the  offer  being  as  follows:  "  It  is 
befitting  to  preserve  in  memory,  and  hand  down 
to  the  generations  something  about  a  man  who 
helped  to  make  citizens  heroic  soldiers,  and  to 
render  possible  the  triumph  of  liberty  and  man- 
hood. While  his  was  a  beneficent  existence  of 
many  manly  years,  yet  it  seems  to  the  vision  of 
man  that  he  died  before  his  time.  It  is  but  just 
to  say  of  him  that  his  conduct  as  a  soldier  sprung 

fi a    stern,    true,  patriotic    martyr   spirit  that 

enabled  him  to  dare  unflinchingly  with  a  smile 
to  the  green  earth,  and  a  smile  to  the  bright 
heavens,  and  a  cheer  to  his  companions."  Similar 
sentiments  were  voiced  in  the  memorial  resolu- 
tions passed  hythe  Loyal  Legion,  the  Commercial 
Chili,  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Chi- 


i68 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


cago  Literarj  Club.  'General  Strong  was  a  noble 
type  of  the  American  citizen  —  courage,  manli 
aess,  patriot]  m,  sincerity  and  friendship  are  in- 
stinctivelj  associated  with  his  name.  He  was 
Dot  old  when  he  died,  yel  venerated  him. Is  bore 
him  to  his  tomb  as  if  the  sanctities  of  age  had 
hallowed  his  life  before  itsclose.  ( leneral  Strong 
wasmarried  on  April  25,  1867,  to  Miss  Mary 
Bostwick  Ogden,  daughter  of  Mahlon  D.  Ogden, 
and  a  niece  of  Hon.  "William  B.  Ogden,  the  first 
Mayor  of  Chicago,  a  most  estimable  and  charming 
woman.  Mrs.  Strong  survives  her  husband,  with 
a  family  of  three  children  —  Ogden  Strong,  and 
Henrietta  Ogden  and  Man  Ogden  Strong. 


JOHN    M.   CLARK. 

One  of  President  Harrison's  first  appointments 
in  Chicago  in  1890  was  that  of  John  M.  Clark  to 
be  Collector  of  Customs,  and  it  was  a  selection 
which  gave  general  satisfaction.  Mr.  Clark  has 
been  a  resident  of  Chicago  from  boyhood,  is  well 
known  in  political  and  business  circles  and  has 
been  for  man)  years  prominently  identified  with 
the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  the  city.  John 
Marshall  Clark  was  born  at  While  Pigeon,  Si. 
Josi  ill  county,  Michigan,  August  1.  L836.  His 
father  was  Robert  ( 'lark.  Jr..  a  uative  of  Delaware 
county,  New  York,  who  emigrated  to  Michigan 
with  his  parents  when  a  boy  of  seventeen.  He 
achieved  considerable  fame  as  a  surveyor  of  Gov- 
ernment  hinds,  and  died  while  at  active  work,  in 
1837.  Dr.  Robert  Clark,  the  grandfather  of  John 
M.  Clark,  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability 
and  worth,  lie  represented  Ids  district  in  Con- 
gress with  distinction  for  two  terms  and  was 
appointed  to  the  position  of  Ie  gister  for  the  Gov- 
ernment land  office  at  Monroe,  Michigan, in  1S21. 
John  M.  Clark's  mother  was  Mary  E.  Fitch. 
daughter  of  Judge  C.  B.  Fitch,  of  St.  Joseph, 
Michigan.  She  was  married  to  Robert  Clark.  Jr., 
in  1831,  and  the  death  of  the   latter   in    1837,  left 

her    with    two    sons    to    rear    and     educate.     The 

w  idowed  mot  her  was  not  satisfied  with  the  meagre 
chances  tor  an  education  that  the  country  schools 
of  that  eai  I)  period  afforded.  She  accordinglj 
removed  to  Chicago  in  1847  and  placed  the  hoys 
in  the  private  school  of  M.  B.  Gleason,  which  was 
quite  a  pretentious  institution  for  that  day,  located 
on  the  prairie  near  the  present  corner  of  Monroe 
and  Jeffers itreets.    In  1852,  after  serving  a 


short  time  as  rodman  in  an  engineering  corps  of 
the  Illinois  Central  railway. .lolin  M.  Chirk  entered 
the  famous  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  at 
Troy,  New  York,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1856, 
as  a  civil  engineer.  Returning  to  Chicago  he  re- 
entered the  service  of  the  Illinois  Central  railway 
and  was  employed.on  the  Dubuque  &  Sioux  City 
extension.  In  1859,  Mr.  Clark  went  to  Colorado 
where  he  became  one  of  the  original  proprietors 
of  the  Denver  town  site  and  still  owns  property 
allotted  to  him  as  a  member  of  the  original  town 
company.  He  was  chief  engineer  of  the  first 
Water  Supply  Company  in  Denver,  and  made  the 
original  surveys  and  had  charge  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  works.  His  uncle,  John  A  Clark,  was 
appointed  Surveyor  General  of  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico,  in  1862,  by  President  Lincoln,  and  Mr. 
Clark  went  to  Santa  Pe  in  the  same  year  with  the 
purpose  of  following  his  profession  in  the  survey 
of  public  lands.  Owing  to  the  hostility  of  the 
Navajo  Indians,  field  work  was  impossible  and  Mr. 
Clark  accepted  a  position  in  the  Surveyor  Gen- 
eral's office.  The  Surveyor  (  leneral  was  called  to 
Washington,  and  in  his  absence  a  force  of  Confed- 
erates from  Texas,  under  command  of  General 
Sibley,  made  an  incursion  into  New  Mexico  and 
succeeded  in  capturing  the  territory,  and  made 
their  headquarters,  for  a  time,  in  the  capital  city, 

Santa  Pe.     Mr.  Clark  who  had  I n  left  in  charge 

of  the  Surveyor  ( leneral's  office,  saved  the  govern 

meat  records  and  the  valuable  archives  of  the 
office  by  conveying  them  to  Port  Union  under 
military  escort.  On  the  march  to  the  fort  Mr. 
Clark  served  as  a  volunteer  aid  on  the  staff  of 
General  Donaldson  of  the  regular  army,  and  was 
afterwards  present  at  the  battle  of  Apache  Canon 
in  a  similar  capacity  on  the  staff  of  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral John  P.  Slough,  commanding  Colorado  vol- 
unteers. In  this  engagement  the  Texans  were 
routed,  and  the  loyalty  of  New  Mexico  established. 
Mr.  Clark  was  the  first  man  on  the  federal  side 
to  reach  Santa  Pe  after  the  battle.  In  recognition 
of  his  services  he  was  tendered  by  Governor  Con- 
nelly a  commission  as  Major  in  the  First  Regiment 
of  New  Mexico  Volunteers,  commanded  by  the 
celebrated  ( !ol.  Kit  Carson;  hut  on  account  of  his 
duties  to  the  government  in  the  civil  position 
which  he  held,  was  obliged  to  decline  the  appoint 
inenl,  which  he  did  with  much  regret.  Mr.  Clark- 
was  called  hack  to  Chicago  in  L864  by  the  severe 
illness  of  his  brother,  ami  on  the  death  of  the 
latter    purchased    Ids    interest    in    the     wholesale 

leather  firm  of  Gray,  Marshall   &   Co.;  the   name 
was  changed  to  Cray,  Clark  A  Co.,  and  afterwards 


U^L        >^7.       ^1^~^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


169 


to  its  present  corporate  name  of  Gray,  Chirk  & 

Engle.  In  1879  Mr.  Clark  was  elected  to  the  City 
Council,  and  through  his  efforts  many  municipal 
improvements  were  started.  He  was  the  firs'1 
member  of  the  Council  to  suggesl    the   introduc- 

ti f  the  cable  railway  system  in   Chicago,  and 

secured  the  passage  of  the  ordinance  under  which 

the  South  Side  road   was  tstructed.    It    was 

through   him   that   legislation  compelling  streel 

railway  companies  to  pay  one-half  th si   of 

construction,  and  a  portion  of  the  annual 
cosl  of  maintaining  bridges  used  by  them,  was 
enacted.  The  ordinance  providing  for  a  uniform 
system  of  stone  side-walks  in  tin-  central  portion 
of  the  city;  the  introduction  of  the  decimal 
system  of  house  numbering  in  the  South  division. 
south  of  12th  street;  the  smoke  ordinance;  the 
order  covering  all  lapsed  appropriations  back 
into  the  general  fund  at  the  close  of  each  year; 
and  many  other  importanl  measures  were  either 
i i)  1  roduced  by  him  or  secured  b)  his  acl  i 
port  in  their  passage.  His  first  and  only  defeat  in 
polities  was  in  1881,  when,  as  a  Republican  candi 
date  Eor  mayor,  he  was  beaten  by  Carter  H.  Har- 
rison. This  was  followed,  however,  by  his  selec- 
tion as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  in 
which  office  he  served  three  years.  .Mr.  Clark's 
skill  and  strength  in  polities  were  well  shown  in 
1888,  when,  as  secretarj  ol  the  committee  having 
in  charge  the  interests  of  Judge  Gresham  as  a 
candidate  for  the  Republican  presidential  nomina- 
t  ion.  he  largely  shaped  and  directed  a  contest  that 
come  memorable  in  convention  annals. 
That  President  Harrison,  with  the  full  knowledge 
of  this,  and  to  the  rejection  of  the  claims  of  others 
who  helped  to  secure  his  own  nomination,  should 
have  selected  Mr.  Clark  as  the  leading  federal 
appointee  in  Chicago  is  rightly  taken  as  a  just 
recognition  of  the  latter's  ability  and  high  stand- 
ing as  a  successful  business  man.  Mr.  Clark  is  a 
thorough  executive,  ami  has  a  faculty  for  accom 
plishing  a  great  amount  of  work,  while  at  the 
same  time  retaining  a  complete  mastery  of  detail. 
Whatever  he  undertakes  is  done  with  a  will  and 
vim  that  insure-  success.  Mr.  Clark  has  been 
prominent  in  many  large  business  enterp] 
in  all  of  them  has  been  prosperous.  One  of  the 
best  known  of  these  is  the  Central  Music  Hall 
Association,  which  is  among  the  mosl  successful 

of  Chicago's  profitable  investments,  and  of  which 
he  has  for  many  years  been  president.  In  the 
will  of  the  late  John  Crerar,  Mr.  Clark  is  named 
as  one  of  the  dire, -tors  of  the  great  library  be- 
queathed by  Mr.  Crerar  to   the  city  of   Chicago. 


No  public  question  of  interest  to  the  people  is  too 
small  to  claim  Mr.  Clark's  time  and  best  thought, 
and  for  this  reason,  while  in  the  City  Council,  he 
was  always  an  able  and  influential  member. 
While  a  man  of  the  most  domestic  habits,  and  the 
owner  of  a  handsome  home  on  Prairie  avenue,  he 
is  well  known  in  Chicago  club  life,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  many  important  organizations,  including 
the  CJnioD  League.  Literary  Club,  Calumet  Club, 
Chicago  Club,  and  Commercial  Club.  Of  the 
latter  la-  has  also  been  president.  He  is  a  man  of 
fine  literary  tastes,  and  is  well  read  in  belles- 
lettres,  as  well    as    in    current    topics;   and  careful 

observation  while   traveling  in  this  country  and 
abroad  has  given  him  a  fund  of  information  which 
well  tits  him  for  the  high  station  he  has  found  in 
die.     He  is  a  readj  talker  on  all  important  ques- 
1  he  day.  is  a  man  of  tine  personal  appear- 
ance, and  has  an   unfailing  fund  of   tact,  wit  and 
good-nature.     His  disposition   is  genial  and   hos 
pitable,  and  he  makes  friends  wherever  la-  goes. 
.  '.\  in  the  prime  of  life,  intensely  active  in 
his   physical    and    mental    powers,   and   a    leader 
men.     With    his   family,   comprising    his 
son    ami    one    daughter.  Mr.  Clark   is   a 
regular   attendant    at    the   Second    Presbyterian 

Church,  and  has  done  much  g 1  in  a  quiet  way 

in  the  charities  connected  with  that  society.  Mr. 
Clark's  wife  was  Miss  Mary  Louise  Qua,  of  New 
York  city,  whom  he  married  in  1873. 


HENRY  W.  KING. 

It  was  at  Martinsburg,  Lewis  county,  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born.  Tin-  date  of  his  birth  was  Dee.  18, 
lS'is.  His  parents,  William  and  Christian  (Rock- 
well) King,  were  uatives  of  Massachusetts.  .Mr. 
King  is  a  representative  Ckieagoan.  one  of  that 
army  of  men  whose  indomitable  courage  and  will 
have  surmounted  what  seemed  to  be  insurmount- 
able obstacles,  and  with  brilliant  ability  and  un- 
sw'erving  integrity  have  not  only  achieved  a 
marked  success  in  their  individual  enterprises 
and  an  enviable  fame  in  tlie  commercial  world, 
bu1  have  made  this  second  city  of  the  nation 
what  it  is  to-day.  The  business  push  and  rest- 
lessness of  Chicago  have  led  to  the  charge  that  she 
is  almost  wholly  devoted  to  material  things.     It 

seeais  to    he    believed   by  some  that     her    people  cs 

teem  a  new  packing  house  or  a  twenty  story  com- 
mercial  building  as  much  more  desirable  than  a 


170 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


librarj  or  an  art  gallery.  She  is  charged  with 
:  neb  devotion  to  the  details  of  business  that  her 
mi  rchants  neglect  the  softer  phases  of  human 
action  and  stifle  the  aspirations  of  humanity. 
Such  a  belief  does  Chicago  a  greal  injustice. 
The  city  is  greal  materially.  Ber  merchants, 
like  all  successful  business  men,  are  alive  to  the 
duties  that  devolve  upon  them  in  this  direction. 
Bui  Chicago  is  a  center  of  culture  and  humane 
demonstrations.  The  hearts  and  the  pursesof  her 
merchants  readily  and  generously  respond  to  the 
requirements  of  culture  and  charity,  and  grander 
charities  and  more  splendid  benevolence  are  sel- 
dom found  than  those  which  the  city  of  Chicago 
has  fostered.  Mr.  Henry  W.  King,  during  ;ill  his 
business  success,  has  never  for  ;i  single  moment 
lost  sight  of  the  great  truth  of  the  universal 
brotherhood  of  man.  ami  his  name  and  contribu- 
tions have  invested  with  life  and  vigor  and  pro 
ficiency  some  of  the  best  charities  and  move- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  the  people  that  Chicago 
has  ever  enjoyed.  His  early  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  left  the  public  school 
and  entered  the  State  Academ)  at  Lowville,  New 
Ynrk.  where  he  prepared  to  enter  college.  But  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  left  the  academy,  and 
there  occurred  one  oi  those  changes  which  hap- 
pen in  the  lives  ol   men,  and  which  maybe  fore- 

iii is    nf    an    entire    turn     in     one's     affairs. 

Young  King  was  now  fitted  to  begin  his  college 
course.  Had  he  then  entered  college  the  world 
might  have  lust  a  successful  merchant,  and  Chi- 
cago a  citizen  whose  wraith  has  enabled  him  to 
do  s<>  much  for  Ins  adopted  city.  Instead  of  do- 
ing so,  however,  he  entered  his  father's  store,  in- 
tending to  remain  only  temporarily;  but  his  love 
and  fitness  for  business  were  soon  developed  so 
strongly  that  he  concluded  to  secure  his  further 
education  in  the  greal  school  of  observation  and 
experience,  in  which  so  many  of  the  world's  suc- 
cessful men  have  been  educated,  and  thenceforth 
hi  devote  himself  I"  business  pursuits.  He  re- 
mained with  his  lather  until  1854,  when  he  came 
to  ( ihicago  and  organized  the  firm  of  Barrett.  King 
A-  Co..  to  do  a  wholesale  clothing  business.  The 
firm  located  at  L89  South  Water  street.  In  1857 
the  house  removed  to 205  '207  South  Water  street. 
and  three  yean  later  to  Nos.  25  '-!7  Lake  street. 
The  reader  who  knows  Chicago  onlj  as  it  at  pres- 
ent exists  will  conceive  the  idea  that  a  great 
clothing  house  on  Water  street  or  Lake  street 
would  seem  sadly  out  of  place;  ami  the  very  idea 
will   show  him   as  well   as  anything  can    I  lie    vast 


changes  which  have  1 11  wrought  in  the  extenl 

and  methods  of  commerce  in  the  last  forty  years 

in  the  metropolis  ol'  the  West.  In  1863  Mr.  Bar- 
rett retired  from  the  firm,  which  then  became 
King,  Kellogg  &  Co..  ami  was  composed  ol'  Henry 
W.  King,  Charles  P.  and  Palmer  V.  Kellogg.  In 
1868  there  was  a  dissolution  of  this  firm,  Mr. 
King  retiring  and  the  Messrs.  Kellogg  continuing 
business  al  the  old  stand.  Mr.  King  now  formed 
a  partnership  with  W.  C.  Browning  and  Edward 
W.  Dewey,  of  New  fork  city,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Henry  W.  King  &  Co.,  which  conducted 
a  wholesale  clothing  business  at  the  corner  of 
Michigan  avenue  and  Lake  street.  The  mi  mber 
ship  of  tia>  great  firm  has  remained  unchanged 
from  the  time  of  their  organization  until  the  pr<  s- 
ent  time,  except  that  some  junior  members  have 
In  en  admitted.  The  house,  like  so  many  others, 
was  in  the  path  of  the  great  Chicago  lire  before 
which  so  many  fortunes  were  consumed  and  so 
many  merchants  disheartened.  The  firm's  loss 
was  live  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Still 
the  house  was  much  more  fortunate  than  most  of 
its  neighbors.  The  late  Wirt  Dexter,  a  life-long 
friend  of  Mr.  King's,  then  attorney  for  the   Michi 

gan  Central  Railroad,  acting  with  lus  characteris- 
tic generosity  and  good  judgment,  placed  a  train 
of  freight  cars  at  the  disposal  of  Messrs.  King  & 
Co.,  and  a  force  of  men  began  loading  these  cars 
with  goods  from  the  doomed  building.  About  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars'  worth  had  been  placed 
on  hoard  when  the  depot  caught  tire  and  it  was 
found  necessary  to  move  the  train  to  save  n  from 
destruction.  The  goods  which  had  been  saved 
were  earned  to  Michigan  City,  where  they  were 

stored  for  two  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the 
firm  had  secured  new  quarters  at  the  corner  of 
Canal  and  West  Washington  streets.  The  goods 
were  reshipped  to  this  temporary  store  and  busi- 
ness   resumed    at    once.     The    fact    that    the    firm 

had  at  that  time  already  established  a  manufac- 
tory in  New  York  city  aided  it  greatly  to  over- 
come the  difficulties  which  many  others  were  not 
able  to  meet.  In  1872  the  firm  removed  to  the 
Parwell  block  on  Market  street,  three  years  later 
to  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Madison  streets, 
and  in  1891  to  their  present  large  store,  corner 
Adams  and  Market  streets.  In  addition  to  its 
large  and  constantly  growing  wholesale  business, 
the  house  during  the  last  few  .wars  has  estab 
lished  retail  stores  in  Chicago.  Cincinnati.  St. 
Louis.  Milwaukee.  Kansas  City.  Omaha,  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis,  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  The  retail 
stores    are    conducted    under     the    linn    name    of 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS 


171 


Browning,  King  &  Co.     These   retail  stores  and 
the  wholesale   house   do  an   annual    busii 
about    five    million    dollars,    anil    the    immense 
growth  of  the  business  will  be  seen  when  the  fact 
is  stated  that  the  total  sales  in  1854  were  only  a 
hundred   and  fifty  thousand  dollars.     As   previ- 
ously stated,   Mr.  King  has  found   time,   in   the 
midst  of  the  demands   which   his  large   business 
makes  upon  his  time  and  abilities,  to  bear  a  share 
of  public  burdens  and  to  devote  himself  to  the  good 
of  his   fellow  men.     In   the   years   of    1870,    1871, 
IsT-J    and    1873    he   was    president    of    th     CI 
cago     Belief    and      Aid     Society,     which     dur- 
ing     Ids      presidency      distributed      rive      mill- 
ions    of    dollars,    which     was     contributed     by 
the    world    for    the    relief    of    the    sufferers    of 
the  tire  of  1S71.    The  disbursement  of  tl 
amount  of  money  was  made  with  such 
mat'-    business  ability  that    not    a   cent  was   un- 
accounted for.     The  management  of  thi  - 
butions  was  so  excellent    that    it    reflect 
honor  upon  Mr.  King   and   his  associate   officers, 
go  Relief  and   Aid  Society  has  been  a 
model  for  similar  organizations  in  all  parts  of  the 

Prom  1873  until  1888  Mr.  King  • 
urer  of  this  society.  He  is  vice-president  of  the 
Nursery  and  Half-Orphan  Asylum,  and 
a  director  of  the  Old  People's  Home.  He 
member  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  owes  much  to  his  influence  and  interest  in 
its  general  prosperity.  Naturally,  a  gentleman  of 
Mr.  King's  financial  standing  and  business  ability 
b  ■  sought  by  some  of  the  monetary  institu- 
tions of  the  city,  that  thej  might  have  the  benefit 
of  his  influence  and  judgment.  Mr.  Ki 
ever,  has  not  ventured  much  in  outside  business 
enterprises  of  any  kind.  Still,  for  more  than 
twenty  years  he  has  been  a  director  of  the  Corn- 
National  Hank  of  Chicago.  II 
a  trustee  of  the  United  States  Mortgage  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  and  one  of  the  American 
trustees  of  the  Liverpool,  London  and  Globe  Fire 
Insurance  Company.  Mr.  King  was  married  in 
1858  to  Miss  Aurelia  Case,  of  Chicago.  They 
have  had  three  children,  on.'  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters. He  is  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Club  and 
the  Commercial  Club  of  Chicago  In  politics  he 
has  always  been  a  Republican,  and  had  his  tastes 
run  in  that  direction  he  could  have  enjoyed 
political  distinction,  but  he  has  always  declined 
to  be  a  candidate  for  office.  His  reputation 
for  fairness,  honesty  and  integrity  ! 
so  well  known  that  there  have  been  occasions  in 
the   history  of   Chicago  when    Ins   candidacy  for 


office  would  have  commanded  tie  rotes  of  all 
respectable  men.  regardless  of  party.  He  is  not 
partisan,  as  such  men  seldom  are.  but 
his  patriotism  ami  desire  for  good,  honest  gov- 
ernment prompt  him  to  vote  for  the  best  men  who 
may  be  in  nomination.  Such  a  lib1  is  a  model 
for  the  young  man  who  is  sometimes  tempted, 
amidst  the  only  too  great  degrees  of  1 se  com- 
mercial morality,  to  think  that  success  depends 
upon  methods  of  which  conscience  and  public 
opinion  will  not  approve.  Mr.  King  has  achieved 
and  maintained  his  honor  unspotted.  He 
is  as  will  known  in  Chicago  for  his  unswerving 
honesty  and  integrity,  and  for  his  humanity,  as 
he  is  as  a  great  and  leading  merchant.  His 
career  lias  1 n  a  credit  to  himself  in  every  re- 
spect, and  a  blessing  to  the  city  in  which  he  has 
so  long  lived  and  is  so  well  known. 


T.  W.   HARVEY 


TURLINGTON  WALKER  HARVEY,  a  dis- 
tinguished business  man  of  Chicago,  and  president 
of  the  Chicago  Commercial  Club,  was  born  in 
Sil... mi.  Ma  lison  county,  N.  Y..  March  10th.  1835. 

The  names  of  few  citizens  of  Chicago  are  better 
known  than  that  of  Mr.  Harvey.  He  is  the  presi- 
dent of  the  T.  \V.  Harvey  Lumber  Company,  and 
of  the  Harvej  Steel  Car  Company,  located  at  the 
town  of  Harvey,  an  enterprising  manufacturing 
i  i  .ne-half  m  lies  south  of  Pull- 
man, laid  out  and  practically  built  up  by  Mr.  Har- 
vey. Mr.  Harvej  is  one  of  the  pioneer  lumber  men 
of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and  has  through  these 
relations  b<  come  largely  connected  with  a  number 
of  vast  enterprises  in  the  lumber  interest.  He 
came  to  Chicago  when  but  a  boy.  and  though  he 
worked  in  the  employ  of  others  for  a  time,  he  was 
iioi  long  in  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  an  in- 
stitution of  his  own.  His  career  since  then  has 
been  one  of  great  activity,  and  not  the  least  of  it 
has  been  directly  in  the  interest  of  the  city  he  has 
made  his  home.  Few  men  have,  perhaps,  given 
so  much  time  to  charitable  occupations,  w-hile  at 
the  same  time  having  immense  interests  of  their 
own  which  constantly  demanded  attention.  Mr. 
Harvey"s  parents  were  Joshua  and  Paulina 
(Walker i  Harvey.  His  father  was  a  native  of 
New  York  state,  but  his  mother  came  from  Mass- 
-.  The  former  in  his  earlier  days  was  a 
farmer,  but  later,  engaged    in    carpenter   work,  in 


'7- 


Kioiii.wrm    m-'   fllixois 


Durhamville,    N.    Y.    Young   Harvey,   Er the 

time  he  was  eli  yen  yearsold  until  he  was  Fourteen, 
was  employed  in  a  grocery  store  in  thai  tow  a,  and 
,,,  to  learn  the  carpenter's   trade   in   his 
Hop.     He  wasgiven  some  time  for  acquir 
ing  an  education,  which   though    brief,   the  lad 
m;i,l,.    the    most    of.     He    attended     the    public 
ecI  ools  and  when  some  years  later  his   Father  re- 
moved to  Oneida,  N.  Y.,  and    there   buill    a  sash. 
door  and  blind  factory,  he  studied   for  a    time   in 
the  Oneida   Academy.    His  opportunities    must 
nave  been  limited,  however,   For  he   learned  his 
trade  in  his  father's  factory  before  be   was  nine 
teen  years  old.    It  was  a1  this  age,   in    1854,  that 
he  came  to  Chicago.     In  1866  his   parents  moved 
to  Sandwich,  111.,  where  in    1880  his   father   died. 
His  mother  is  still  living  at  a  ripe  old  aye.    T.  W. 
Harvey's    firs!    employment    in    Chicago  was   as 
Foreman  of  a  small  sash,  door  and    blind    factory, 
,,w  ned  l'.\  James  McFall,  but  he  sunn   accepted    a 
similar  position  in  a  larger  concern,  that  of  Abbot! 
&    Kingman,   whom    he    served    For    five    years. 
While  with  this  firm  he  had  the  best  of  opportuni 
ties  to  become  acquainted  with  the  Deeds  of   the 
western  country  in  that  line   of   manufacture,  for 
the}  had  a  large  trade  and   supplied   tin-  greater 
part  of  the  northwest  with  their  goods.    In  1859 
Mr.  Harvey  was  enabled  to  effect  a  business  con 
nection  with  a  Mr.  Lamb,   and   under   the   firm 
name  of  Lamb  A-  Harvey  they  built  tin   extensive 
planing  mill  and  conducted  a  lumber   yard.     The 
business  -rew  to  such  an  extent,  that   in  1861  they 
Were  obliged  to  enlarge  their  facilities  and.  there- 
fore, built  and  equipped  a  much  larger  establish 
ment.     In  1865  Mr.  Lamb  sold  his  interest  to  Mr. 
Harvey,  the  hit  ten-  becoming  sole  proprietor  i  E  the 
concern.     It  had  become  so  successful   thai    even 
the    large    factory   erected   in    1861    lacked    the 
requisite  Facilitii  s  tor  t  lie  conduct  of  the  business; 
besides  the  cit)  had  grown  and   was  growing  up 
about  it   so   rapidly,  that   Mr.   Harvey    found   it 
expedient  to  move  to  the  outskirts.    He  secured 
property    at    the   corner   of    Twenty-second  and 
Morgan  streets,  where  he  built  the  Hist  really  fire- 
proof building  erected  in  the  city  up  to  thai  time. 
This  building  was  a  planing  mill,  and  opposite  to 
it  he  bought  ami  built  docksfor  the  receipl  of  sup- 
plies, and  here  he  began  the  conduct  of    what  has 
grown   to   he  the    largest    lumber   business   ever 
operated  in  this  country.    Mr. Harvey  had  lumber 
mills  at  Muskegon,  operated  till   L885,   ami    Mari- 
nette. Wis.,  on    the   Menominee  river,    which    he 
operates  still.    To  such  proportions  did  the  busi 
□ess  grow  that  his  Chicago  yards  alone   handled 


as  high  as  125,000,000  feet  of  lumber  per  annum. 
The  conduct  of  so  gigantic  a  business  made  the 
employ menl  of  every  known  facility  necessary,  and 
besides,  it  induce, 1  Mr.  Harvi  y  to  devise  new  and 
greater  Facilities.  He  inaugurated  an  innovation 
in  the  pineries,  which  has  since  proved  entirely 
successful  in  its  workings  ami   has  been  a  great 

sa\  ing  of  time  and  i lej  in  the  transportation  of 

logs.  This  innovation  was  the  building,  in  l*7s, 
of  the  flrsl  logging  railroad  ever  constructed,  to 
transport  logs  From  the  lumber  camps  to  a  regular 

In I'  railroad,  or   to  the  mills    and    rivers.     This 

road  was  built  in  Michigan  from  Lake  George  to 
the  Muskegon  river,  and  by  its  aid  he  succeeded 
iii  handling  vast  quantities  of  lumber  yearly.  In 
L883  Mr.  Harvej  organized  the  T.  W.  Harvey  Lum- 
ber Co.,  into  which  he  put  a  capital  of  $1,000,000 
ami  took  in  as  partners  a  number  of  employes 
who  had  been  in  his  service  for  a  term  of  years 
and  whom  he  had  found  faithful  and  deserving. 
He  became  the  president  of  the  company  ami  has 
remained  its  head  up  to  the  present  time.  The 
company  is  not  only  engaged  in  manufacturing 
ami  selling  lumber,  but  it  also  operates  extensive 
planing  mills  in  Chicago.  Mr.  Harvey  has  been  a 
prominent  figure  before  the  Chicago  public. 
through  the  medium  of  various  charitable  insti 
tutions  with  which  he  has  been  connected.  He 
was  president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso 
ciation,  from  1871  to  1873  and  from  1876  to  1879, 
and  for  many  years  has  been  a  very  active  worker 
in  that  organization,  lie  has  been  superintendent 
of  a  Sundaj  school  in  Chicago  for  twenty-six 
years.  He  is  vice  president  of  the  Chicaga  Evan- 
Helical  Society,  which  sustains  schools  and  does 
a  great  amount  of  i  vangelical  work.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  1).  L.  Moody,  who  is  at  the  head  of  this 
society,  Mr.  Harvej  officiates  in  Ids  stead.  Mr. 
Harvey  was  chairman  in  1876  of  the  executive 
committee  which  built  the  Moody  Tabernacle  on 
Monroe  street.  He  was  chiefly  instrumental  in 
raising  1110,000  to  pay  oft  the  debt  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  and  left  it  funds  for 
current  expenses  until  il  had  become  fixed  upon 
a  firm  financial  basis.  In  the  field  of  doing  good 
toothers  Mr.  Harvey's  activity,  after  the  great 
lire  of  1871,  is  perhaps  tin-  most  striking.  He  has 
been  a  director  in  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid 
Society  since  1866.  and  in  ISSti  was  its  president. 
During  the  year  of  the  fire  he  was  a  member  of 

the  executive  i mittee.    The  title  of  this  society 

indicates  plainly  enough  the  purpose  of  its  organ- 
ization, but  il  found  a  greal  held  of  operation 
during  the  time  of  and  following  the  awful  calam- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


17: 


ity.  Most  appropriately, Mr.  Harvey  w;is  selected 
to  serve  on  the  shelter  committee.  Hi  was  not 
the  chairman,  bul  as  that  individual  was  in- 
capacitated  fr taking  an   active   pari  in  the 

wink.  Mr.  Harvey  tilled  his  position,  and  did  it 
most  admirably.  As  a  proof  of  the  close  atten- 
tion he  gave  to  this  work  of  relieving  suffering, 
it  can  be  si  ated  thai  he  was  not  at  his  own  I  nisi 
ness  office  but  one  hour  during  the  six  months 
following  the  fire.  The  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid 
Society  was  accustomed  to  make  an  annual  re 
port  In  the  Common  Council  of  its  work  each  year, 
and  tins  report  was  invariably  contained  in  a 
small  pamphlet  of  some  twentj  five  pages.  The 
report  of  the  work  of  the  society,  however,  during 
the  year  of  the  fire  and  the  winter  which  came 
with  extreme  severity  close  upon  its  heels,  took  a 
large  volume  of  nearly  i50  pages.  The  society 
was,  happily,  well  organized,  ami  by  the  labors  of 
its  different  committees  thousands  of  lives  were 
saved  ami  much  suffering  alleviated.  Theshelter 
committee  was  a  highly  important  one.  A  few 
extracts  from  the  report  show  clearly  tin  true 
condition  of  affairs.     At  one  point  it  says: 

"The  exigency   was   imperative.     We  were  on 

the  verge  of  the  most    incle n1    season  of  the 

year,  and  those  familiar  with  the  greal  severity  of 
our  winters,  and  our   exposed   situation   between 

the  open  prairies  on  tin ■  side   ami  the  lake  on 

the  other,  can  understand  how  the  question  of 
shelter  pressed  upon  us.  Some  rude  barracks 
were,  at  the  outset,  pul  up  by  the  artisans  com 
mil  tic.  which  could  only  answer  for  immediate 
protection  from  the  weather:  but  such  structures, 
even  if  well  built,  were  open  to  grave  objections 
as  the  homes  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  people  in 
the  winter.  It  was  decided,  therefore,  to  put  in 
barracks  the  minimum  number  who  could  not  be 
provided  for  otherwise,  and  to  provide  small  but 
comfortable  houses  for  the  rest:  much  the  larger 
portion  hail  families  and  had  ow  ned  or  had  leases 
of  the  lots  where  they  had  previously  resided, 
Messrs.  T.  M.  Avery  and  T.  W.  Harvey,  members 
of  the  executivi    c mittee  of  this  society,  were 

at  once  put  at  the  head  of  a  shelter  committee, 
and  the  result  of  their  labors  was  even  more  suc- 
cessful and  encouraging  than  the  most  sanguine 
had  anticipated." 

Mr.  Harvey  was  no  sooner  apprised  of  his  ap- 
pointment than  he  began  making  estimates.  In 
the  space  of  a  few  minutes,  while  riding  in  a 
buggy  from  one  point  to  another,  he  figured  out  a 
plan  lor  two  sizes  of  houses,  a  one-room  and  a 
two-room  house,  and  had  put  down  on  paper  the 
bill  of  material  for  the  construction  of  each.  The 
two-room  house  was  10  be  20x16,  for  families  of 
more  than  three  persons,  and  the  other  12x16,  for 
families  of  three  only.     The  floor  joists  were  2x6, 


covered  with  a  flooring  of  planed  and  matched 
boards:  the  studding  was  of  2x4, covered  with  inch 
boards  and  battened  on  the  outside,  or  with  planed 
and  matched  lumber;  and  the  inside  walls  were 
lined  with  thick  felt  paper,  and  each  house  had  a 
double  iron  chimney,  two  four  panelled  doors, 
three  windows,  and  a  partition  to  be  put  where 
the  occupant  pleased.  To  the  house  was  added 
by  the  committee,  a  cooking   stove   and   utensils. 

several  chairs,  a  table,  bedstead,  bedding  and 
sufficient  crockery  for  the  use  of  the  family.  The 
total  cost  Of  this  house  ami  furniture  was  §125. 
Some  idea  of  the  work  done  by  the  shelter  com- 
mit tee  maj  lie  gained  from  the  statement  that  in 
one  month,  from  Octobei  L8  to  November  17,  they 

erecti  d    i,226  I ses,  which  number  was  increased 

later  to  over  S, 01 10.  During  such  trying  times  as 
these  the  question  of  cosl  is  likely  to  be  forgotten, 
but  Mr.  Harvey  knew  that  a  great  portion  of  the 
lumber  used  would  have  to  be  paid  lor.  either  out 
of  the  society  funds  or  by  the  city  at  some  future 
time,  and  he  took  a  wise  precaution.  Millions  of 
feet  of  lumber  were  destroyed  by  the  tin  .  and 
still  more  by  the  forest  tires  in  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin,  and  he  readily  foresaw  that  such  a 
wholesale  loss  would  cause  a  rise  in  the  price.  He 
therefore  at  once  began  making  contracts  for  all 
he  could  get  at  the  ruling  prices,  about  fourteen 
dollars  per  thousand  feet.  The  wisdom  of  the 
step  was  recognized  when  it  was  found  that  the 
price  had,  by  November  26,  reached  twenty  dollars 
per  thousand  feet.  The  shelter  committee  used 
about  35,000,000  feet  in  their  work,  and  the  saving 
made  by  the  forethought  of  Mr.  Harvey  can  be 
readily  computed.  The  following  incident  will 
serve  to  illustrate  the  heroic  service  he  per- 
formed, and  also  the  wonderful  energy  and  the 
humane  character  of  the  man.  As  a  result  of  a 
terrible  snowstorm  that  had  prevailed  for  several 
days,  soon  after  the  tire,  nearly  all  incoming  coal 
trains  were  blockaded,  and  the  people  were  suffer- 
ing greatly  for  want  of  fuel:  and  what  did  arrive 
was  left  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city;  and  besides, 
it  was  impossible  to  hire  teams  and  wagons  to 
haul  it.  This  was  the  situation  one  bitter  cold 
Sunday  morning,  but  Mr.  Harvey  proved  himself 
equal  to  the  emergency,  and  undoubtedly  saved 
hundreds  of  people  from  freezing  to  death  during 
that  terrible  storm.  Realizing  the  situation,  his 
first  work  was  the  purchase  of  teams,  wagons  and 
harnesses,  employment  of  teamsters  and  laborers; 
and  all  that  day  he  personally  superintended  the 
work.  The  snow  was  so  deep  that  they  were 
obliged  to  dig  the  cars  out  of  drifts  that  entirely 


'71 


BIOGKAPHY    OF    ELLINOIS. 


enveloped  them,  while  the  snow  on  the  streets. 

i! ii    which    the}  had   to   haul   the  coal,  was 

several  feel  in  depth.  Yet,  when  that  Sunday 
in-iii  had  come,  seven  hundred  tons  of  coal  had 
been  delivered  to  suffering  families,  and  Mr.  Har- 
vey knew  that  thousands  were  enjoying  the 
warmth  and  comfort  of  their  firesides.  Such 
labor  as  this  cannot  be  forgotten,  and  the  name 
of  T.  W.  Harvej  will  I"'  a  prominent  one  on 
everj  page  which  records  the  sufferings  of  Chi- 
cago's  citizens  in  those  clays  of  dire  distress,  and 
the  heroic  efforts  made  to  alleviate  them.  Mr. 
Harvej  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  stock 
farms  in  this  country.  In  1882  he  bought  two 
thousand  acres  of  farm  land  in  eastern  Nebraska, 
and  here  he  raises  fine  eattle  and  horses.  The 
place  is  called  " Turlington "  after  Mr.  Harvey's 
first  name,  and  through  the  excellence  of  thestock 

lie  raises  it  lias  become  known  as  one  of  the  i i 

famous  stock  farms  in  the  United  States.  This 
farm  claims  the  honor  of  having  raised  the  best 
steer  in  the  world,  "Black  Prince  of  Turlington," 
\\  hose  winnings  in  premiums  in  one  year  amounted 
to  about  §3,000.  As  he  well  may  be,  Mr.  Harvey 
is  ex&  edingly  proud  of  his  farm,  and  every  year. 
with  his  family,  lie  spends  a  few  months  there, 
and  when  in  the  city  the  family  receive  from  it 
three  times  a  week  a  consignment  of  meat,  fruit. 
flowers  and  dairy  supplies.  One  .if  Mr.  Harvey's 
latest  enterprises  was  laying  out  flic  town  of 
Harvey.  Here  is  located  the  Harvey  Si  eel  Car 
Company,  of  which  he  is  president,  the  Auto 
mat ic  Mower  and  Manufacturing  Company,  of 
which  he  is  also  president  and  owner  of  mosl  oi 
I  he  slock.  Mr.  Harvey  is  president  of  the  National 
Lumber  Company,  which  has  yards  in  Nebraska 
and  [owa,  and  of  the  Marinette  Saw  Mill  Com- 
pany, of  Marinette.  Wis.  He  is  a  director  in  the 
Metropolitan  National  Bank,  and  in  the  Ameri- 
can Trust  and  Savings  Bank.  He  owns  i 
tracts  of  pine  lands  in  Louisiana,  and  has  numi  c 
mis  interests  besides.  Mr.  Harvey  is  essentially  a 
DUBJ  man.  hut  he  is  never  too  busy  to  enjoy  hours 
of  pleasant  intercourse  with  his  happy  and  interest 
ing  family.  When  he  sits  at  his  table  and  looks 
around  upon  his  complete  family  circle,  he  sees  the 
faces  of  his  wife  and  ten  children.  Mr.Harvey  has 
been  twice  married.  In  1859  he  was  united  to 
Miss  Maria  Hardman,  of  Louisville.  Ky.  Pour 
suns  were  horn  of  this  union-  Charles  A.,  John 
R.,  George  L.,  and  Robert  H.  Mrs.  Harvey  died 
in  1871,  and  on  May  28,  1st:',.  Mr.  Harvey  married 
Miss  Belle  S.  Badger,  of  Chicago,  a   lady  whose 

qualities  of  mind  and  heart   endear  her  to  all  who 


enjoy  her  acquaintance.  Mrs.  Harvey  is  the 
mother  of  six  children,  three  -Iris  and  three 
boys.  In  this  happy  home  circle  Mr.  Harvey 
finds  his  chief  enjoyment,  and  there,  withdrawn 
from  the  cares  ami  perplexities  of  his  business, 
his  hearty  manner,  his  generous  nature,  and  his 
unfailing  good-fellowship,  find  their  fullest  exer- 
cise in  the  society  of  his  family  and  in  his  cordial 
hospitalities. 


J.  ADAMS   ALLEN. 

J.ADAMS  ALLEN,  M.  D..LL.D.,  was  born 
May.  16th,  182.").  at  Middlebury.  Vermont,  his  an- 
cestry dating  back  to  the  Mayflower.  His  father 
was  a  man  of  note  a  physician  ami  surgeon  and 
more,  a  savant,  associated  with  the  elder Silliman 
and  Professor  Beck  in  the  study  and  development 
of  the  natural  sciences.  The  family  name  is 
prominent  in  the  published  histories  of  Vermont 
in  connection  with  the  intellectual  and  scientific 
development  and  progress  of  that  state.  Sur- 
rounded by  men  of  mark  and  superior  attainments, 
and  in  an  atmosphere  of  refinement  and  ripe 
culture.  Dr.  Allen  was  gently  reared.  Great  men 
;ul  great  books  were  his  companions  from  infancy. 
Nor  was  the  Puritan  element  of  stern  repression 
wholly  wanting  in  his  early  training — an  elemenl 
that  mars  a  man  or  makes  a  hero.  Shakespeare, 
that  everywhere  holds  the  place  of  honor  now, 
was  then  interdicted;  and  it  was  only  by  stealth 
thai  he  gained  access  to  its  masterly  pages.  The 
Bible,  with  him.  was  a  venerated  book  "  tin  hook 
of  books."  In  his  hand-writing,  on  the  fly-leaf  of 
a  worn  copy  which  lay  forty  years  on  his  writing- 
table,  is  the  following  inscription:  "I  count  this 
book  priceless  for  the  truth  it  contains.  If  it 
holds  also  errors,  practically  they  are  no  more  to 
be  regarded  than  the  spots  on  the  sun.  To  the 
literary  man  it  is  a  treasure  house  of  the  best 
English  language.  For  one  who  is  to  write.it  is 
commended  first  to  read  a  few  chapters  in  this 
book,  so  as  to  bring  his  style  within  the  compre- 
hension of  the  uneducated,  and  at  the  same  time 
attract  the  admiration  of  the  most  highly  culti- 
vated." Fitted  for  college  at  the  age  of  nine 
years,  his  health  gave  way.  and  this  circumstance 
fortunately  sent  him  to  a  farm-house  in  the 
country,  six  months  in  a  year,  for  several  years, 
where  he  gained  an  insight  into  the  mysteries  of 
what  Rousseau,  the  great,  justly  terms  the  first 
of  human  occupations;  and  so  were  securely  laid 


Ct<r/^^J '{2^L^. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


175 


the  foundations  of  thai  robust  physical  health 
which  enabled  him,  ever  after,  to  perform  a  prodig- 
ious amount  of  professional  and  other  labor.  His 
life  in  the  country  during  a  most  receptive  period 
of  his  youth,  made  him  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  beauty  and  orderliness  of  nature,  and  his 
familiarity  with  the  austere  teachings  of  the  Bible 
gave  a  serious  east  to  all  his  reflections.  Tims,  in 
early  boyhood,  under  conditions  similar  to  those  in 
which  Ruskin's  character  was  moulded,  his  plastic 
mind  was  fashioned  and  fitted  for  moral  and  in 
tellectual  triumphs.  Among  his  classmates  and 
friends  were  Edward  .1.  Phelps,  John  <  '•.  Saxe, 
and  Henry  N.  Hudson.     His  college    impressions 

were  less  vivid  than  those  of  any  other  1 i   of 

his  career.  He  was.  throughout  the  course,  too 
far  in  advance  of  his  fellows  to  be  in  sympathy 
with  them.  His  (  [reek  and  Latin  a  terror  to  the 
ordinary  pupil  was  to  him  a  mere  recreation,  a 
diversion,  and  his  abundant    leisure  was  devoted 

t e    serious    study    and    reading.     He     was 

already  in  youth  so  permeated  by  the  theories  and 
the  inductive-  method  of  Bacon  that  mere  litera- 
ture seemed  to  him  almost  a  barren  ideality,  and 
he  yearned  for  the  discover)  of  new  truths.  He 
shrunk  from  the  savagery  of  the  Greeks  and  the 
cruelty  of  the  Romans,  characterizing  them  as 
"refined  barbarians."  The  later  and  greater 
English  civilization  took  a  stronger  hold  upon  his 
imagination,  anditsbest  literature' was  woven  into 
the  very  fibre  of  bis  mind.  All  the  great  English 
classics,  as  well  as  the  famous  French,  Italian  and 
German  philosophers  and  poets  were  as  familiar 
to  him  as  household  words.  Nor  did  he  merelj 
skim  the  surface  of  these  distinguished  authors. 
( >n  the  contrarj  their  great  ideas  were  thoroughly 
assimilated  and  became  his  assured  mental  pos- 
session. The  habit  of  reading,  formed  quite  in 
his  infancy,  was  continued  till  the  last  days  of  his 
life,  and  the  books  he  knew  and  loved  were  the 
best,  both  old  and  new.  in  history,  biography, 
philosophy  and  fiction.  But  it  was  neither  m 
college  nor  in  hooks  that  Dr.  Allen  found  the 
deepest  inspiration  ol  his  youth, but  in  the  current 
events  of  the  time  and  in  association  with  the  de- 
voted men  who  directed  and  controlled  them.  Of 
the  great  abolition  crusade  his  father  was  an 
ardent  supporter:  bis  house  was  a  station  on  the 
black  man's  road  to  freedom.  There  the  gifted 
l>oy.  whose  heart  was  full  of  sympathy  for  every- 
thing good  and  great,  met  and  learned  to  love 
for  love  of  the  cause  they  served  the  leaders  of 
the  anti-slavery  movement.  He  was  honored 
with  the  entire  confidence  of  the   noted  abolition- 


ists who  often  assembled  at  his  lather's  house  for 
consultation.  He  was  present  at  the  discussions 
that  disclosed  the  great  purposes  of  the  New 
England  Anti-Slavery  Society  discussions  that 
dealt  boldly  with  fundamentals  in  ethics  that  re- 
vived the  immortal  truths  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  with  regard  to  human  rights, — and 
their  spirit  so  completely  possessed  him  that  he 
ever  after  entertained  a  dee],  and  abiding  horror 
of  all  forms  of  injustice.  At  twenty-one  years  of 
age  he  was  in  every  way  remarkably  accomplished. 
He  had  read  with  more  appreciation  and  profit 
than  is  usual  with  men  twice  as  old,  the  world's 
great  books.  He  had  mastered  the  common 
college  course;  had  taught  school  during  the 
college  vacations;  had  studied  medicine  in  his 
father's  office,  and  graduated  at  the  Castleton 
Medical  College.  He  was  thoroughly  equipped 
to  achieve  fame  and  honor  in  the  battle  of  life. 
and  he  entered  at  ..nee  upon  the  discharge  of  its 
serious  duties.      In  December,  1846,  he  removed  to 

Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  and   thereon  January  1st. 

1847,  married  Miss  Mary  Marsh,  daughter  of  John 
P.  Marsh,  w  ho  had  also  shortly  before  left  Vermont, 
and  was  one  of  the  pioneer  citizens  and  legislators 
of  Michigan.  Mrs.  Allen  counted  amongst  her 
ancestors,  men  prominent  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  .old  men  high  in  public  position  and  esteem 
in  Vermont  and  New  York.  The  next  twelve 
years  Dr.  Allen  spent  in  Michigan— then  a  com- 
paratively new  state  in  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  in  the  villages  and  among  the  farmers. 
He  not  infrequently  rode  forty  miles  a  day,  visit 
ing  patients  a  very  exacting  task.  Hut  he  was 
in  the  vigor  of  young  manhood,  and  the  demand 
upon  his  mental  and  physical  powers  wasnever  so 
pressing  as  to  exclude  from  the  daily  round  some 
hours  of  professional  and  general  nailing.  He 
kept  an  elaborate  medical  index  and  prepared  for 
publication  a  work  on  medical  jurisprudence,  the 
manuscript  of  which  was.  unfortunately,  destroyed 
by  fire.  In  February,  1848,  he  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Materia  Medica.  Therapeutics  and 
Medical  Jurisprudence  in  the  Indiana  Medical 
College  at  La  Porte,  and  while  occupying  this 
position  was  appointed  Professor  of  Physiolog) 
and  Pathology  in  the  Medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Michigan.  He  was  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  this  department,  and  chatted  its 
primary  announcement.  Dr.  Allen's  efforts  largely 
conduced  to  the  subsequent  prosperity  of  the 
institution.  At  the  request  of  the  hoard  of 
he  drafted  tin'  preliminarj  general  plan 
of  the  literary   department,   including   the  entire 


I  711 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


course  oi  studies.  He  also  lectured  at  Kalamazoo 
College   "ii   chemistry,   physiology   and   political 

econ y;  wrote  extensivel)   Eor   the   daily    press, 

and  Eor  the  magazines  and  professional  journals 
gaining  for  himself  the  title  of  "universal  editor;" 
took  an  active  interest  in  politics;  made  political 
speeches,  and  delivered  numerous  addresses  be 
Eore    lyceums,    colleges    and    other    assemblies. 

nass  of  professional  papers  written 
in  Dr.  Ulen,  none  have  perhaps  attracted  wider 
attention  than  those  upon  the  "Mechanism  of 
Nervous  Action,"  which  antedate  the  discussion 
of  Marshall  Hall  and  other  distinguished  physi- 
ologists on  the  same  subject.  In  addition  to  these 
multifarious  engagements  be  was,  all  the  time,  a 
close  student  in  the  highesl  and  best  sense  of  the 
term.  The  high  esteem  in  whichhe  was  held  was 
shown  by  his  election  t  <  ■  the  presidencj  of  the 
Michigan  State  Medical  Association,  and  also  to 
the  position  of  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Michigan,  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 
Upon  one  occasion  in  1859,  when  delivering  an 
address  before  the  Me  1  f,  the  Legislature 

and  Supreme  Court  "I  Michigan  did  him  the 
honor  to  adjourn  their  sessions  to  hear  Ids 
address,  and  il  was  published  as  an  important 
state  document.  It  is  hardly  necessary  toobserve 
that  these  services  of  a  semi-public  character,  1  o 
lavishly  rendered,  were  given  without  thought  of 
gain,  for,  like  Fenelon,  Dr.  Allen  had  the  true 
ambition  to  die  poor.  In  the  fail  of  1859,  at  the 
request  of  the  eminent  surgeon.  Daniel  Brainard, 
then  president  of  Bush  Medical  College',  Dr.  Allen 
removed  to  Chicago,  and  accepted  the  chair  of 
Principles  and  Practice  of  Medicine  in  that  insti- 
tution, becoming  president  of  the  College  in  1877, 
and  retaining  that  office  until  his  death.  Upou 
his  advent  in  this  city,  heabandoned  politics,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
to  his  college  chair  and  to  kindred  pursuits.  He 
was  for  many  years  editor  of  the  Chicago  Medical 
Journal,  and  of  the  \~oicc  of  Masonry.  He  pre- 
pared and  published  a  notable  work  called  '-Med- 
ical Examinations  for  Life  Insurance"  which  be 
came  tin  standard  authority  on  that  subject.  In 
addition  to  his  lectures  aud,  in  later  years,  his 
exacting  duties  as  president  of  one  of  the  most 
importat  the  country,  he  had   an  ex- 

tensive city  visiting  practice  as  physician  and 
11  called  in  consultation  to 
distant  points  throughout  the  older  northwestern 
states.  For  twenty  years,  he  was  surgeon  of  one 
of  the  l.i  3    systems   centering    in  Chi- 

also  consulting  physician  of   many 


of  the  large  hospitals.  But  these  duties,  which 
would  have  taxed  to  the  utmost  the  powers  of  an 
ordinary  man.  constituted  hut  a  tithe  of  the  labor 
performed  by  Dr.  Allen.  He  delivered  frequent 
public  addresses  on  medical,  masonic  and  genera] 
subjects,  most  of  which  have  been  published.  He 
passed  to  the  thirty-third  degree,  in  Masonry,and 
also  became,  in  isTs.  a  member  of  the  Royal  Order 
of  Scotland.  The  time  commonly  given  to  rest 
and  recreation  was  by  him  devoted  to  study.  The 
note-book,  or  index,  ho  chose  for  his  medical 
library  was  a  huge  merchant's  ledger.  Late  in 
life  this  index,  which  contained  50,000  references. 
was  stolen  from  his  office,  lint  though  grieved 
and  annoyed  by  the  cruel  theft,  he  was  not  dis- 
mayed; and,  notwithstanding  advancing  years 
warned  him  of  the  limitation  of  his  powers,  he 
began  a  new  index,  which,  at  the  time  of  the 
failure  of  his  health,  contained  20,000  fresh  notes. 
In  1888,  foreseeing  that  the  end  was  approaching, 
he  began  to  set  ins  house  in  older:  and  one  of  the 
first  of  a  series  of  preparatory  acts,  was  the  pre 
sentation  of  his  large  medical  library,  to  tin  Chi- 
cago Presbyterian  Hi  ispital,  where  it  is  now  known 
as  the    Allen    Library.     Dr.    Allen's   profi 

11.     .  however,  constituted  but  a  small  part  of 

his  student's  course,  lie  read  more  law  than 
many  lawyers,  as  much  theology  as  many  theolo- 
gians, was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  political 
economists  from  Adam  Smith  to  the  magazine 
writers  of  the  present  day.  ami  understood  equally 
the  philosophy  of  Aristotle  ami  of  Herbert  Spen- 
cer. Nor  was  he  less  familiar  with  polite  litera- 
ture. The  classics  of  the  ancients  and  those  of  the 
most  brilliant  period  of  English  letters  were  as 
absolutely  at  his  command  as  the  theories  of  his 
own  Bchool  of  medicine  whichhe  daily  expounded 
to  the  students  of  "Rush."  And  over  this  vast 
tield  of  investigation,  comprehending  works  of  the 
imagination  and  those  of  the  most  profound  phil- 
osophic inquiry,  he  traveled  with  the  care  of  a 
scientist  in  search  of  new  truths,  making  notes  at 
each  step  of  progress.  His  indexrerum  was  Idled 
from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  in  a  hand  almost 
microscopic;  and  the  collection  of  scrap-books,  to 
complete  which  he  toiled  while  his  life  fast  ebbed 
away,  is  unique  and  invaluable — an  enduring 
testimonial  to  his  unselfish  industry.  During  his 
tours  of  England  and  the  continent,  of  which 
there  were  several  in  the  last  fifteen  years,  his 
h  Ait  of  journalizing  and  collecting  scraps  of  in- 
formation was  continued,  and  the  record  thus 
left  is  interesting  in  proportion  to  the  ripening  of 
Ids  life  with  age.     When  the  phenomenal  eharac- 


ISIOOUAI'IIY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


177 


ter  of  his  memory  is  considered,  in  connection 
with  the  extent  of  his  reading  and  recorded  ob- 
servations, some  faint  idea  may  be  formed  of  the 
vastness  of  his  learning.  His  memory  was  so  re- 
tentive  that  nothing  good  escaped  its  tenacious 
grasp.  It  was  submissive,  too  under  control.  It 
rejected  the  baser  part,  extending  hospitality  only 
to  things  of  use  and  beauty.  His  mind  was  both 
analytic  and  synthetic.  But  he  was  an  optimist, 
as  all  men  who  love  their  fellow  creatures  must  be, 
and  his  joy  was  in  synthesis,  in  building,  in  creat- 
ing. He  shrank  from  the  pessimistic  conclusions 
of  the  evolutionists  that  progress  involves 
retrogression,  degeneration,  and  that  the  end 
of  philosophical  investigation  is  despair.  He 
conceded  the  value  of  the  services  of  the 
specialist  in  his.  as  in  other,  professions.  But  for 
himself  he  could  not  walk  in  a  narrow  path.  His 
mind  was  so  broad  that  it  surveyed  the  whole 
field,  comprehending  alike  the  atom  and  the  in- 
finite. Nor  were  his  generalizations  ever  confined 
to  the  field  of  medical  and  surgical  science;  they 
included  the  vast  scope  of  all  human  effort.  He 
was  the  very  incarnation  of  the  spirit  of  progress. 
Against  the  iron  mail  of  his  trained  mind  the 
shafts  of  tradition  beat  in  vain.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  saying  of  the  ancients,  with  Bacon,  "We 
are  their  elders."  With  him,  too.  he  despised 
mere  opinions,  often  quoting  his  celebrated  aphor- 
ism that  "Truth  is  rightly  named  the  daughter  of 
time,  not  of  authority."  Bacon's  great  law  of  in- 
duction was  wrought  into  the  warp  and  woof  of 
Dr.  Allen's  mind  in  early  years,  and  it  exerted  a 
powerful  influence  over  his  mental  habitudes 
throughout  his  whole  life.  But  he  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree  that  rarest  of  human  qualities. — 
the  courage  of  his  convictions, — and  hence  he  dared, 
in  emergencies,  to  go  counter  to  all  the  recognized 
standards  of  his  profession,  in  medical  practice. 
His  learning  was  so  vast,  and  his  mental  and 
moral  poise  so  superb,  that  his  intuitions  in  cases 
of  supreme  difficulty  became  the  promptings  of 
genius.  So  it  often  happened  in  the  course  of  his 
professional  career,  in  perilous  instances,  that  he 
adopted  w  it li  great  success  methods  long  disused, 
and  therefore  deriving  their  sole  support  from 
tradition,  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
he  held  iii  contempt.  In  his  lightest,  as  well  as 
in  his  graver,  moods  Dr.  Allen  was  a  teacher.  In 
the  alembic  of  his  mind  the  dross  of  obscurity  was 
quickly  burned  away,  leaving  only  the  pure  gold 
of  reason.  Every  subject  that  engaged  his  atten- 
tion was  made  luminous  by  his  exposition.  He 
never  prosed  in  story  but  scintillated  in  anecdote. 


His  aptitude  in  illustration  was  hardly  inferior  to 
that  of  Lincoln:  and  at  the  real  breakfast  table  he 
was  an  autocrat  as  witty,  as  humorous,  as  fascinat- 
ing and  as  wise  as  Dr.  Holmes  at  the  supposititious 
board,  over  which  he  has  presided  these  many 
years  with  such  rare  grace  and  wide  applause. 
As  a  converser  he  had  few  equals.  Without  osten- 
tation, without  conscious  effort,  and  without  van- 
ity, lie  led  the  conversation  into  channels  of  pleas- 
ure and  profit,  introducing  subjects  of  the  gravest 
moment,  and  dismissing  them  for  the  lightest  gos- 
sip of  the  day.  to  suit  the  temper  or  whim  of  the 
company.  From  grave  to  gay  was,  with  him,  but 
a  step,  for  in  his  sympathetic  nature  the  fountains 
of  laughter  and  of  tears  waited  on  the  impulse 
equally  of  joy  in  others'  joy  and  pity  for  others' 
woes.  Mrs.  Allen  died  in  April,  1888,  and  her  loss 
profoundly  affected  her  husband.  He  was  then 
suffering  from  the  early  stages  of  the  disease 
which  resulted  in  his  death,  August  15, 1890.  Two 
children  survived  him,  Charles  L.  Allen  and  Mrs. 
Charles  J.  Haines.  The  public  press  and  the  dif- 
ferent medical,  masonic,  and  other  bodies  with 
which  he  had  been  connected,  paid  high  tributes  to 
his  memory.  At  a  large  memorial  meeting  held 
111  Central  Music  Hall.  Hon.  Charles  H.  Ham  de- 
livered an  address  I  from  which  we  have  largely 
quoted)  to  the  faculty  and  students  of  Rush  Med- 
ical College.  Dr.  Allen's  pupils  in  the  various  in- 
stitutions where  he  taught  loved  him  well,  and 
those  of  Rush  entertained  for  him  the  profoundest 
reverence  and  the  warmest  affection.  This  tender 
regard  they  testified  in  man}-  ways  —  in  beautiful 
gifts,  in  expressions  of  sympathy  in  times  of  trial 
and  affliction,  and,  most  of  all,  through  an  assump- 
tion and  title  of  tender  relationship.  These  evi- 
dences of  profound  regard  touched  him  deeply. 
They  long  outlived  the  relation  of  teacher  and 
pupil,  and  were  ever  a  source  of  unalloyed  pleas- 
ure to  him.  The  souvenirs  of  the  numerous 
classes  he  graduated  were  treasured  with  loving 
care.  Dr.  Allen  was  a  man  of  the  finest  senti- 
ment, but  exhibitions  of  mawkish  sentimentality 
he  regarded  with  contempt.  He  did  not  wear  his 
heart  upon  his  sleeve,  but  coined  it  into  compas- 
sionate acts  for  the  amelioration  of  the  miseries 
and  misfortunes  of  mankind.  He  was  wholly 
self-respecting.  He  had  the  pride  of  conscious 
strength  and  uprightness.  The  haughty  he  met, 
port  to  port,  with  answer  passionate  and  manner 
imperious.  But  to  the  humble,  the  poor,  the 
wretched,  he  was  the  very  soul  of  graciousness. 
He  was  impatient  of  arrogance,  pitiful  of  ignorance, 
and  of  pretenders  most  scornful.     He  never  forgot 


1 78 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


a  friend,  aor  sought  revenge  on  an  enemy.  He 
was  so  clear  that  no  shame  deceived  him.  but  BO 
gentle  that  no  animosities  found  lodgment  in  his 
heart.  His  mind  was  molded  on  a  noble  plan  — 
oighl)  receptive,  broadly  catholic,  and  hence  hos- 
pitable  to  the  new  in  science  and  art.  Diligent 
in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  and  of  matchless 
skill  in  imparting  it.  the  world  is  the  better  for  his 
having  lived  in  it. 


WILLIAM    II.   BYFORD. 

WILLIAM  H.  BYFORD,  M.  D.,  was  born  in 
the  village  of  Eaton,  Ohio,  March  20th,  1817,  and 
was  the  son  of  Henry  T.  and  Hannah  Byford. 
The  early  opportunities  of  the  son  were  so  limited 
that  there  was  then  no  foreshadowing  of  the  profes- 
sional greatness  to  which  he  attained.  His  father 
was  a  mechanic  of  limited  means,  and  the  family 
was  deprived  of  his  support  in  18'26,  at  which  time 
he  died  in  Hindostan,  Martin  county.  Indiana. 
The  widow  was  left  with  three  children.  William, 
then  nine  years  of  age,  being  the  eldest.  He  was 
now  compelled  to  leave  the  country  school,  at 
which  he  had  been  a  bright  scholar,  and  devote 
himself  to  aiding  the  mother  in  the  support  of  the 
family.  Notwithstanding  his  youth  and  the 
scanty  wages  which  such  a  boy  could  earn,  his 
earnings  were  a  blessing  to  the  struggling  widow. 
At  the  end  of  four  years  from  the  death  of  the 
husband  and  father,  the  mother,  with  her  family. 
moved  to  Crawford  county.  Illinois,  to  live  with 
her  father,  upon  whose  farm  young  Byford  worked 
for  two  years.  It  was  then  determined  to  encour- 
age William  in  learning  a  trade,  which  was  the 
boy's  earnest  wish.  He  thereupon  started  out  for 
the  town  of  Palestine,  several  miles  distant,  and 
applied  to  a  blacksmith  for  permission  to  learn  his 
trade.  The  blacksmith  would  not  consent.  The 
boj  applied  to  several  other  shops,  but  his  propo- 
sition to  become  an  apprentice  was  not  favorably 
received.  Finding  the  avocation  of  blacksmith 
apparently  closed  against  him,  at  least  so  far  as 
that  town  was  concerned,  and  observing  a  tailor's 
sign,  he  concluded  to  apply  for  the  position  of  ap- 
prentice  in  that  trade.  He  found  the  tailor,  whose 
name  was  on  the-  sign,  to  be,  as  Dr.  Byford  always 
described  him.  "a  kind  hearted.  Christian  gentle- 
man by  the  name  of  Dans."  He  was  kindly  re- 
ceived, and   the  result  of   his  interview  with  the 


tailor  was  that  the  latter  agreed  to  receive  him  as 
an  apprentice  provided  a  certain  Methodist  min- 
ister in  his  neighborhood  would  recommend  him 
as  "a  moral  and  industrious  boy."  The  recom- 
mendation was  obtained  and  William  began  his 
work  as  an  apprentice.  He  remained  with  Mr. 
Dans  for  two  years,  when  the  latter  removed  to 
another  state,  and  the  boy  went  to  Vincennes, 
Ind..  where  he  finished  learning  his  trade  at  the 
age  of  twenty.  The  boy,  however,  fully  realized 
that  a  tailor's  shop  was  not  the  place  for  him. 
While  serving  his  apprenticeship  he  was  con- 
stantly engaged,  during  his  spare  hours,  and  even 
when  at  work  on  a  garment,  in  the  study  of  text 
books  which  he  had  bought  or  borrowed.  In  this 
way  he  mastered  the  structure  of  the  English 
language,  acquired  some  knowledge  of  Latin, 
Greek  and  French,  and  gave  studious  attention  to 
physiology,  chemistry  and  natural  history.  As 
his  knowledge  increased  and  his  mind  expanded, 
he  aspired  to  something  higher  than  the  vocation 
he  had  chosen,  and  a  year  before  the  term  of  his 
apprenticeship  had  expired,  he  determined  to 
adopt  the  profession,  in  which  he  afterwards 
achieved  international  lame.  Subsequently  he 
placed  himself  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Joseph 
Maddox,  of  Vincennes,  Ind.,  and  in  due  time  was 
authorized  by  the  proper  authorities  of  the  state 
to  engage  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  which  he 
did  August  8,  1838,  in  Owensville,  Gibson  county, 
Ind.  Two  years  later  he  removed  to  Mount  Ver- 
non, in  the  same  state,  and  associated  himself 
with  Dr.  Hezekiah  Holland.  He  remained  here 
until  1850,  in  the  meantime  attending  lectures  at 
the  Ohio  Medical  College.  Cincinnati,  from  which 
he  graduated   in    184.").     Early   in    his  practice  he 

attracted  the  attention  of  the  profession  by  his i 

tributionsto  medical  journals,  first  in  describing  the 
operation  of  Caesarian  section,  which  he  twice  per- 
formed in  1847;  and  subsequently  by  articles  which 
showed  a  master  intellect  and  the  possession  of  a 
high  degree  of  scientific  knowledge.  Naturally 
such  a  mind  and  attainments  as  this  young  physi 
cian  was  shown  to  possess,  made  him  desirable  as  a 
teacher  of  the  science,  for  which  he  was  evidenc- 
ing so  much  love  and  aptitude.  Consequently  in 
October,  1850,  he  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of 
Anatomy  in  the  Evansville  Medical  College.  Indi- 
ana, and  twi  i  years  later  he  became  professor  of  the 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine  in  the  same  in- 
stitution, which  position  he  occupied  until  1851. 
During  his  professorship  in  this  college  he  was 
also  one  of  the  editors  of  a  medical  journal  of  such 
merit  as  to  command  a  high  degree  of  confidence 


#  y/4>/^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


179 


in  the  profession.  In  May,  1857,  at  a  convention 
of  the  American  Medical  Association,  held  at 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  he  was  elected  its  vice-presi- 
dent. The  following  autumn  he  settled  in  Chi- 
cago, where  he  was  destined  to  achieve  brilliant 
fame,  and  accepted  the  chair  of  Obstetrics  and 
Diseases  of  Women  and  Children  in  Rush  Med- 
ical College.  After  occupying  this  chair  for  two 
years  he  became  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Chi- 
cago Medical  College,  which  was  established  in 
1859.  He  tilled  the  chair  of  Obstetrics  and  Dis- 
eases of  Women  and  Children  in  this  institution 
until  1879,  when  he  was  again  called  to  Rush 
Medical  College  to  till  the  chair  of  Gynecology. 
In  1S70  he  became  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Woman's  Medical  College  of  Chicago  and  was 
made  president  of  the  faculty  and  also  of  the 
board  of  trustees,  which  position  he  held  up  to 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  conspicuous  in  the 
organization  of  the  American  Gynecological  So- 
ciety, was  one  of  its  first  vice-presidents,  and  in 
1881  was  elected  its  president.  Dr.  Byford's  life 
was  a  busy  one.  It  was  a  life  crowded  full  of  use- 
ful activity.  Besides  his  immense  practice,  the  im- 
portance and  extent  of  which  may  be  judged  by 
the  fact  that  it  brought  him  an  annual  income  of 
from  twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  professor 
in  the  several  colleges  in  which  he  occupied  im- 
portant chairs,  he  was  a  prolific  writer.  He  was 
an  authority  on  gynecology.  In  1864  he  published 
the  first  medical  work  that  ever  came  from  the 
pen  of  a  Chicago  author,  entitled  "  Chronic  In- 
flammation and  Displacements  of  the  Unimpreg- 
nated  Uterus."  This  valuable  work  ran  through 
a  second  edition  in  1871.  His  "  Practice  of  Medi- 
cine and  Surgery  Applied  to  the  Diseases  and 
Accidents  of  Women,"  which  appeared  in  1866, 
has  passed  through  foureditions  and  is  extensively 
used  as  a  text  book.  In  18G9  was  published  "  The 
Philosophy  of  Domestic  Life"  from  his  pen,  and 
this  was  followed  in  1872  by  his  text  book  on  Ob- 
stetrics, a  second  edition  of  which  was  found  nec- 
essary the  year  following.  In  addition  to  all  this, 
he  was  almost  constantly  connected  with  the 
medical  press.  For  a  number  of  years  he  and  Dr. 
N.  S.  Davis,  Sr.,  were  associated  in  the  editorial 
management  of  the  Chicago  Medical  Journal. 
Then  he  became  editor-in-chief  of  the  Chicago 
Medical  Journal  and  Examiner,  which  was  a 
consolidation  of  the  Chicago  Medical  Journal 
and  Chicago  Medical  Examiner,  and  was  pub- 
lished under  the  auspices  of  the  Chicago  Medical 
Press  Association,     A  writer  has  said: 


"  There  are  many  measures  in  practice  with 
which  Dr.  Byford's  name  is  intimately  connected; 
for  example,  the  use  of  Ergot  in  fibroid  tumors  of 
the  uterus;  abdominal  section  for  ruptured  extra- 
uterine pregnancy,  proposed  long  before  the  days 
of  Tait,  and  the  systematic  use  of  the  elm  tent." 

The  reader  will  utterly  fail  to  appreciate  the 
magnificence  of  Dr.  Byford's  professional  success 
unless  he  considers  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  w-as  placed.  His  starting  out  in  life 
without  means  and  without  influence  must  not  be 
lost  sight  of,  nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  when 
he  published  some  of  his  medical  works,  which  to- 
day compare  in  merit  with  later  works,  the  sub- 
jects written  upon  had  never  been  treated  except 
in  occasional  articles  in  the  journals,  and  there- 
fore he  had  few  sources  from  which  to  draw  in- 
formation, such  as  later  authors  have  had,  except 
his  own  experience,  study  and  observation.  When 
these  facts  are  considered,  and  it  is  remembered 
that  this  man  developed  from  a  poor  boy.  with 
out  opportunities,  and  that  he  achieved  his  suc- 
cess in  a  great  city  that  was  full  of  eminent 
physicians  and  brilliant  intellects  trained  under 
the  most  favorable  conditions,  the  greatness  of  Dr. 
Byford,  standing  at  the  top  of  his  profession,  will 
be  realized.  He  succeeded  because  he  desired  to 
succeed.  He  was  great  because  nature  had  en- 
dowed him  bountifully,  and  he  had  studiously 
and  carefully  and  conscientiously  increased  the 
talents  that  had  been  given  him.  He  was  a  ripe 
scholar  and  a  giant  in  intellect.  It  is  said  that  he 
was  unusually  popular  as  a  lecturer  before  his 
classes.  That  would  be  naturally  expected,  for 
he  was  master  of  the  science  that  he  taught,  and 
his  knowledge  of  his  subject  and  his  bright  mind 
enabled  him  to  make  his  teachings  plain  and  in- 
teresting. He  was  a  gentleman  at  all  times,  and 
he  won  as  high  a  place  in  the  love  of  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact  as  his  skill  in  practice 
won  him  their  confidence.  Called  into  consulta- 
tion and  to  perform  surgical  operations  all  over 
the  Northwestern  states,  and  with  a  large  client- 
age at  home,  his  nobility  of  character,  and  large 
heart,  caused  this  physician  and  surgeon  to  be 
loved  over  a  wider  section  of  country  and  in  a 
larger  number  of  homes  than  perhaps  any  other 
member  of  tin'  medical  profession  in  this  coun- 
try. He  was  gentle,  sympathetic,  magnetic. 
Toward  young  men  he  was  always  kind  and  help- 
ful. Always  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
woman,  he  gave  freely  his  time,  influence  and 
wealth  to  promote  her  interests.  The  Woman's 
Hospital,  in  Chicago,  with  half  its  beds  free,  is  a 
monument    to    his    persistent    effort.      He    was 


i8o 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


always  an  advocate  of  the  medical  education  of 
women.  No  one  who  knew  him  personally  or  by 
reputation  entertained  for  him  other  than  feelings 
of  the  highest  respect.  Dr.  Byford  died  May  21, 
1S00,  sincerely  mourned  by  the  entire  medical 
profession  and  by  the  public  at  large.  Seldom 
have  such  eloquent  words  of  eulogy  been 
spoken  of  the  dead  as  were  spoken  of  him 
by  his  associates  in  the  profession.  Seldom  has 
the  press  devoted  more  space  to  a  rehearsal  of  the 
achievements  of  a  life  than  it  devoted  to  a  record  of 
Dr.  Byford*s  career  and  success.  At  a  meeting 
of  the  faculty  of  the  Woman's  Medical  College 
held  on  the  day  of  his  death  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  passed: 

"  Whereas,  A  mysterious  Providence  has  sud 
denly  called  from  our  midst  our  honored  presi 
dent  and  beloved  colleague.  Dr.  William  H.  Byford 

"Resolved,  That  in  his  death  the  Woman's  Med 
ieal  College  has  met  with  a  loss  which  is  irrepar- 
able, he  having  been  the  leader  among  its  found 
ers,  its  faithful  and  efficient  president  during  the 
twenty  years  of  its  existence,  and  one  of  the  most 
zealous  champions  of  the  higher  education  of 
women. 

"Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  faculty, 
would  express  our  appreciation  of  his  integrity, 
uprightness,  ability,  fidelity,  and  Christian  cour- 
tesy in  all  his  association  with  us  in  our  college 
work;  and  that  his  sudden  and  unexpected  demise 
brings  to  us  a  sense  of  loss  and  bereavement 
which  we  can  not  express. 

"Resolved,  That  as  a  token  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  our  departed  colleague,  the  college 
buildings  be  draped  in  mourning  for  thirty  days; 
that  all  lectures  be  discontinued  until  after  the 
funeral,  and  that  the  faculty  and  students  attend 
the  funeral  exercises  in  a  body. 

"Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  his  bereaved 
family  our  sincere  sympathy  in  their  affliction, 
knowing  that  to  those  who  lived  nearest  his  great 
heart  the  blow  falls  most  heavily.  May  they  find 
comfort  in  the  thought  that  his  name  will  ever  be 
honored  and  reverenced  by  all  who  have  known 
him;  and  that  the  good  he  has  done 'dies  not 
with  him,"  but  that 'his  works  do  follow  him.' 
And  may  the  '  God  of  the  widow  and  the  father- 
less '  guide  and  comfort  them. 

"Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be 
sent  to  his  family,  and  also  be  spread  upon  the 
records  of  the  college." 

Dr.  Byford  was  twice  married.  October  'X 
1840,  he  was  married  to  Mary  Anne  Holland, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Hezekiah  Holland,  before  men- 
tioned in  this  sketch.  They  had  four  children. 
Dr.  Henry  T.  Byford,  the  distinguished  gynecol- 
ogist of  Chicago,  being  one  them.  Mrs.  Byford 
diedinl8G4.  In  1ST:',  be  married  Miss  Lina  W. 
Flersliein.  of  Buffalo.N.Y.  The  only  child  of 
this  second  marriage  died  in  infancy.  As  a  fitting 
close  to   this  incomplete  biographical  sketch  we 


quote  the  eloquent  eulogy  delivered  by  Dr.  James 
Nevins  Hyde  at  the  memorial  ceremonies  held  by 
the  faculty  of  Rush  Medical  College  on  Decem- 
ber 20, 1890,  at  Central  Music  Hall,  in  honor  of 
Drs.  W.  H.  Byford,  J.  Adams  Allen  and  John  P. 
Ross: 

"Dr.  By  ford  did  many  things  in  his  lifetime  which 
men  commonly  call  great.  He  was  not  bred  in 
halls  of  classic  learning,  yet  men  who  were  edu- 
cated in  universities  were  glad  to  sit  at  his  feet 
and  learn  of  him.  He  rounded  out  the  full  meas- 
ure of  the  highest  attainable  professional  success. 
He  wrote  books  that  were  bought  and  sold, 
read  and  quoted  as  authorities  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic.  He  founded  scientific  associa- 
tions of  which  able  members  seek  the  honor  of 
being  members.  He  organized  training-schools 
for  nurses,  and  amassed  a  fortune  by  honesty  and 
without  greed.  His  life  was  illuminated  with  a  ray 
of  eternal  life  which  will  shed  its  beauty  forever. 
He  will  live  in  his  mercy,  his  righteousness,  his 
truth  and  his  love.  Dr.  Byford  had  the  truest 
heart  that  ever  beat  in  sympathy  with  the  sor- 
rows of  our  life.  He  and  Carlyle  resembled  each 
other  in  the  traits  of  their  character.  He  was 
never  afraid  to  say  that  he  did  not  know  or  that 
another  man  did  not  know  more  upon  a  given 
subject  than  he  did.  We  are  not  ashamed  of  our 
dead  friend,  who  began  life  as  a  tailor's  appren- 
tice and  rose  to  be  the  president  of  great  societies. 
He  never  failed  to  respond  to  the  appeal  of  charity. 
In  fact  he  spent  a  fortune  in  deeds  of  charity." 


CHARLES   G.  SMITH. 

CHARLES  GILMAN  SMITH,  M.  D.,  was  born 
at  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  January  4th,  1828.  He 
is  the  son  of  Josiah  Oilman  and  Prances  Anne 
(Eastham)  Smith.  The  family  traces  its  origin  in 
America  back  to  1643,  when  Theophilus  Smith 
came  from  England  and  settled  near  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.  Theophilus  was  a  school-teacher  and  his 
male  descendants  for  several  generations  followed 
the  same  calling.  Pour  of  them  were  graduates  of 
Harvard,  and  followed  their  profession  in  New- 
England.  Dr.  Smith's  family  history  on  the 
maternal  side  is  also  of  historical  interest.  Francis 
Eastham,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Smith's 
mother,  was  impressed  into  the  British  navy  when 
a  boy  by  a  "press  gang"  which  took  him  out  of 
the  streets  of  London  and  put  him  aboard  a  man- 
of-war,  about  the  year  176T>.  He  served  on  the 
ship  five  or  six  years  until  one  day  when  it  sailed 
into  the  harbor  of  Portsmouth,  X.  H.  he  jumped 
overboard  and  escaped.  He  settled  near  by  and 
when  the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out  he  joined 


c^ 


- 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


1S1 


the  colonial  army  and  fought  against  the  British. 
Dr.  Smith  when  a  buy  went  to  school  at  Exeter, 
and  later  at  Phillips  Academy,  where  he  prepared 
for  Harvard  College.  He  was  a  quick,  bright- 
witted  lad,  and  at  sixteen  passed  the  examination 
at  that  famous  educational  institution  and  was 
accepted  as  a  sophomore,  graduating  in  1847,  in 
the  literary  department.  Soon  after  he  began  the 
study  (if  medicine  in  his  native  town  with  Dr. 
William  Perry,  a  noted  physician  of  his  day.  and 
took  his  first  course  of  medical  lectures  at  the 
Harvard  Medical  School  in  1848-9.  It  was  during 
this  session  that  the  awful  Webster-Parkman  trag- 
edy occurred,  and  the  lectures  were  temporarily 
interrupted  by  the  conviction  and  execution  of 
Dr.  Webster,  who  was  one  of  the  instructors.  After 
this  he  went  to  Philadelphia  and  continued  his 
medical  studies  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1851,  with 
the  degree  of  M.  D.  He  then  went  to  Boston 
where  for  two  years  he  was  attending  physician  at 
the  Alms-house  hospital.  In  February.  Is.",:?,  he 
removed  to  Chicago  and  began  what  soon  devel- 
oped into  a  highly  prosperous  and  successful 
practice.  He  first  located  at  122  Lake  street,  and 
confined  himself  to  a  general  family  practice,  from 
which  he  has  never  been  drawn  away.  During 
the  war  he  was  one  of  the  six  physicians  placed 
in  charge  of  the  prisoners  at  Camp  Douglas  in 
this  city,  and  in  this  position  added  largely  to  his 
reputation  as  a  skillful  practitioner.  In  1868  Dr. 
Smith  went  abroad  to  study  in  the  hospitals  of 
France,  Germany  and  England.  On  his  return  he 
was  invited  to  lecture  in  the  Woman's  Medical 
College  in  Chicago,  and  did  so  for  some  time.  He 
was  next  made  consulting  physician  at  the 
Women's  and  Children's  Hospital  and  at  the 
Presbyterian  Hospital,  to  both  of  which  institu- 
tions he  is  still  attached.  Dr.  Smith  is  also 
one  of  the  trustees  for  the  Peck  Home  for  Incura- 
bles, one  of  the  most  useful  charities  in  the  city, 
and  in  which  he  has  taken  an  active  interest  since 
its  organization.  In  addition  to  this  and  his  large 
private  practice,  Dr.  Smith  serves  a  numberof  the 
more  important  life  insurance  companies  as  their 
examining  physician,  a  line  in  which  he  has  proba- 
bly had  more  experience  than  any  other  medical 
man  in  Chicago.  Dr.  Smith  is  a  man  of  thorough 
training  in  his  profession,  and  is  a  leader  among 
the  most  eminent  physicians  in  the  Northwest. 
He  is  popular  with  patients  and  with  the  other 
members  of  his  profession.  His  practice  is  very 
extensive,  and  largely  among  the  best  people  of 
Chicago.     Dr.    Smith  is   a   man   of  fine   literary 


tastes  and  spends  much  of  his  time  in  reading, 
and  has  a  fine  selection  of  books.  In  1871  he  had 
acquired  an  extensive  and  valuable  library  of 
some  1500  volumes,  many  of  them  being  rare 
editions,  but  the  entire  collection  was  destroyed 
in  the  great  fire  of  that  year.  Since  then  Dr. 
Smith  has  accumulated  another  large  and  well- 
selected  library  in  which  are  a  number  of  literary 
oddities,  including  a  collection  of  seventy  volumes 
of  epitaphs.  While  the  library  represents  a  large 
money  value,  it  is  chiefly  notable  for  the  striking 
originality  displayed  in  its  selection,  and  the  merit 
of  its  volumes  as  literary  works.  Dr.  Smith  has  a 
wide  acquaintance  among  men  of  letters,  and  enjoys 
the  confidence  of  many  noted  authors.  There  are 
few  works  of    well-established    merit  with    which 

he    is   not    familiar.     While    1 ks    dealing   with 

medical  and  surgical  topics  have  commanded  his 
close  attention,  he  has  found  much  pleasure  in  the 
reading  and  study  of  non-professional  works.  Dr. 
Smith  is  a  charming  man  socially  and  is  much 
sought  after  as  a  participant  in  public  and  private 
gatherings.  He  is  agreeable  and  entertaining  in 
conversation;  a  ready  and  forcible  speaker  on 
many  subjects;  an  excellent  presiding  officer,  and 
one  of  the  best  toast-masters  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 
Dr.  Smith  is  a  man  who  has  found  much  enjoy- 
ment in  travel,  and  has  been  greatly  benefitted  by 
his  keen  and  thorough  observations  of  men  and 
events,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  He  went 
abroad  to  study  medicine  as  practiced  in  the 
centers  of  learning  in  Europe  and.  while  keenly 
alive  to  all  that  was  new  and  interesting  in  his 
profession,  was  watchful  of  many  other  things 
that  would  have  escaped  a  casual  observer  or 
mere  pleasure  seeker.  The  result  was  that  he 
came  back  to  America  not  only  better  trained  and 
more  skillful  as  a  physician,  but  broader  minded 
and  more  polished  and  educated  as  a  man  of  the 
world.  Dr.  Smith  was  married  October  16th, 
1873,  to  Harriett,  youngest  daughter  of  Erastus 
F.  Gaylord,  one  of  the  earliest  residents  of  Cleve- 
land, Ohio.  Their  home  is  one  of  the  happiest 
and  most  hospitable  in  the  city.  All  of  Dr. 
Smith's  medical  brethren  are  warm  in  their  com- 
mendation of  his  worth  as  a  physician  and  a  man, 
while  in  social  circles,  and  especially  in  the  clubs, 
of  many  of  which  he  is  a  member,  he  is  a  popular 
favorite.  He  has  been  president  of  the  Harvard 
Club  and  of  the  Chicago  Literary  Club.  Dr. 
Smith  has  done  a  great  deal  of  good  among  the 
poor,  but  of  this  he  refuses  to  talk,  and  there  is 
no  one  who  knows  just  how  widespread  his  quiet 
charity  has  been. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


MOSES  GUNN. 

MOSES  GUNN,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  LL.  D..  an  emi- 
nent surgeon,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  medical 
school  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  for 
twent}  years  the  occupant  of  the  chair  of  Princi- 
ples and  Practice  of  Surgery  and  Clinical  Sur- 
gery in  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago,  was  I  huh 
at  East  Bloomtield,  N.  Y..  on  April  20th.  1822,  and 
died  al  Ins  home  in  Chicago,  111.,  on  Nov.  1th, 
1887.  He  came  of  a  family  which  traces  its  ances- 
try through  a  long  line  of  Scottish  lairds  into  the 
depths  of  olden  times.  His  father.  Linus  Gunn, 
was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation, and  in  good  circumstances.  Remarka 
ble  for  a  very  powerful  physique,  he  was  no  less 
noted  for  his  extensive  hospitality.  He  married 
Esther  Bronson,  of  Great-Barrington,  "a  comely, 
clever,  thrifty  woman,  who  was  a  loving  wife  and 
mother  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  the  many 
comforts  of  his  home  and  for  much  of  his  suc- 
cess." After  their  pioneer  life  near  Batavia  in 
western  New  York  they  settled  in  East  Bloom- 
field,  where  they  spent  their  remaining  years. 
Linus  Gunn  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven,  and 
his  wife  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety  three, 
with  all  her  faculties  unimpaired.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  the  youngest  of  four  children. 
He  said  of  himself  that  his  youth  was  remarkable 
for  nothing  but  a  love  of  fun  and  meehanics.- 
After  three  years"  tuition  at  home  under  the 
guidance  of  a  theological  student  (a  member  of 
his  father's  family)  he  entered  the  East  Bloom  - 
field  Academy.  A  dangerous  and  prolonged  illness 
followed,  preventing  his  taking  a  regular  collegiate 
course.  A  change  of  climate  being  deemed  advis- 
able, he  was  sent  south,  and  was  so  greatly  bene- 
fited that  on  his  return  he  began  the  study  of 
medicine  in  Canandaigua  under  Dr.  Edson  Carr, 
a  skillful  physician  and  surgeon.  His  preceptor 
had  formed  a  very  high  opinion  of  him,  and  when 
on  one  occasion  the  lad,  accidentally  finding  him- 
self under  Dr.  Carr's  old-fashioned  cloak,  ex- 
claimed, "How  proud  I  should  be  if  your  mantle 
could  fall  upon  me,"  the  old  practitioner  gravely 
and  prophetically  replied:  "My  boy,  you  will 
wear  a  greater  mantle  than  mine."  In  the  fall  of 
lsll  he  became  a  regular  member  of  Geneva 
Medical  College.  He  worked  hard  to  master  his 
chosen  profession.  During  the  second  term  he 
frequently  assisted  Professor  Corydon  L.  Ford, 
then  demonstrator  of  anatomy,  evincing  so  much 
aptness  and  skill  in  teaching  others  that  it  fore- 
shadowed  his  appropriate  field  of  labor  as  a  future 


instructor  as  well  as  operator.  In  1816  he  received 
his  diploma  conferring  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  With  the  energy  alwa\  s  characteristic 
of  him  he  started  for  Michigan  within  a  week  af- 
ter his  graduation,  and  in  two  weeks  from  the 
day  he  left  his  eastern  home  began  a  systematic 
course  of  lectures  on  anatomy  at  Ann  Arbor.  He 
had  brought  from  New  York  the  cadaver  of  a 
negro,  and  was  the  first  person  who  ever  gave 
lectures,  accompanied  by  dissections  and  demon- 
strations, in  Michigan.  In  July.  1819.  he  was  ap 
pointed  professor  of  both  anatomy  and  surgery, 
and  with  a  view  of  broadening  his  knowledge  and 
experience  spent  the  ensuing  winter  in  New  York. 
Philadelphia  and  Boston,  vising  the  hospitals  and 
medical  schools.  We  quote  his  own  words:  "The 
primary  announcement  of  a  course  of  instruction 
in  the  new  school  was  issued  in  May,  fixing  the 
time  of  the  opening  of  the  course  on  the  1st  of 
October,  1850.  Thus  was  inaugurated  a  new 
medical  college,  with  new  and  comparatively  un- 
known men  for  a  faculty,  three  of  whom  were  yet, 
in  medical  parlance,  boys,  and  none  of  whom 
could  show  a  gray  hair."  One  of  his  colleagues 
says:  "The  first  class  that  Dr.  Gunn  lectured  to 
at  that  institution  in  1850-51  numbered  ninety- 
two,  even  this  being  deemed  a  remarkable  suc- 
cess. The  last  class,  1866-7,  he  there  instructed, 
numbered  five  hundred  and  twenty-five,  probably 
the  largest  medical  class  assembled  in  the  United 
States  that  year.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
to  Dr.  Gunn  more  than  to  any  other  man,  was 
due  this  unexampled  prosperity."  In  1854  he  re- 
moved to  Detroit  in  order  to  have  a  larger  field 
for  surgical  practice,  and  thus  do  greater  service 
to  the  institution  with  which  he  was  connected. 
Here  he  resided  fourteen  years,  journeying  to  and 
from  Ann  Arbor  to  give  his  lectures,  at  one  time 
computing  that  in  so  doing  he  had  traveled  a  dis- 
tance of  upwards  of  fifty-six  thousand  miles.  His 
reputation  grew  rapidly,  his  practice  steadily  in- 
creased, and  when  the  war  of  the  Rebellion 
opened  he  was  enjoying  great  prosperity.  In  the 
autumn  of  1861  he  joined  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac as  Surgeon  (with  the  rank  and  commission  of 
Major)  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  Regiment,  Michigan 
Volunteers,  and  with  it  served  in  the  Peninsular 
campaign  under  General  McClellan,  participating 
in  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  the  battles  of  Williams- 
burg and  Fair  Oaks,  and  the  siege  of  Richmond. 
Obtaining  a  leave  of  absence  of  three  weeks,  he 
returned  to  Detroit  at  the  beginning  of  1862.  and, 
after  crowding  his  entire  course  of  lectures  for 
that  term  into  the  time  named,  hastened  back  to 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


183 


the  front,  taking  with  him  his  eldest  son.  Glyn- 
don,  then  a  lad  of  twelve,  who  was  his  constant 
companion  while  he  remained  in  the  field.  In 
July.  1862,  his  health  gave  way  under  the  inces- 
sant strain  to  which  he  was  subjected  by  his  con- 
scientii  >us  performance  of  duty,  and  he  resigned  his 
commission  and  returned  to  Detroit.  Here  he 
continued  to  practice  and  to  teach  until  1m17. 
when  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  Professor 
of  Surgery,  etc.,  in  Rush  Medical  College  at  Chi- 
cago, taking  the  chair  formerly  filled  by  Dr.  Dan- 
iel Brainard,  who  had  died  during  the  terrible 
epidemic  of  cholera  which  had  visited  the  city 
named  in  the  year  mentioned.  During  the  re- 
maining twenty  years  of  his  life  Dr.  Gunn 
was  a  resident  of  Chicago.  He  confined  his 
practice  to  surgery,  and  attained  the  high- 
est distinction  in  his  specialty,  which  he 
continued  to  teach  at  Rush  Medical  Col- 
lege  down  to  within  a  few  months  preceding  his 
death.  He  became  a  recognized  authority  on  this 
subject,  and  during  his  somewhat  extended  trav- 
els in  America  and  Europe  he  was  received  by 
the  greatest  "f  his  scientific  compeers,  with  the 
most  cordial  evidences  of  respect  and  apprecia- 
tion. 

-A  perfecl  master  of  the  construction  and 
functions  of  the  component  parts  of  the  human 
body,  of  the  changes  induced  in  them  by  the 
onslaughts  of  disease.nl  the  defects  cast  upon 
them  as  a  legacy  by  progenitors,  of  tin-  vital 
capacity  remaining  in  them  throughout  all  vicis- 
situdes of  existence.  .  .  .  wise  in  human 
nature,  wise  in  the  laws  of  general  science,  wise 
in    social  amenities." 

Such  and  more,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
his  learned  successor,  Dr.  Charles  T.  Parkes,  was 
Dr.  Gunn  when  he  assumed  the  Chicago  profes- 
sorship. The  same  accomplished  professor,  who 
witnessed  Dr.  Gunn's  operations  for  many  years, 
writing  of  him  after  his  death,  said: 

"Xo  man.  living  or  dead,  no  matter  how  great 
the  halo  of  glory  or  recollections  that  may  rise  at 
the  mention  of  the  name,  ever  had  more  or  better 
success  attend  his  efforts  to  relieve  the  ailments 
of  suffering  humanity  than  followed  as  the  direct 
sequence  .if  the  work  of  this  truly  eminent  sur- 
geon." 

lli<  BUCcess  as  a  surgeon  was  due.  said  his 
close  personal  friend,  Professor  Allen,  to  "his 
wonderfully  minute  and  accurate  acquaintance 
with  anatomy,  combined  with  exquisite  power  of 
diagnosis,  a  cool  head,  steady  muscles,  and  great 
mechanical  genius."  In  his  operations  he  was 
"bold  and  dexterous,  handling  the  scalpel  with 
the   delicacy   of   an   artist's   pencil,  and   yet    the 


strength  of  iron  muscle."  In  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  as  a  surgeon  he  combined  with  the 
happiest  effect  unfailing  punctuality  and  a  scrupu- 
lous and  ever  present  thoughtfulness  which 
seemed  to  take  in  the  most  minute  details.  It 
has  been  said  that  no  patient  of  his  ever  shed 
one  tear  too  many,  or  felt  one  pang  of  anguish 
more  than  was  absolutely  necessary  on  account 
of  any  forgetfulness  or  tardiness  on  his  part.  A 
resident  of  Chicago  at  the  time  of  the  great  fire 
of  1871,  Professor  Gunn  suffered  heavily.  Rush 
Medical  College  was  swept  away  in  the  conflagra- 
tion; his  office  being  in  the  building,  he  lost 
everything  it  contained.  Among  his  possessions 
thus  consumed  was  a  fine  library,  a  priceless 
cabinet  of  handsomely  mounted  anatomical 
specimens  —  the  careful  collection  of  years  —  and 
the  manuscript  of  a  work  on  surgery  nearly  ready 
for  publication.  But  his  house  was  spared,  and 
there  he  established  his  office.  His  difficulties 
were  numerous  at  this  period,  for  in  addition  to 
the  losses  above  enumerated  his  surgical  practice 
was  scattered,  and  much  of  it  gone  forever.  It 
was  as  though  the  labor  of  his  life  had  come  to 
naught.  For  a  time  he  thought  he  would  have 
to  begin  all  over  again  as  a  candidate  for  general 
practice,  but  upon  reflection  he  wisely  concluded 
to  take  up  his  specialty  only.  In  the  destruction 
of  his  manuscript  the  surgical  profession  of  the 
world  sustained  a  griev.  ius  1<  iss.  The  calamity- 
was  so  sweeping — neither  notes  nor  specimens 
being  left  —  that  it  would  have  been  almost  impos- 
sible tor  him  to  have  again  gathered  the  necessary 
data  for  publication.  But  although  he  left  no  ency- 
clopaedia of  surgery,  one  little  pamphlet  from  his 
pen,  "The  Philosophy  of  Manipulation  in  the 
Reduction  of  Hip  and  Shoulder  Dislocations." 
containing  less  than  twenty-five  pages,  embodies 
more  learning,  says  Professor  Senn,  of  Rush  Med 
ical  College,  than  volumes  that  many  others  have 
compiled.  While  Dr.  Gunn  seems  to  have  made 
few  notes  compared  with  what  might  have  been 
expected  of  one  enjoying  such  an  extensive  prac- 
tice, he  was  not  culpably  remiss  in  this  particular, 
as  his  MS.  work  on  surgery  and  published  notes 
attest.  During  his  early  life  he  edited  for  a  time 
the  Monthly  Independent,  published  at  Detroit 
1:1  1857  58),  and  also  the  Peninsular  and  Inde- 
pendent Medical  Journal  1 1858-18(30 i,  in  which 
appeared  a  number  of  valuable  surgical  papers, 
some  of  which  were  republished  in  pamphlet  form. 
In  later  life  he  contributed  a  number  of  valuable 
papers  to  the  Chicago  Medical  Journal  and  to 
the  Transactions  of  the  American  Medical  Asso- 


1 84 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


ciation  and  the  Transactions  of  the  Imerican 
Surgical  Association,  at  which  limited  space  per- 
mits no  detailed  account.  A  number  of  his  ad- 
dresses also  have  been  published  in  pamphlet 
form.  He  possessed  scholarly  attainments,  was  a 
master  of  English,  was  fluent  in  German,  and  had 
an  excellent  command  of  French.  His  associates 
assert  that  if  he  had  devoted  his  life  to  mere 
business  he  would  have  been  a  millionaire.  He 
was  not  mercenary, however,  nor  avaricious.  His 
devoted  labors  in  resuscitating  and  rehabilitating 
Rush  Medical  College  prove  this,  as  do  also  his 
unselfish  services  at  the  Presbyterian  and  other 
hospitals  in  Chicago  when  he  was  at  the  height 
of  his  fame,  and  where,  at  his  free  clinics,  the  poor 
were  received  and  treated  with  all  the  ability  at 
his  command.  Dr.  Gunn  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  Geneva  College  in 
1856,  and  was  granted  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws  by  the  University  of  Chicago  in  1877.  Many 
other  honors  came  to  him,  among  them  the  presi- 
dency of  the  American  Surgical  Association, 
which  he  held  in  1885.  His  success  rested  on  an 
anatomical  rather  than  a  pathological  basis,  and 
while  not  unacquainted  nor  indifferent  to  anti- 
septic surgery  —  which  he  practiced  at  the  time 
of  his  death— he  may  perhaps  be  called  the  last 
of  the  anatomical  surgeons,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
greatest.  In  summing  up  his  character,  Professor 
James  Nevins  Hyde  graphically  says: 

"But  his  fame,  like  that  of  Velpeau,  Nelaton, 
Hunter,  Parker  and  Mott,  will  always  rest  rather 
on  what  he  did  with  his  knife  than  with  his  pen- 
though  he  was  indeed  a  scholarly  and  accurate 
writer — all  of  his  accomplishments,  and  they  were 
not  a  few.  were  subordinated  to  his  surgical  skill, 
on  which  his  reputation  was  firmly  based.  He 
was  an  unusually  accurate  accountant  for  a  phy- 
sician, a  good  church  man,  an  excellent  horseman, 
a  lover  of  the  best  general  literature,  a  skillful 
amateur  architect  and  astronomer,  and  a  man  of 
refined  tastes  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  art. 
But  upon  none  of  these  subjects  did  he  set  his 
heart  to  any  extent  with  the  untiring  zeal  and 
zest  displayed  in  the  discharge  of  his  professional 
duties.  With  the  enormous  demands  upon  his 
time,  he  was  never  known,  when  in  health,  to  fail 
to  enter  his  lecture  room  at  the  stroke  of  the  bell, 
nor  to  be  punctual  at  the  appointed  hour  for  a 
consultation.  The  clinical  work  he  did  in  public 
was  the  chief  delight  of  his  life.  There  he  was 
truly  royal  in  word  and  act.  His  superb  fit; inl- 
and commanding  presence  in  the  amphitheatre 
are  the  imperishable  souvenirs  of  thousands  of 
young  medical  men.  who  have  learned  from  his 
iife  their  first  lesson  in  practical  surgery,  and 
have  followed  with  their  eyes  the  wonderful  play 
of  instruments  in  his  hand,  guided  by  an  anatom- 
ical  knowledge   that    few,    as   fully  as  he,   pos- 


sessed. Professor  Moses  Gunn  came  thus  to  be 
known  to  the  world  at  large,  as  one  of  the  most 
eminent  surgeons  of  his  day — a  man  of  remarka- 
ble presence,  of  high  moral  character,  and  of  the 
best  social  position.  But  to  those  who  were  ad- 
mitted to  share  the  intimacy  of  his  friendship,  he 
exhibited  qualities,  often,  which  others  scarcely 
suspected.  He  was  in  all  these  non-professional 
relations  found  to  be  singularly  modest,  gentle  as 
a  woman,  light-hearted  as  a  boy,  faithful  in  his 
friendships,  fixed  in  an  honest  hatred  of  all  shams 
and  pretenders,  and  exhibiting  in  every  judgment 
of  his  mind  a  strong  common  sense  that  illumined 
every  dark  corner  into  which  he  looked.  He  was 
one  of  those  men  who  would  have  been  great  in 
any  sphere  of  life.  He  was,  viewed  from  every 
Bide,  one  of  the  greatest  of  great  men  whose  names 
the  medical  profession  will  always  treasure  with 
gratitude  and  respect.  His  memory  is  enshrined 
to  day  in  that  pantheon  of  honor,  where  the  most 
learned  of  jurists,  the  ablest  ecclesiastics,  the  most 
successful  military  heroes,  and  the  immortal 
poets  and  artists  of  America  are  numbered  with 
its  famous  physicians  and  surgeons." 

Dr.  Gunn  was  mourned  not  only  by  those  allied 
to  him  by  family  ties,  but  by  the  most  eminent 
members  of  the  noble  profession  which  he  adorned. 
The  loss  of  his  eldest  son,  Glyndon,  sixteen  years 
of  age,  by  drowning  was  a  severe  blow  to  him. 
Three  children  survive — a  daughter,  the  wife  of 
Thomas  Aiken  Wright  of  this  city,  and  two  sons, 
Walter  C.  and  Malcolm  Gunn  who  is  following  his 
father's  profession.  Dr.  Gunn  was  married,  in 
1S18,  to  Jane  Augusta  Terry,  the  only  daughter 
of  T.  M.  Terry.  M.  D..  of  Philadelphia.  This  ac- 
complished woman  survives  her  husband,  and  it 
is  from  a  remarkably  interesting  collection  of  his 
letters  and  memoirs,  embellished  by  reminiscences 
from  her  graceful  pen  and  published  under  the 
title  of  "Memorial  Sketches  of  Doctor  Moses 
Gunn,  by  his  Wife,"  that  many  of  the  foregoing 
particulars  have  been  drawn. 


JOHN  E.   OWENS. 

JOHN  EDWIN  OWENS.  M.  D.,  is  recognized  as 
one  of  the  leading  authorities  in  the  surgical  and 
medical  profession  in  Chicago,  and  has  attained  a 
degree  of  eminence  which  is  given  to  but  few  men. 
A  distinguished  gentleman  who  has  known  Dr. 
( (wens  long  and  closely  says:  "  Dr.  Owens  stands 
in  the  front  of  his  profession  in  which  he  is  con- 
ceded to  be  not  only  a  leader  in  Chicago,  but  to 
rank  amongst  the  eminent  surgeons  of  this  coun- 
try. He  is  an  indefatigable  worker  and  an  enthu- 
siast in   his  profession,  devoting   to   it   his   ripe 


£  .  2?~z^--t-^-<--*/ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


I85 


experience,  his  untiring  energy  and  his  great  skill. 
He  is  a  man  of  broad  reading,  libera!  culture  and 
keen  perceptions,  to  whom  travel  in  this  country 
and  abroad,  has  been  a  potent  factor  in  storing 
with  knowledge  a  receptive  and  reflective  mind. 
He  is  a  clear  thinker,  a  logical  reasoner,  and  speaks 
well  and  to  the  point  on  any  subject  undi 
elation.  He  is  genial  in  disposition  and  social 
by  nature  us  impulses  1 

with  deliberate  judgement  and  has  a  large  circle 
of  warm  friends  and  admirers,  both  within  and 
outside  of  the  medical  fraternity."  Dr.  John 
Edwin  Owens  is  the  son  of  a  Maryland  planter 
ami  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  at  Charlestown, 
Cecil  county,  in  that  State,  on  October  16,  1836. 
His  parents  were  John  and  Martha  I  Black 
The  former,  although  a  graduate  of  Dickinson 
College  at  Carlisle.  Pa.,  and  in  every  way  fitted 
for  a  professional  avocation,  preferred  the  life  of  a 
farmer.  He  had  an  extensive  plantation,  and,  as 
was  the  universal  custom  in  the  South  in  those 
days,  was  a  large  slave  holder.  Soon  after  the 
the  war  Mr.  Owens  removed  to  Baltimore 
where  ho  died  in  1874.  The  Owens  family  origin- 
ally came  from  Wales,  the  American  branch  hav- 
established  by  Dr.  Owens'  great  grand- 
father, Jonas  Owens,  who  came  to  lin- 
early in  the  present  century.  Dr.  Owens  passed 
his  boyhood  on  the  farm  at  Charlestown.  and  his 
first  schooling  was  received  in  the  private  schools 
of  that  section.  He  next  attended  the  West  Not- 
academy  and  afterwards  was  a  student 
at  theElkton  academy.  His  education  . 
pleted  under  the  direction  of  Edwin  Arnold.  LL. 
I).,  at  Mount  Washington,  Md.,  an 
after,  he  began  the  study  .  if  medicine  at  Elkton  with 
Dr.  Justice  Dunnott.  and  his  son.  Dr.  Thomas  J. 
Dunnott.  the  former  at  that  time  being  considered 
the  most  skillfull  surgeon  in  that  section  of  Mary- 
Land.  « in.'  year  of  study  under  the  Drs.  Dunnott 
was  followed  by  two  full  courses  at  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College.  Philadelphia,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1862.  While  at  the  col 
Owens  took  a  special  course  in  surgical  anatomy 
and  operative  surgery,  with  Dr.  D.  Hayes  Agnew. 
the  distinguished  surgeon  of  Philadelphia,  and 
made  rapid  progress  in  his  profession.  For  years 
it  had  been  the  practice  in  Maryland  families,  in 
accordance  with  the  teachings  and  desires  of  their 
parents,  for  the  sons,  even  when 
of  the  professions,  to  settle  in  their  native  county. 
Dr.  Owens,  under  other  conditions  might  have 
followed  this  rule,  but  tin-  opportunities  afforded 
in  Cecil  county  for  advancement  in  his  profession 


were  too  limited  to  meet  with  the  approval  of  a 
man  of  his  strong  ambition  and  liberal  views.  It 
was  for  this  reason  that  he  secured  the  position  of 
resident  physician  at  Blockley  Hospital,  in  Phila- 
delphia, upon  his  graduation,  and  there  he  re- 
mained thirteen  months.  Dr.  Owens  tendered  his 
to  the  hospital  branch  of  the  medical 
department  of  the  Union  Army  early  in  1863,  and 
was  sent  I  and  assigned  to  duty  in  the 

military  hospital  there.  Shortly  after  he  was 
placed  in  chargeof  the  newly-organized  St.  Luke's 
Hospital,  and  is  still  senior  surgeon  of  this  insti- 
tution. Dr.  Owens  has  been  a  prominent  instruc- 
tor in  Chicago  medical  colleges  for  many  years. 
His  first  connection  as  a  teacher  with  any  medical 
college  was  as  lecturer  on  the  Surgical  Diseases  of 
the  Urinary  Organs  from  1867  to  ]s71  in  Rush 
Medical  College.  In  the  same  institution  he  lec- 
tured on  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surgery 
in  the  spring  course  from  1^71  to  1882.  He  was 
inted  Professor  of  Orthopaedic  Surgery 
hd  resigned  in  1882.  He  was  appointed 
Professor  of  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surgery  in 
the  Woman's  Medical  Collegein  1877 and  0 
in  1883.  In  1882  he  severed  Ids  connection  with 
Rush  Medical  1  rof  Oper- 

ative Surgery  and  Surgical  Anatomy  in  the  Chi- 
cago Medical  College,  -the  medical  department  of 
the  North  Western  University.  In  the  fall  of 
1891  he  was  transferred  from  the  chair  of  Oper- 
ative Surgery  and  Surgical  Anatomy  to  that  of 
the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surgery  and  Clini- 
cal Surgery  in  that  college.  Dr.  Owens  is  a  keen 
sportsman  and  fond  of  taking  an  occasional  rec- 
reation with  his  does  and  gun.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Tolleston  Shooting  Club,  and  of  The 
Calumet  Club.  Chicago.  Dr.  Owens  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Medical  Society,  the  Chicago 
Medical  Society,  the  Chicago  Medico-Historical 
Society,  and  a  Fellow  of  tile  American  Surgical 
Association.  For  twenty  years  he  has  been  the 
superintending  surgeon  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railway,  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  tin- 
chief  surgeon  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern 
Railway.  In  addition  to  these-  positions.  Dr. 
Owens  is  tie  Medical  Director  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  his  commission  bearing 
date  of  June  1, 1891.  Dr.  Owens  combii 
lent  executive  and  administrative  ability  with  his 
gnat  professional  skill,  and  these  characteristics 
have  contributed  to  his  success  in  the  organi- 
zation and  supervision  of  the  surgical  departments 
of  the  great  corporations  by  whom  he  is  employed. 
The  possession  by  Dr.  Owens  of  these  organizing 


[86 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


mill  administrative  qualities  led  to  his  selection 
tor  the  important  and  prominenl  position  of  Medi 
eal  Directorof  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition. 
This  will  afford  him  a  wide  field  for  the  display  of 
his  powers  of  mind,  his  skill  and  executive  ability. 
Dr.  Owens  was  married  on  Dec.  30,  1869.  to  Miss 
Alethia  S.  Jamar,  the  daughter  of  Reuben  I>. 
Jamar,  of  Elkton,  Md.  They  have  one  child,  a 
daughter   Miss  Marie  Girvin  Owens. 


EZRA  B.  McCAGG. 

One  of  the  best  known  men  in  the  literary  and 
legal  circles  of  Chicago  is  Mr.  Ezra  Butler  Mc- 
Cagg,  the  descendant  of  a  wealthy  New  York 
family.  Mr.  McCagg  was  born  at  Kinderhook, 
N.  Y.,  on  November  22nd,  1825,  his  father  being 
Isaac  McCagg,  a  prominent  merchant.  His 
mother  was  Mrs.  Louisa  Caroline  (Butler)  Mc- 
Cagg. For  some  veins  the  lad  prepared  for 
college  under  the  mentorship  of  a  neighboring 
clergyman,  and  then  went  to  Hudson,  N.  V.. 
where  he  read  law  in  the  office  of  Monell,  Hoge- 
booin  &  Monell.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  al 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  In  the  same  year  Mr. 
McCagg  joined  John  Young  Scammon  in  Chicago, 
and  in  1849  the  firm  of  Scammon  &  McCagg  was 
formed.  The  firm  was  enlarged  in  1859  by  the 
admission  of  Hon.  Samuel  W.  Fuller  and  did  ;i 
very  profitable  business.  In  1872,  on  the  retire- 
ment of  Mr.  Scammon.  a  second  change  was  made 
by  the  admission  of  Mr.  W.  I.  Culver.  The  I'd 
lowing  year  (1873)  Mr.  Fuller  died,  and  the  linn 
became  McCagg  &  Culver.     Few  lawyers 

more  important  practice  than  was  en 
joyed  by  this  linn  almost  from  its  start  in  1849. 
In  the  many  years  of  its  existence  it  has  been 
entrusted  with  some  of  the  most  intricate  and 
real  estate  litigation  ever  brought  before 
i  Im  Federal  and  State  courts.  Mr.  McCagg  has 
now  virtually  retired  from  practice,  and  although 
he  has  well  earned  the  right  to  complete  rest,  he 
is  forced  at  times  to  look  after  some  close  point 
on  which  his  advice  is  especially  desired.  Promi- 
nent lawyers  and  .judges  unite  in  voicing  the 
opinion  of  the  Chicago  liar  in  public  expression 
of  Mr.  MeCagg's  ability  as  a  lawyer  and  worth  as 
a  man.  They  pronounce  him  a  thorough  student, 
well  versed  in  the  law  authorities,  industrious  in 
tic  preparation  of  his  eases,  and  vigorous  in  their 
trial.      In  court  he  is  the   same    polished    scholar 


as  in  private  life;  courteous  to  judge,  to  opposing 
counsel  and  to  witnesses,  but  at  the  same  time 
well  equipped  with  a  ready  wit  and  unflinching 
courage  to  administer  a  stinging  rebuke  when 
needed.  Mr.  McCagg  has  a  high  respect  for  his 
profession  and  is  unsparing  in  his  contempt  for 
charlatans.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  is 
not  a  politician  as  the  word  is  generally  under 
stood.  At  the  same  time  he  is  prominent  in  the 
councils  of  his  party  and  gives  earnest  attention 
to  mattersof  government.  Mr.  McCagg  has  been 
tendered  a  non-partisan  nomination  for  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois,  but  refused  it. 
owing  to  a  dislike  for  active  participation  in 
politics.  During  the  war  Mr.  McCagg  was  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Com 
mission,  and  was  also  president  of  the  Xorth- 
Western  Sanitary  Commission,  and  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  services  as  a  patriotic  citizen  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Illinois  Commandery  of  the 
Loyal  Legion.  He  was  the  second  person  in  the 
state  in  civil  life  thus  honored,  the  first  to  be 
chosen  to  membership  in  this  organization  of 
military  veterans  being  Hon.  Elihu  11.  Washburne. 
Mr.  McCagg  was  the  first  president  of  the  Lincoln 
Park  board  of  trustees,  mid  has  for  ten  vein's  and 
more  been  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  Illinois  Eastern  Hospital  lor  the  Insane.  He 
was  lor  ;i  long  time  a  trustee  of  the  University  of 
Chicago,  and  is  now  a  trustee  of  the  Chicago 
Academy  of  Sciences  and  of  the  Chicago  Astro- 
nomical Society.  As  a  life  member  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society  he  had  much  to  do  with  its 
organization  and  management,  especially  up  to 
the  time  of  the  tire  in  1871.  Mr.  McCagg  was  for 
ten  years  an  active  member  of  the  Chicago  Relief 
and  Aid  Society,  and  for  many  years  subsequent 
to  the  fire,  during  lour  of  which  he  was  its  presi- 
dent, was  energetic  in  the  distribution    of    in ■> 

and  goods  to  the  sufferers,  and  gave  personal 
direction  to  the  work.  The  destruction  of  Mr. 
McCagg'S  library  by  this  tire,  the  gathering  of 
which  had  been  to  him  a  fascinating  work  of  re- 
laxation from  his  professional  labors,  was  a  great 
loss,  as  many  valuable  and  interesting  historical 
papers  relating  to  the  settlement  of  the  North 
west  were  burned.  It  was  at  that  time  oneof  the 
finest  in  the  country,  and  lie  had  made  its  collec- 
tion the  labor  of  years.  In  literary  circles  Mr. 
McCagg  deserved!)  occupies  a  high  position  as 
he  is  one  of  the  most  thorough  students  in  the 
west.  He  is  &  ready  and  accomplished  writer  on 
all  subjects,  whether  in  the  field  of  belles  lettres, 
or  on  the  broader    matters    of    political   economy. 


20 


^%^^^    ^U^c^^^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


18: 


Mr.  McCagg  is  enthusiastic  in  the  collection  of 
historical  papers,  and  has  delivered  many  enter- 
taining lectures  ami  published  a  number  of  well 
prepared  pamphlets  on  this  and  kindred  topics. 

Of  his  general  characteristics  a  distinguished 
contemporary  says:  "Mr.  McCagg  is  one  of  the 
i  in  social  life  that  this 
country  has  produced.  II  is,  I  think,  more 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  modern  literature 
of  the  world  than  any  other  man  in  the  profession 
of  whom  I  have  knowledge.  In  the  intervals  of 
his  professional  lifenoman  devotes  more  time  to 
general  literature  than  Mr.  McCagg.  His  house 
is  always  open  to  his  friends  and  no  one  leaves 
there  without  feeling  glad  that  he  had  tin-  privi 
icing  there." 


CHARLES  HITCHCOCK. 

HON.  CHARLES  HITCHCOCK,  an  eminent 
lawyer,  for  many  years  a  leader  of  the  Chicago 
liar,  and  in  1870  chairman  of  the  Illinois  State 
Constitutional  Convention,  was  born  at  Sansoi  . 
Plymouth  county.  Mass..  on  April  4.  1827,  and 
died  at  his  home  in  Kenwood,  a  suburb  of  Chi- 
cago, on  May  6, 1881.  Mr.  Hitchcock  was  of  the 
seventh  generation  of  his  family  in  America,  and 
sixth  in  descent  from  Luke  Hitchcock,  who  came 
oyer  from  England  about  the  year  1644  . 
tied  in  New  Haven.  His  great  grandfather,  the 
Rev.  Gad  Hitchcock,  who  was  a  great  grandson 
of  the  first  settler  of  the  came,  was  born  at 
Springfield,  Mass..  in  1710.  and  was  graduati  d  at 
Harvard  College  in  1743.  He  became  one  of  the 
ed  preachers  of  his  day,  and  a  patriot 
whose  stirring  protests  against  tyranny  were  un- 
flinchingly hurled  against  the  English  authori- 
ties long  previous  to  the  declaration  of  independ- 
ence. One  of  his  greatest  patriotic  outbursts,  an 
"election  sermon"  delivered  before  the  British 
governor.  Thomas  Gage,  at  Boston.  May  25,  1771. 
became  historical.  In  it  he  vigorously  arraigned 
the  British  government  for  its  conduct  toward 
the  colonists  and  made  an  eloquent  plea  for  lib 
erty.  When  armed  revolution  came  he  promptly 
took  the  field  as  a  chaplain  in  the  ranks  of  the 
patriots,  to  whose  cause  he  steadfastly  adhered 
until  his  death.  By  Lis  wife.  Dorothy  Angier. 
grand-daughter  of  Uriah  Oakes,  president  of  Har- 
vard College  in  1680,  lie  had  one  son,  Gad  Hitch 
cock.  Jr..  born  in   1740.     This  son  was  graduated 


at  Harvard  College  in  1768.  He  chose  medicine 
as  a  profession,  and  establishing  himself  in  the 
town  of  Hanson,  became  a  practitioner  of  consid- 
erable note.  One  of  his  sons,  named  Charles. 
born  at  Hanson  in  1704.  was  a  farmer  of  high  in- 
telligence  and  excellent  standing,  lb-  was  mar- 
ried to  Abigail  L.  Hall  in  lvM.  and  died  in  l-<40. 
while  his  son  Charles,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  attending  college.  The  latter  was  well 
brought  up  and  was  given  the  best  educational 
advantages.  As  a  boy  he  attended  the  public 
schools  at  Hanson  and  the  neighboring  town  of 
Pembroke.  Even  thus  early  his  scholarship  was 
so  far  above  the  average  that  his  instructors  felt 
warranted  in  predicting  for  him  a  brilliant  future. 
In  1846  lie  was  prepared  for  college  at  Philips 
Academy.  Here  he  fulfilled  the  promise  of  pre- 
ceding years,  learning  whatever  he  studied  accu- 
rately and  with  the  greatest  facility.  In  1S47  he 
entered  Dartmouth  College.  It  is  said  that  his 
first  recitation  —  the  rendering  of  a  classic  text 
into  idiomatic  English  —  was  so  perfect  as  to 
elicit    the    applause    of   his  prof essor  and  class- 

Uthough  his  studies  were  temporarily 
arrested  during  the  sophomore  year  by  the  deaf) 

of  his  father,  he  resumed   them   s i   afterwards, 

and  in  18-VJ  was  qualified  to  accept  the  ; 
of  instructor  in  Greek  and  Latin  in  an  academy 
at  Washington,  D.  C  where  also  he  lectured  suc- 
cessfully on  scientific  subjects.  He  was  thus  en- 
gaged during  tie  greater  part  of  a  year,  yet  in 
that  brief  period  he  made  such  a  favorable  im- 
pression  thai  tor  a  long  time  thereafter  his  name 
was  mentioned  in  educational  circles  at  the 
national  capital  with  the  greatest  respect.  Not- 
withstanding his  success  as  a  teacher,  the  young 
man  concluded  that  his  vocation  was  in  the  law. 
and  at  the  close  of  his  engagements  in  Washing- 
ton  he  gave  his  attention  wholly  to  legal  study. 
After  taking  a  course  of  instruction  at  the  Dane 
Law  School—  the  law  department  of  Harvard 
College  —  he  was.  in  1854,  admitted  to  the  bar. 
Without  much  hesitation   he   decided   to   try  his 

in  the  West,  and  selecting  Chicago  as  a 
promising  field  of  effort,  he  established  himself 
in  that  city,  and  was  soon  absorbed  in  profes- 
sional work.  Tn  a  few  years  he  obtained  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice,  and  became  recognized  as 
one  of  the  ablest  of  the  younger  members  of  the 

ii.     His  habits   of  study  still  continued, 
and   at   his   office   his    leisure   was  given  to   p»  i 
fecting  his  knowledge  of   the  law-,  while  at  home 
he   cultivated  with    equal    diligence   his  literary- 
tastes.    His  rise  to  the  front  rank  at  the  Chicago 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


bar  was  very  rapid,  bul  hi*  advance  was  based  on 
solid  acquirements,  and  bis  position  once  attained 
was  indisputable.  No!  infrequent!)  men  imagine 
they  have  made  a  mistake  in  the  choice  of  their 
life  vocation,  and  so  contenl  themselves  with 
performing  their  daily  work  in  a  perfunctory 
manner  rarely  exceeding  mediocrity.  .Mr.  Hitch 
cock  was  not  i. ne  of  these.  He  had  no  sooner 
entered  upon  professional  duties  than  lie  felt  as- 
sured he  had  chosen  wisely.  He  became  more 
and  more  pleased  with  his  choice  as  his  duties 
enlarged  and  his  responsibilities  increased.  His 
cast  "I  mind  was  eminently  judicial,  and  he 
labored  with  great  Eacility,  accomplishing  a  vast 
amount  of  work  in  a  wonderfully  brief  space  of 
time.  His  reasoning  powers  were  seldom  at  fault. 
Hi'  reached  conclusions  rapidly.  An  eminent 
contemporary,  speaking  of  his  methods  of  prac- 
tice, said:  "  He  knew  just  what  to  do  to  accomplish 

agiven  professional  result,  and  he  did  that  and 
nothing  more.  If  wisdom  is  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  knowledge,  then  Mr.  Hitchcock  was 
pre-eminently  a  wise  lawyer.  It  was  because  he 
so  well  knew  what  to  do  to  attain  success,  and 
did  only  that,  that  his  professional  duties  seemed 
to  he  performed  with  so  little  effort.  He  did 
more  professional  work  with  less  friction  and 
waste  of  powerthan  anyman  I  have  ever  known." 
"There  was  rarely  a  day."  says  Mr.  Charles  A. 
Dupee,  his  law  partner  fur  many  years,  "in  which 
he  did  not  find  time  for  reading  law  for  at  least 
an  hour  or  two.  The  latest  law  magazines  or 
journals,  the  recent  reports  of  the  various  states, 
the    new    text  books,   were   always   carefully   ex- 

me, I    by  him   as   they  appeared."     Interesting 

or  useful  facts  found  therein  were  given  place  in 
his  note  book  or  laid  away  in  his  memory  to  be 
brought  forth  as  occasion  demanded.  In  this 
way,  to  quote  the  same  authority,  " his  mind  be- 
came a  store  house  of  systematized  learning." 
Ranking  among  the  very  highest  masters  of 
jurisprudence  in  Illinois.  Mr.  Hitchcock  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  state  constitutional  eon 
vention  of  1S70.  He  had  never  before  occupied  a 
ii  ii  a  legislative  body,  but  while  the  conven- 
tion was  composed  of  men  who  had  occupied 
seats  iii  Congress,  men  who  had  sat  upon  the 
bench,  and  men  who  had  served  witli  distinction 
in  the  Legislature,  when  the  time  came  to 
selecl  a  chairman  of  the  convention  the  wisdom 
Hi'  that  bod)  pointed  to  Mr.  Hitchcock  as  the  right 
man  for  the  place.  It  is  the  testimony  of  one  of 
his  distinguished  associates  that,  "As  chairman, 
his    cool,   deliberate,  clear    mind,  and    his    entire 


freedom    from    partiality  soon   demonstrated    that 

as  a  presiding  officer  he  had   few  equals  and  no 

superiors."  Independently  of  his  duties  as  chair 
man  he  performed  a  large  amount  of  valuable 
work  in   connection  witli    individual    members  of 

th mention,  and  in  assisting  the  committees 

while  they  were  engaged  in  maturing  the  different 
articles.  Alter  the  great  Chicago  tire  Mr.  Hitch- 
cock was  summoned  by  the  governor  of  the  state 
to  a  consultation  as  to  the  wisest  way  of  adminis- 
tering state  relief  to  the  afflicted  city,  and  his  sug- 
gestion brought  about  the  immediate  rebuilding 
of  the  bridges  of  the  city  and  many  other  much 
needed  helps  from  the  state.  It  isamost  remark- 
able fact  that  at  this  time  when  all  property  lines 
were  obliterated,  and  the  usual  legal  documents 
also  had  been  burned  in  the  tire,  Mr.  Hitchcock's 
accurate  memory  was  relied  on  in  a  large  number 
of  instances  to  establish  title,  his  simple  affidavit 
being  accepted  in  place  of  the  deeds.  With  his 
eminent  standing  in  his  profession,  his  spotless 
life,  and  his  great  hold  upon  the  confidence  of  his 
fellow  citizens.  Charles  Hitchcock  might  have  as- 
pired to  any  office  or  honor  in  their  gift,  and  had  he 
lived  would  undoubtedly  have  been  obliged  to  yield 
to  the  public  demand  in  this  respect.  But  failing 
health  compelled  him  to  decline  to  consider  any 
and  all  overtures  made  to  him  in  this  regard,  and 
during  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  withdrew  from 
active  practice,  although  he  continued  to  take  an 

interest  in   every  g 1   work,    public  and  private, 

down  to  the  last  days.  "He  laid  down  his  life 
with  the  same  calm  courage  he  had  borne  it,"  dy- 
ing at  his  home  in  Kenwood  on  May  G,  1881.  His 
remains  were  interred  in  Oakwood  cemetery,  near 
by.  It  is  seldom  that  the  death  of  a  private  citi- 
zen has  awakened  greater  public  sorrow  or  called 
forth  warmer  eulogium.  As  a  lawyer  of  com- 
manding ability,  a  scholar  of  ripe  learning,  a  citi- 
zen without  spot  or  stain,  and  the  friend  of  youth, 
he  was  admiringly  spoken  of  by  the  press  and  his 
former  associates  and  compeers.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  Chicago  Biir  Association,  held  on  May  14th, 
1881,  to  do  honor  to  his  memory,  the  leader  of 
the  Illinois  bar  testified  to  his  eminent  worth  and 
distinguished  talent.  A  former  law  partner  of  the 
deceased  alluded  in  feeling  terms  to  his  warm  in- 
terest in  the  younger  members  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession, saying: 

■■[•'.specially  did  he  find  time  to  aid  young  men 
young  lawyers  who  came  to  him  for  advice  and 
assistance.  He  always  aided  them  generously  and 
freely,  and  they  found  in  him  a  real  friend.  His 
thoughtful  consideration  of  others  was  shown  in 
his  treatment    of    the   young  men  in  the  office,  the 


£ 


Jf^     ^,  /9  ^ 


O-r  c^ 


BIOOIIAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


189 


clerks  and  the  Btudents.  He  suggested  their 
course  of  reading,  both  legal  and  miscellaneous. 
He  was  solicitous  for  their  health  and  advance 
ment  and  that  their  labors  should  be  of  service 
to  themselves  as  well  as  to  him. 

"His  private  life  was  pure  and  .-lean.  No  taint 
of  dishonor  or  dishonesty  ever  touched  him.  His 
word  was  better  than  his  bond.  Be  always  spoke 
of  his  professional  brethren  with  kindness  and 
appreciatingly.  Envy,  uncharitableness and  such 
qualities  wen-  whollj  foreign  to  his  nature.  I 
never  knew  him  to  do  a  little  act  or  an  unkind  one." 

Judge  Erastus  S.  Williams,  of  Chicago,  said  of 
him:  "For  this,  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, it  can  be  said,  in  no  disparagement  of  the 
living,  but  in  simple  justice  to  the  dead.  Charles 
Hitchcock  had  no  superior  at  the  bar  or  on  the 
bench  of  this  city.  Primus  inter  pares  is  uo 
mean  praise  at  a  bar  many  of  whose  members  have 
attained  an  enviable  national  reputation,  but  it 
was  the  position  universally  accorded  to  the  de- 
ceased." The  Hon.  Chas.  B.  Lawrence,  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  Illinois,  paid  eloquent  trib- 
ute to  his  courtliness  as  a  practitioner, 

"It  is  the  theory  of  the  law  that  the  counsel 
who  practice  here  air  to  aid  the  court  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice.  I  have  known  no  member 
of  our  profession  who  has  seemed  to  me  more 
careful  to  conform  his  practice  toa  high  standard 
of  professional  ethics  than  Charles  Hitchcock. 
lb-  never  sought  to  lead  the  court  astray  in  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  or  law.  He  would  not  endeavor  to  with- 
hold from  it  a  knowledge  of  any  fact  appi 
the  record,  lb' would  not  cite,  as  an  authority, 
an  overruled  case,  without  stating  the  fact  that 
it  had  been  overruled.  He  treated  the  court  with 
the  studied  courtesy  which  is  its  due.  and  indulged 
in  no  malicious  criticism  because  it  arrived  at  a 
conclusion,  in  the  decision  of  a  case,  different 
from  that  which  he  hoped  to  hear.  Calm,  digni- 
fied, self -controlled,  free  from  passion  or  prejudice 
and  overflowing  with  kindness,  be  gave  to  his 
client  tlie  service  of  great  talent,  unwearied  in- 
dustry and  a  rare  learning,  but  he  never  forgo! 
that  there  were  certain  things  due  to  the  court,  to 
his  own  self-respect,  and  above  all  to  do  justice, 
and  a  righteous  administration  of  the  law.  which 
neither  the  zeal  of  an  advocate  nor  the  pleasure 
of  success  would  permit  him  to  disregard.  He 
was  an  able,  faithful  and  conscientious  minister 
in  the  temple  of  justice,  as  he  was  endeared,  in 
private  life  to  all  who  knew  him  by  the  simple 
nobility  of  his  character." 

Melville  W.  Fuller,  the  present  chief  justice  of 
the  United  States,  said: 

"Charles  Hitchcock  possessed  a  mind  of  singu- 
lar precision  ami  power.  It  was  in  a  marked  de- 
gn  e  a  judicial  mind,  capable  of  an  impartial  view 
of  both  sides  of  a  question  and  of  arriving  at  a 
just  conclusion.  In  his  practice  he  was  abso 
lutely  fair,  never  indulged  in  artifice  or  conceal- 
ment, never  dealt  in  indirect  methods,  but  won 
his  victories,  which  were  many,  and  suffered  his 


defeats,  which  wen-  few,  in  the  open  field,  face  to 
face  with  his  toe.  He  achieved  the  highest  dis- 
tinction and  ho  deserved  it.  lie  was  eminent  as 
a  lawyer,  as  a  member  of  the  convention  which 
framed  the  organic  law  of  the  state  and  as  its 
presiding  officer.  His  spotless  and  exalted  rep 
utation  will  be  long  remembered  by  the  profes- 
sion and  the  community,  and  his  memory  be  held 
precious  l>\  his  friends,  while  that  which  he  ac- 
complished will  live  long  after  hisname  is  dimmed 
by  the  mists  of  years." 

Other  bodies  of  distinguished  citizens  with 
which  Mr.  Hitchcock  had  been  actively  associated 
in  life  also  recorded  their  testimony  to  his  worth 
and  services.  Prominent  among  these  was  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society,  of  which  he  was  one 
of  the  oldest  and  most  respected  members.  Upon 
its  minutes  the  following  resolutions,  with  which 
this  imperfect  sketch  of  a  modest  but  really  great 

life  milst    close,    were   duly    reeorded: 

"Banking  among  the  yerj  highest  of  those  who 
have  advanced  the  character  ami  learning  of  our 
jurisprudence.  Charles  Hitchcock  was  called  as  a 
lawyer  in  the  state  constitutional  convention  of 
1 870  1  1  preside  as  chairman  over  its  deliberations. 
The  work  of  that  convention  in  framing  t lie  present 
charter  of  our  state  government  limiting  the  power 
of  municipal  corporations  in  this  state  to  burden 
the  people  by  an  undue  increase  of  taxes  and  in 
crease  of  debt,  called  out  the  applause  of  people 
ad  at  home.  The  fidelity  of  purpose  and 
devotion  to  the  public  interest  which  that  work 
manifested  shed  a  luster  upon  its  framers.  Pub- 
lic opinion  has  since  ratified  the  judgment  pro- 
nounced   that  the  constitution  of  1870  is  the  best 

yet  adopted  of  American  stati nstitutions.  But 

it  is  not  alone  as  a  servant  of  the  state,  in  fram- 
ing ile  constitution  and  laws  of  a  free  people, 
that  Charles  Hitchcock  occupied  the  highest  place 
among  his  contemporaries.  As  a  lawyer  and  ad- 
vocate, the  officer  of  courts  engaged  in  the  admin 
istration  of  justice,  his  highest  place  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  knew  him  will  ever  be  found." 


HARVEY   B.   HURD. 

HON.  HARVEY  B.  HURD.  who  ranks  among 
er  settlers  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  where 
he  has  spent  the  most  of  his  life,  having  arrived 
there  when  little  more  than  a  boy.  has  been  a 
prominent  actor  in  some  of  the  most  interesting 
ev.ents  of  our  Western  history.  He  was  born  at 
Huntington,  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut,  on  the 
14th of  February.  1828.  His  father.  Alanson  Hurd. 
was  of  English  descent,  and  his  mother  was  of 
mingled  Dutch  and  Irish  stock.  If  ever  it  could 
be  said  of  any  one  that  he  made  his  way  in  life 
from  poverty  to  a  high  and  honorable  station,  it 


190 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


is  true  of  Harvey  1>.  Surd.     It  is  said  of  him  that 

when  he  left  I !  to  seek  out  fortune  for  himself , 

he  carried  all  his  possessions  tied  up  in  a  hand- 
kerchief, and  that  when  some  years  later  he 
arrived  in  Chicago  his  total  wealth  was  half  a 
dollar.  Yet  this  poor  boy  w;is  in  after  years  l" 
acl  a  part  which  had  no  small  influence  upon  the 
career  of  two  states,  and  to  mould  the  academic 
studiesof  a  generation  of  young  American  law 
yers.  Until  he  was  fifteen  wars  old.  Mr.  Eurd 
worked  upon  his  father's  farm  during  the  summer 
months,  and  in  winter  attended  Bchool.  On  the 
Brsl  of  May,  1842,  he  took  leave  of  home  and  par 
ents  and  walked  all  the  way  to  Bridgeport,  where 
he  obtained  employment  as  an  apprentice  in  the 
otliee  of  the  Bridgeport  Standard,  a  Whig  news- 
paper. In  the  fall  of  1S41  lie  emigrated  with  a 
company  of  ten  other  young  men  to  Illinois,  and 
entered  Jubilee  College  in  Peoria  county,  then 
presided  over  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Chase.  Some 
disagreement  occurred  between  him  and  the  rev- 
erend principal  after  he  had  been  at  the  college 
about  a  year,  and  he  went  to  Peoria,  where  he 
looked  in  vain  for  employment.  He  therefore 
took  his  passage  on  a  baggage  stage  for  Chicago, 
where  he  soon  obtained  work  in  the  office  of  the 
Evening  Journal,  then  published  by  Wilson  and 
1  ri  er,  and  afterwards  on  the  Prairie  Farmer. 
In  the  fall  of  1847  he  began  the  study  of  law  in 
the  office  of  Calvin  DeWolf,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  liar  in  1S48.  His  Hist  law  partner  wasCharles 
Haven,  afterwards  State's  Attorney,  and  next 
Henry  Snapp.  afterwards  Congressman  from  the 
Joliet  District.  From  1850  to  lSoJ  he  practiced  in 
partnership  with  Andrew  J.  Brown.  This  firm 
had  large  transactions  in  real  estate,  and  were 
owners  of  248  acres  of  land  which  they  laid  out  as 
part  of  the  village  of  Evanston.  Mr.  Hurd  was 
one  of  the  first  to  build  in  Evanston.  He  com- 
menced to  build  the  house  lie  now  lives  in.  in  the 
summer  of  1854,  and  moved  into  it  in  September, 
L855.  At  that  time  it  occupied  a  block  of  ground, 
and  is  now  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  that  beauti- 
ful suburb.  He  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having 
been  tin-  first  president  of  the  village  board.  Mr. 
Hurd  married  in  May.  1853,  Miss  Cornelia  A.  Hil- 
liard,  daughter  of  the  late  Captain  James  Hilliard, 
of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  by  this  marriage 

had  three  daughters,  Eda,  married  to  <; -ge  S. 

Lord,  Hettie,  who  died  in  1884,  and  Nellie,  mar- 
ried to  John  A.  Comstock.  lb-  again  married  on 
November  1.  1860,  Sarah,  widow  of  the  late  George 

Collins.  He  is  now  a  widower,  his  last  wife 
having  died  in  January,  1890.     Mr.   Hurd   was  an 


ardent  abolitionist,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the 
stirring  events  that  occurred  in  Chicago  before 
and  after  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 

in  1854.     The  immediate    i sequence  of   this  ac- 

tion  of  Congress  was  to  throw   the  fertile  soilof 

Kansas  open  as  a  prize  to  be  contended  for,  both 
by  the  free  and  the  slave  states.  The  slavehold- 
ers of  western  Missouri  crossed  the  border,  driv- 
ing out  many  of  the  free-state  settlers  and  killing 
others,  pre-empted  lands,  and  opposed  the  passage 
of  emigrants  from  the  free  northern  States  through 
Missouri, compelling  the  latter  to  take  a  more  cir 
cuitous  route  through  Iowa  and  Nebraska.  Dur- 
ing the  spring  and  Bummer  of  1855,  Kansas  was 
the  scene  of  continual  conflict  between  these  par- 
ties: the  ••border  ruffians"  of  Missouri  endeavor- 
ing to  drive  out  the  free-state  settlers  by  murder 
and  arson,  and  the  free  settlers  retaliating.  The 
cry  of  -bleeding  Kansas"  echoed  through  the 
North,  and  emigration  societies  were  formed  in 
the  free  states  to  aid.  arm  and  protect  free-state 
settlers.  A  com  cut  ion  was  held  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.. 
at  which  a  national  Kansas  commit  tee  was  formed; 
and  Mr.  Hurd,  who  was  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion, became  secretary  of  its  executive  committee. 
whose  headquarters  were  at  Chicago.  He  had  for 
his  assistant  secretary  Horace  White,  afterwards 
editor  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  now  of  New  York 
city.  In  1856  the  crops  in  Kansas  fell  short. 
There  was  not  seed  enough  of  any  kind  to  sup- 
ply the  demand  for  the  next  year's  planting.  The 
committee  met  at  New  York  and  passed  a  resolu- 
tion instructing  the  executive  committee  in 
Chicago  to  purchase  and  forward  the  necessarj 
seed,  and  at  the  same  time  appropriated  $5,000  to 
John  Brown  for  the  equipment  of  an  armed  com 
pany.  Mr.  Hurd  found,  on  returning  to  Chicago 
that  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  were 
not  sufficient  to  meet  both  requirements.  He 
decided  to  buy  and  send  on  the  seed.  One  hundred 
tons  consisting  of  spring  wheat,  corn,  potatoes, 
barley  and  other  seeds  were  bought  and  forwarded 
to  Kansas.  When  Brown  applied  for  the  money 
appropriated  to  him  he  found  the  committee's 
treasury  empty.  At  Hist  Gerritt  Smith  and  other 
friends  of  Brown  were  inclined  to  Hnd  fault  «  ith 
the  action  of  Mr.  Hurd.  But  in  the  meantime  the 
free  settlers  had  been  waiting  anxiously  at  Law 
rence,  Kansas,  for  the  seeds.  They  had  been  for- 
warded by  a  small  steamer  which  was  to  ascend 
the  Kansas  River  to  Lawrence  where  the  set- 
tlers assembled  to  receive  them.  The  steamer 
was  delayed  two  weeks  by  low  water,  and  when  at 
last  it  did  arrive,  the   settlers   were    so    overjoyed 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


191 


that  the  wisdom  of  Mr.  Hurd's  course  was  amply 
vindicated.  Had  not  this  timely  provision  for 
raising  a  crop  been  made,  settlers  would  have 
been  obliged  to  leave  Kansas.  As  it  was.  the  tide  of 
emigration  from  the  free  states  kept  on  increas- 
ing, and  the  pro-slavery  men.  finding  themselves 
overmatched,  soon  gave  up  the  contest.  In  1869 
Mr.  Hurd  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  Henry 

Booth,  and  at  thi   same  I ace  pted  the  position 

1  r  in  the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  Chicago,  which  Mr.  Booth  hadhelped  I 
ize  three  years  before,  and  of  which  he  was  the 
principal.  This  firm  was  dissolved  in  1868,  Mr. 
Hurd  retiring  from  active  practice.  In  April, 
1869,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Palmer  one 
of  three  commissioners  to  revise  and  rewrite  the 
general  statutes  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  Bis  col 
were  Messrs.  William  E.  Nelson  of 
Decatur,  and  Michael  Schaeffer  of  Salem. 
both  of  whom  withdrew  in  a  short  time,  leav- 
ing the  burden  of  the  work  upon  Mr.  Hurd 
alone.  He  completed  his  task  after  the  ad- 
journment of  the  Twenty-eighth  General  As- 
sembly in  April.  1874.  and  was  appointed  by 
that  body  to  edit  and  supervise  the  publication, 
which  he  has  accomplished  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  th  the  state.  The  labor  which 
Mr.  Hurd  performed  in  this  revision  is  such  as 
only  lawyers  can  fully  appreciate.  He  had  not 
only  to  compile  into  one  homogeneous  whole  the 
various  laws  which  from  time  to  time  had  been 
enacted  at  the  biennial  meeti  jjislature, 
but  to  adapt  them  to  the  new  state  constitution  of 
1S70.  discarding  old  provisions  which  wen 
flict  with  it.  and  constructing  new  ones  in  con- 
formity P>  it.  J  of  his  work  was  imme- 
diate. "Hurd's  Revisi  d  Statutes  '"  is  an  indispen- 
sable work  in  every  law  office  throughout  the 
state,  and  in  many  public  ofl  3tate  edi- 
tion of  1874,  of  15,000  copies,  was  soon  exhausted 
and  Mr.  Hurd  has  been  called  upon  to  ed 
editions  since,  all  of  whichhave  received  the  un- 
qualified commendation  of  the  bar.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1-  _ain  elected  to  a  chair  in  the 
Law  School  which  had  become  the  Union  College 
of  Law  of  the  University  of  Chicago  and  the 
Northwestern  University,  and  is  now  Prof essor  of 
_.  Practice,  and  Statutory  Law  in  that  in- 
stitution, it  now  being  the  law  department  of  the 
Northwestern  University.  He  has 
pation  which  is  thorough!]  congenial  to  him.  He 
has  always  been  a  careful  student,  and  his  argu- 
ments of  casi  -  higher  courts  were 
always  models  of  clear  and  accurate  statement  of 


legal  propositions,  and  logical  reasoning.  In  his 
academic  work  he  displays  the  same  invaluable 
qualities,  imparting  to  his  classes  a  thorough 
understanding  of  principles,  and  training  them  to 
systematic  and  methodical  habits.  At  the  special 
election  for  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Illinois,  on  the  11th  of  December,  1875,  Mr.  Hurd 
was   nominated   by    the    Republicans,    hut    was 

by  T.  L.  Dickey,  then  corporation  counsel 
of  the  city  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Dickey  was  a  Demo- 
crat and  had  the  entire  support  of  that  party:  he 
had.  moreover,  the  whole  influence  of  the  city 
administration:  and  to  crown  all  he  had  the  hack- 
ing of  the  railroad  corporations,  who  were  dis- 
::  Mr.  Hurd  for 
the  stringent  measures  of  railroad  legislation 
which  the  General  Assembly  had  enacted,  which 
were  contained  in  "Hurd's  Revised  Statutes."  and 
with  the  framing  of  which  he  had  much  to  do. 
By  the  aid  of  this  powerful  combination  Mr.  Hurd 
was  defeated.  Just  before  the  election,  a  defama- 
tory pamphlet  against  him  was  published  by  a 
member  of  the  same  Church  to  which  Mr.  Hurd 
belonged:  and  though  of  too  slight  importance 
to  influence  the  result,  it  was  not  a  matter  to  be 
overlooked  by  Mr.  Hurd,  who  had  always  borne 
an    irri  1  character.     The    writer   was 

tried,  and  convicted  of  slander  and  unchristian 
conduct  by  a  church  court  to  whom  the  case  was 
submitted,  and  received  theirformal  censure.  Mr. 
Hurd  made  man}  friends  by  his  fori  .earing  and 
Christian  conduct  towards  his  defamer.  Since 
that  time  he  has  not  again  presented  himself 
before  th  candidate  for   any  office, 

ms  to  prefer  the  honorable  retirement 
which  he  has  so  well  earned,  tin. line  sufficient 
occupation  in  his  academic  duties,  ami  employing 
his  leisure  in  the  pursuits  of  a  scholar.  Mr.  Hurd 
was  one  of  six  gentlemen  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy 
in  the  board  of  county  commissioners  oi  Cook 
county  created  by  the  resignation  and  conviction 
of  members  of  that  board  for  defrauding  the 
county.  He  is  credited  with  being  the  father  of 
the  new  drainage  system  of  Chicago  by  which  the 
sewage  of  the  city,  instead  of  being,  as  now.  dis- 
charged into  Lake  Michigan — the  source  of  tin- 
water  supply  i-;  to  be  carried  into  the  Illinois 
river  by  means  of  a  channel  across  what  is  known 
as  the  Chicago  divide.  While  Mr.  Kurd  does  not 
claim  the  credit  of  having  first  suggested  such  a 
channel — indeed  it  has  long  been  talked  of — he  is 
without  doubt  the  author  of  the  plan  of  creating 
a  municipal  district  from  the  city  of  Chicago — 
the    Chicago    Sanitary    District,    and   getting   it 


H). 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


adopted.  Until  be  suggested  this  plan  it  was 
generally  conceded  that  there  was  no  way  of 
the  necessary  money  to  construct  the 
channel  without  an  amendment  to  the  constitu 
tion,  tin-  city  ui'  Chicago  having  reached  the  limit 
of  its  borrowing  and  taxing  power.  It  was 
through  Mr.  Hurd's  suggestion  of  this  plan  to 
Mayor  Harrison  that  the  Drainage  ami  Water 
Supply  Commission,  known  as  the  Hering  Com- 
mission, was  raised.  He  was  the  friend  and 
adviser  of  that  commission  and  was  the  author  of 
the  first  billon  the  subject  introduced  into  the 
legislature  in  ISSti,  known  as  the  Hurd  bill,  which 
resulted  in  a  legislative  commission  to  further 
investigate  the  subject  and  present  a  bill.  The 
bill  reported  by  that  commission  and  passed  in 
1887,  although  it  differed  in  some  respectsfrom 
the  original  Hurd  bill,  was  in  the  main  the  same 
and  was  supported  before  the  legislature  by  him 
ami  his  friends.  He  conducted  the  proceedings 
ior  its  adoption  by  the  people  of  the  district.  It 
was  adopted  at  the  November  election,  1887,  by 
an  almost  unanimous  vote.  His  residence  outside 
the  district,  Evanston,  although  not  a  legal  dis- 
qualification has  in  the  minds  of  politicians  ruled 
him  out  as  a  candidate  for  trustee,  still  he  has  not 
ceased  to  devote  his  energies  for  its  success  upon 
the  broad  scale  originally  designed.  The  plan  as 
outlined  is  now  in  a  fair  way  of  being  accomplished, 
and  when  it  is  it  will  no  doubt  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  grandest  accomplishments  of  the  age.  It 
will  at  one  stroke  give  to  Chicago  an  excellent 
system  of  drainage,  pure  water  and  a  magnificent 
water-way.  connecting  the  great  lakes  with  the 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  and  with  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Among  the  charities  which 
receive  Mr  Hurd's  attention  and  aid,  are  the 
Children's  Aid  Society  of  Chicago,  whose  work  is 
the  seeking  out  of  homeless  children  and  placing 

them   in   family    homes,   and    the   Conferen if 

Charities  of  Illinois,  an  organization  composed  of 
all  charitable  societies,  lie  is  president  of  both  of 
these  societies. 


CLIFTON    II.   MOORE. 

CLIFTON  II.  MOORE,  a  prominent  citizen 
and  lawyer  of  Clinton,  and  one  of  tin-  gnat  landed 
proprietors   of    the   state,  was   born    in  Kirtland, 

Lake  county,  Ohio October  26,  1S17.     At  that 

time  the  greater  part  of  «  hat  is  now  Lake  county 
was  comprised  within  the  limits  of  Geauga  county, 


as  then  constituted.  Mr.  Moore  comes  of  sturdy 
Revolutionary  stock,  being  a  grandson  of  John 
Moore,  an  American  soldier  who,  as  one  of  the  de- 
fenders of  Fori  Stanwix.  fought  the  British  and 
their  savage  allies  under  St.  Leger,  and  later 
going  south  with  his  regiment  the  First  New 
York  Infantry,  commanded  by  Colonel  Goose  Van 
Schaick  — served  under  Washington,  and  was 
present  at  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  at 
Vorktown.  A  son  of  the  old-time  hero,  named 
Isaac  Moore,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  came  to  ( )hio  in  1811,  married  Miss  Philena 
lilish,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Blish, of  Painesville. 
Ohio,  in  1816,  and  up  to  1830  he  resided  in  Kirt- 
land. Ohio.  In  the  winter  of  1830-31  the  Mor- 
mons, under  the  leadership  of  their  founder, 
Joseph  Smith,  being  driven  by  public  sentiment" 
from  Manchester.  N.  Y.,  moved  west  and  estab- 
lished themselves  at  Kirtland.  which  was  to  be 
the  seat  of  the  "New  Jerusalem."  They  Milled 
in  Mr.  Moore's  neighborhood,  and  his  was  the 
first  farm  they  purchased  from  an  "unbeliever." 
In  part  payment  for  his  property  Mr.  Moore  ac 
cepted  a  farm  at  Warrensville,  Cuyahoga  county. 
Ohio,  whither  he  removed  in  the  spring  of  1831. 
in  the  winter  of  1836-37  he  sold  this  property 
and  bought  the  Hawkins  farm,  in  Mentor,  Lake 
county,  Ohio,  within  sight  of  the  .Mormon  Temple. 
He  lived  in  Mentor  and  Willoughby  until  the 
summer  of  1S78.  when  he  came  to  Illinois  to 
live  with  his  children.  He  died  in  Farmer 
City.  111..  October  |i.  1883,  lacking  a  few  months 
of  being  ninety  years  old.  Although  not  a 
well-educated  man  in  the  modern  acceptation 
of  the  term,  Isaac  Moore  possessed  rare  attain- 
ments for  one  living  on  the  borders  of  civiliza- 
tion and  enjoying  so  few  advantages.  He  was 
a  great  reader  and  a  deep  thinker,  and  was 
actuated  throughout  his  long  and  useful  life  by 
the  most  honorable  principles.  It  has  been  said 
of  him  that  ••  he  was  perhaps  as  good  a  man  to 
bring  up  boys  as  is  usually  found  in  liny  com- 
munity."  Moral,  intelligent,  earnest  and  prac- 
tical, he  was  highh  respected  by  his  neighbors 
and  associates,  and  was  always  esteemed  as  one  of 
their  leaders.  While  not  a  man  of  wealth,  he  was 
a  substantial  farmer,  owning  considerable  land 
and  live  stock.  His  family  consisted  of  eight 
children,  of  whom  Clifton,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  the  eldest.  The  latter  gave  early  in- 
dications that  he  had  inherited  his. father's  taste 
for  books  and  reading.  It  pleased  the  elder 
Moore  very  much  that  his  boy  should  take 
naturally   to   study,  and   he  encouraged   him   to 


rffTi    «r~ 


£  }&  Ai  c- 


'i'/if  irnlNn,   . 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


193 


persevere,  and  as  an  evidence  of  his  g I    will 

"gave  him  his  time,"  as  the  expression  runs, 
when  he  was  in  his  eighteenth  year.  Being  no 
longer  obliged  to  remain  on  the  farm.  Clifton,  con 
fident  of  making  his  own  way  if  properly  educated, 
devoted  the  Bret  summer  at  his  command,  thai  of 
is.;r,.  to  a  thorough  course  of  study,  attending  for 
that  purpose  a  small  school  at  Bedford, Ohio,  pre- 
sided over  by  a  worthy  clergyman.  Bedford  was 
then  a  small  village,  about  ten  miles  south  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  ami  remarkable  for  nothing  be- 
fore or  since,  except  that  it  is  sometimes  spoken 
of  by  those  familiar  with  local  events  as  the  place 
of  residence  of  two  young  ladies  who  refused 
offers  of  marriage  from  two  men,  each  of  whom 
afterward  became  President  "f  the  United  States. 
Tin'  summer  of  1837  was  devoted  to  attending  an 
academy  at  Parmington,  Trumbull  county,  Ohio; 
and  that  of  1838  to  attendance  for  cur  term  at 
Nelson  Slater's  Academy  in  Painesville,  Ohio, and 
a  course  of  study  at  tin-  Western  Reservi  I  -  ac 
er's  Seminary,  held  in  the  Mormon  Temple  at 
Kirtland.  In  the  spring  of  is:;:i  he  Left  for  the 
West  via  Akron,  Portsmouth,  Cincinnati  and  St. 
Louis,  finally  stopping  at  Pekin.  111.,  about  ten 
milis  below  Peoria,  ami  thru  containing  about 
the  same  population,  but  much  more  wealth. 
Here  he  at  once  engaged  in  teaching  as  a  self- 
supporting  occupation,  and  gave  his  leisure  to 
the  study  of  law.  In  the  spring  of  1840  he  re 
moved  to  Tremont,  then  the  county  seat  of 
Tazewell  county,  111.,  ami  was  there  employed  as 
a  deputy  in  the  county  ami  circuit  court  clerk's 
office  ami  in  the  recorder's  office.  At  the  summer 
term  of  the  Illinois  Supreme  Court,  held  in 
Springfield  in  1841,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
ami  in  August  of  that  year  he  removed  to  Clinton, 
De  Witt  county,  111.,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
The  depressing  effects  of  the  panic  of  1837  were 

still  pretty  generally  felt,  ami   at    this    li busi 

ness  in  all  departments  was  at  a  low  ebb.  The 
bankrupt  law  of  1841  gave  lawyers  some  business, 
but  not  much  money;  ami  as  a  rule  those  in  the 
country  were  compelled,  with  their  law  practice, 
to  take  up  some  other  occupation.  In  fact,  from 
that  day  to  this,  outside  of  the  greai  cities,  fen  of 
them  have  acquired  wealth  by  means  of  strictly 
professional  labor.  Some  took  to  politics,  holding 
office;  others  to  dealing  in  real  estate,  ami  not  a 
few  fell  into  improper  practices.  To  an  observing 
eye  it  was  evident  that  the  black  prairie  soil  of 
central  Illinois  was  destined,  through  its  fruit- 
fulness,  to  become  very  valuable.  Perhaps  three- 
fourths  of  the  land  in   McLean.   Logan,  De   Witt 


and  Macon  counties  belonged  at  this  time  to  the 
government.  The  greater  part  of  the  land  in 
Piatt.  Champaign.  Ford  and  Livingston  counties 
had  not  as  yet  been  entered.  Mr.  Moore  clearly 
perceived  the  splendid opportunit)  here  presented 
for  making  a  fortune.  That  it  was  not  eagerly 
seized  upon  by  others  who.  doubtless,  were 
equally  impressed  by  the  possibilities,  was  due  to 
the  fact,  presumably,  that  money  was  very  scarce. 
Xot  much  of  the  land  was  entered  until  after  the 
Mexican  War.  when  each  soldier  was  allowed  a 
warrant  nn-iin^  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
'I'le  greater  number  of  the  Western  soldiers 
selected  their  land--  in  the  section  in  which  they 
lived,  or  verj  nearby.  In  Ohio  and  in  the  East- 
ern and  Southern  states  the  soldiers,  lor  the  most 
part,  sold  their  warrants.  Some  of  these  were 
bought  and  located  as  low  as  sixty  cents  per  acre. 
but  the  general  price  ran  from  seventy-five  to 
ninety-five  cents  per  acre.  Had  the  subsequent 
turn  of  events  been  known,  large  fortunes  could 
have  been  made  in  these  lands  in  1850.  It  was 
not  until  a  year  or  two  later  that  Mr.  Moore  be- 
gan his  operations.  As  far  back  as  1841  he  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  gentleman  named 
David  Davis,  afterwards  a  judge  at  Bloomington, 
111.,  but  in  later  times  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  As  years  went  by 
his  acquaintance  with  this  gentleman  ripened 
into  a  warm  friendship,  and  subsequently  he  be- 
came his  business  partner.  Their  first  joint 
operations  in  real  estate  took  place  in  1847  and 
ISIS.  In  August.  1852,  when  the  land  office  at 
Danville.  111.,  was  re-opened,  after  a  close  of  about 
two  years,  in  order  to  let  the  Illinois  Central  Rail - 
■  impany  select  its  land,  the  Arm  of  Davis  & 
Moore  commenced  to  enter  and  buy  land  ami  con- 
tinued to  do  so  in  Illinois.  Iowa  and  Missouri, 
until  a  short  time  before  tin- death  of  Judge  Davis, 
which  occurred  June  26th,  L886.  The  firm  of 
Davis  A- Moore  bi  came  widely  known,  and  as  it 
wielded  considerable  capital,  and  paid  its  obliga- 
tions promptly,  its  wealth  was  greatly  exaggerated 
as  is  often  the  ease  under  like  circumstances. 
It  is  a  fact,  nevertheless,  that  Mr.  Moore  is.  to-day, 
the  holder  of  an  immense  area  of  real  estate, 
variously  estimated  as  being  from  twenty  thousand 
to  forty  thousand  acres.  His  policy,  from  first  to 
last,  has  been  to  add  to  his  purchases  as  freely 
and  frequently  as  his  purse  would  allow,  and  to 
sell  but  little.  When  his  operations  began  there 
at  deal  of  land  on  the  market  for  which 
no  ready  sale  could  be  found.  He  bought  all  his 
resources  would   permit    and    retained    it.   adding 


194 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


more  u  henever  opportunity  afforded.  Mr.  Moore 
has  always  been  a  hard  worker.  Even  ;it  the 
present  day  his  application  is  untiring  and  he 
devotes  as  many  hours  to  business  as  many  much 
younger  men.  He  was  endowed  with  an  iron  con- 
stitution, and  by  judicious  habits  has  preserved 
his  health  unimpaired.  -His  probity  is  inflexible 
and  in  a  wide  section  he  is  respected  as  are  but 
few  successful  men.  Hisloyaltyto  his  friends  is 
a  marked  trait.  Between  Judge  Davis  and  him- 
self there, was  the  most  cordial  intimacy.  His 
esteem  for  this  great  jurist  grew  with  every  year 
of  his  association  with  him.  He  regarded  him  as 
one  nt'  the  truly  great  men  of  the  nation — great 
in  practical  common  sense,  which  he  applied  to 
all  questions;  andnoless  great  in  financial  mat- 
ters. Of  his  kindness  and  generosity  he  always 
speaks  with  feeling,  well  knowing,  through  his 
close  association  with  him,  that  for  many  years  of 
his  life  he  regularly  gave  half  of  all  he  earned  to 
his  relatives  and  the  poor.  When  Judge  Davis' 
name  was  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  presi- 
dential nomination,  Mr.  Moore  enthusiastically 
upheld  the  idea,  and  then,  and  always  since  has 
declared  that  he  would  have  made  one  of  tin- 
ablest  executives  this  country  lias  ever  had.  In 
this  trait  Mr.  Moore  followed  him  closely,  being 
himself  a  man  of  most  generous  impulses.  A  dis- 
tinguished financier  of  Illinois,  speaking  of  Mr. 
Moore's  character  in  this  respect,  has  said:  "1 
have  known  him  to  befriend  and  give  pecuniary 
aid  to  those  who  were  embarrassed  and  who  were 
his  bitterest  enemies  in  their  days  of  prosperity." 

Mr.  .M -e  makes  no  open   profession   of  religion 

and  is  identified  with  no  church,  yet  his  good 
works  are  unremitting.     He  still    retains  his  early 

fondness  for    1 ks    and   has   acquired   a  noble 

library  in  which  may  be  found  the  elassics  of  all 
tongues,  and  the  best  literature  in  the  English 
language.  In  this  splendid  collection  he  takes 
great  pride,  and  some  of  Ins  happiest  moments 
are  spent  within  the  walls  which  enclose  it.  It  is 
said  that  his  collection  of  works  on  ancient  and 
modem  history  and  poetry  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
private  collection  in  the  state.  Mr.  Moore  is  also 
deeply  interested  in  art,  and  is  a  discriminating 
but  generous  patron  of  artists  and  engravers. 
His  collection  of  pictures  is  a  notable  one,  and  his 
etchings     are     both     numerous     and    valuable. 

Thousands  of  dollars  have  been  spent  by  him  in 
the  gratification  of  this  intellectual  taste.  The 
consequence  is  that  his  literary  and  art  treasures. 
together,  form  now  one  of  the  leading  private 
collections  of  Illinois.    An  upright,  intelligent  and 


remarkably  active  man.  even  to  this  day  (IS'.liii,  he 
transacts  business  personally  with  a  rigor  and 
snap  which  would  do  justice  to  one  of  half  his  age. 
To  energy  and  application  he  owes  his  success; 
and  he  wears  his  honors  and  enjoys  his  achieve- 
ments with  modesty  and  imperturbability.  He  is 
interested  in  a  number  of  mechanical  ventures, 
and  is  connected  in  an  official  or  semi-official  way 

with !  of  the  leading  monetary   institutions  of 

his  section.  By  all  he  is  recognized  as  an  upright 
business  man.  a  cultivated  gentleman,  and  a 
worthy  citizen.  He  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  united  ou August  1  1th. 
1845,  was  Miss  Elizabeth  Richmond,  a  daughter 
of  Horace  Richmond  of  Tremont,  Illinois.  This 
ladj  died  ,m  May  30th,  1872,  leaving  two  children 
both  now  living,  viz..  Mr.  Arthur  Moore,  a  farmer 
having  the  care  of  his  father's  lands  ami  stock. 
of  Clinton,  and  Winnifred,  now  the  wife  of  Major 
Vespasian  Warner,  also  i  if  Clinti  m,  and  her  father's 
law  partner.  On  July  26th,  1874,  Mr.  Moore  was 
married  to  Miss  Rose  Onstine,  daughter  of  George 
Onstine  of  North  Amherst.  Lorain  county,  Ohio. 


GEORGE  SCHNEIDER. 

GEORGE  SCHNEIDER,  president  of  the 
National  Bank  of  Illinois,  was  born  in  Pirmasens, 
Rhenish  Bavaria,  on  December  13,  1823.  His 
father  was  Ludwig  Schneider,  and  his  mother 
was  Josephine  Schlick,  both  of  them  members  of 
good  old  Bavarian  families.  George  Schneider 
received  his  early  education  in  the  Latin  school 
of  his  native  town.  He  remained  at  home  until 
he  reached  his  majority,  when  he  engaged  in 
journalism.  His  native  province  was  at  that 
time  in  a  state  of  revolution,  and  Mr.  Schneider 
wielded  his  pen  with  strong  antagonism  against 
the  domination  of  despotism.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  he  began  to  feel  that  the  situa- 
tion demanded  the  exercise  of  a  more  powerful 
weapon,  and  he  ad. led  the  weight  of  his  sword  to 
that  of  his  quill.  But  when  the  Prussians  came 
to  the  assistance  of  the  Bavarian  monarchy  Mr. 
Schneider  knew  that  he  was  engaged  in  a  hope- 
less struggle,  and  that  it  would  be  only  a  question 
of  time  when  his  liberty,  and  in  all  probability 
his  life,  would  be  forfeited  by  his  opposition  to 
the  tyrants  then  in  power.  He  knew  that  America, 
tin-  land  of  the  free,  was  ready  with  open  arms  to 
receive  the  oppressed,  and  he  determined  to  make 
thai     country    his    future    home.     After    an   un- 


"°f^r\ 


■".:.:     :.■-'■■•■  ..- 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS, 


J95 


eventful  voyage  he  arrived  in  New  York,  in  July. 
1849.  He  had  come  to  the  New  World,  and  was 
possessed  of  a  too  progressive  spirit  to  remain  in 
the  older  centers  of  civilization  and  there  work 
out  thr  problem  of  his  life.  Hi-  heard  the  stories 
of  the  great  West,  and  the  possibilities  of  that 
region  were  enticing  to  a  man  of  Mr.  Schm  ider's 
disposition.  He  soon  left  the  Empire  State,  and 
made  his  way  to  Cleveland.  Remaining  there 
but  a  short  time,  hi'  pushed  on  further  west 
ward,  halting  at  St.  Louis.  Missouri,  ami  more 
particularly  its  chief  city,  had  a  strong  German 
element  in  its  population,  and  then-  Mr.  Schnei- 
der found  a  somewhat  congenial  society.  His 
journalistic  proclivities  led  him  to  start  a  news- 
paper, and  the  Neue  Zeit  was  the  child  of  his  en- 
deavor. The  paper  became  very  popular  with  the 
people  among  whom  it  circulated,  and  was  a 
power  in  its  strong  advocacy  of  anti-slavery  prin- 
ciples, even  in  thai  Southern  state.  Its  life  was 
short,  however,  for  some  time  in  1851  the  plant 
was  destroyed  by  fixe.  The  Staats  Zeitung  was 
at  that  time  being  published  in  Chicago  by  Robi  rt 
Bernhard  Hoeffgen.  It  was  a  weekly,  and  had 
onlj  been  in  existence  since  1848.  It  was  therefore 
in  its  infancj  when  Mr.  Hoeffgen  invited  George 
Schneider  to  come  to  Chicago  and  take  its  editor 
ial  management.  The  invitation  was  ,,■ 
and  on  August  25,  1851,  Mr.  Schneider  I. 
connection  with  the  stunts  Zeitung.  He  pre- 
served this  connection  until  1862.  The  history  of 
the  paper  during  those  years  is  the  history  of  Mr. 
Schneider.  His  own  individuality  clearly  marked 
every  sti'p  taken,  and  the  policy  of  the  paper  was 
that  laid  down  by  him.  Upon  assuming  the  ed- 
itorship he  made  the  paper  a  daily,  and  toward 
the  end  of  1852  enlarged  it.  and  its  circulation 
began  rapidly  to  grow.  Mr.  Schneider  was  not 
content  to  he  merely  a  worker,  and  he  therefore 
negotiated  for  a  half  interest  which  he  succeeded 
in  obtaining,  and  became  co-publisher  with  Mr. 
Hoeffgen.  In  1854  they  inaugurated  an  innova- 
tion in  the  publication  of  a  daily  in  Chicago.  In 
that  year  they  commenced  the  issuing  of  a  Sun- 
day edition.  This  was  the  first  Sunday  paper 
published  in  Chicago,  and  was  the  hist  of  all  the 
dailies  to  oppose  the  Nebraska  bill,  and  spread 
anti  slavery  doctrines.  On  January  29,  1854,  Mr. 
Schneider  convoked  the  first  public  meeting  to 
oppose  that  obnoxious  measure.  The  meeting 
was  held  at  Warner's  Hall,  on  Randolph  street. 
near  Clark.  That  was  probably  the  first  public 
meeting  held  for  this  purpose  in  the  United 
States.    Resolutions  were  passed  which  embodied 


the  sentiments  of  those  participating,  and  their 
weight  was  such  that  when  copies  were  sent  to 
John  Wentworth,  then  member  of  Congress  from 
Illinois,  lie  voted  adversely  to  the  bill.  Mr. 
Wentworth's  vote  was  the  first  Democratic  ballot 
cast  against  the  measure.  One  of  the  important 
results  of  this  celebrated  movement  was  the 
organization  of  the  Republican  party,  and  it  may 
be  fairly  claimed  that  Mr.  Schneider,  through  the 
st, i, its  Zeitung,  was  to  no  small  extent  responsi 
ble  for  its  formation.  The  strong  position  the 
paper  took-,  its  adherence  to  the  Buffalo  platform, 
the  bitter  tight  it  made  against  the  bill  and 
against  slavery,  are  matters  now  of  national  his- 
tory. The  friends  of  these  measures  became  the 
rancorous  enemies  of  the  paper,  and  during  that 
year  an  angry  mob  attacked  the  office.  Mr. 
Schneider  was  not  without  friends,  and  he  had 
many  offers  of  assistance.  He.  however,  declined 
them,  saying  he  felt  entirely  able  to  resist  an 
attack,  should  one  be  made.  He  said  that  while 
he  controlled  the  paper  he  would  defend  it.  and 
he  thoroughly  armed  all  his  assistants  in  the 
office.  So  determined  a  front  did  Mr.  Schneider 
assume  that  the  mob  was  cowed,  and  retired 
without  perpetrating  any  violence.  During  the 
following  year  another  ineffectual  attempt  was 
made  to  mob  the  office,  through  the  bitterness  of 
feeling  which  grew  out  of  politics,  but  the  armed 
neutrality  which  the  paper  maintained  prevented 
anything  worse  than  threats  assailing  its  walls. 
Mr.  Schneider  was  a  warm  and  personal  friend  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  these  two  labored  together. 
At  the  editorial  convention  held  in  Decatur  in  Is.V, 
resolutions  against  the  Nebraska  hill  and  against 
the  principles  of  the  then  forming  Native  American 
party,  supported  by  Governor  Palmer,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. Norman  B.  Judd,  and  others,  were  offered 
by  Mr.  Schneider,  and  they  were  passed  amid  greal 
excitement  and  under  the  special  advocacy 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  stated  to  his  Whig  friends 
that  -'the  resolutions  of  Mr.  Schneider  contained 
nothing  which  had  not  been  said  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence."  No  born  American  citizen 
was  more  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  war  spirit 
than  was  Mr.  Schneider.  He  acted  the  part  of 
patriot  to  the  country  of  his  adoption  as  earnestly 
and  honestly  as  if  it  was  genuine  Yank- 
which  coursed  through  his  veins.  He  looked  upon 
the  rebellion  as  the  one  natural  result  of  slavery, 
and  he  had  for  years  boldly  and  clearly  let  his 
position  upon  this  subject  be  known.  He  labored 
with  his  paper,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active 
members  of  the  Union  defence  committee  for  the 


M)t) 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


advancemenl  of  the  Republican  partj  and  for  the 
thorough  prosecution  of  the  war.  He  raised  a 
feeling  of  interest  among  the  Germans  of 
the  West,  and  the  history  of  the  war  tells  what 
noble  work  the  Germans  did  toward  helping  to 
save  the  Union.  Mr.  Schneider  \\  as  a  mi  mber  of 
the  National  Republican  Convention,  which,  in 
nominated  General  Fremont  for  President, 
and  also  of  the  convention  which,  in  1860, nomina- 
ted Mr.  Lincoln.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Lincoln  as  Consul  to  Den- 
mark,  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  Union  in 
Europe  and  after  !  iplished  his  mission 

he  resigned  and  returned  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  then  made  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  the  1st  District  of  Illinois.  Mr.  Schneider 
remained  in  that  office  four  years,  discharging  his 
duties  with  marked  ability  and  scrupulous  fidelity. 
His  administration  was  also  noted  bj  hii  selection 
of  subordinates.  They  were  chosen  for  their  effi- 
ciency alone;  partisanship  was  not  permitted  for 
a  moment  to  have  any  influence  in  his  selections. 
In  1862  Mr.  Schneider  sold  his  interest  in  the 
st,mt~  Zeitung,  in  order  to  devote  his  i  ntire  time 
to  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  when  his  term  expired 
he  found  himself  practically  out  of  business.  But 
this  was  only  for  a  brief  period.  The  State  Sav- 
ing Institution  just  at  that  time  needed  such  a 
man  as  Mr.  Schneider  as  its  chief  executive, 
and  he  was  unanimously  elected  to  that  office. 
He  retained  his  position  in  that  institution  until 
1871,  when  the  National  Bank  of  Illinois  was 
organized.  Mr.  Schneider  was  elected  its  first 
president  and  still  tills  that  position.  This  bank 
is  one  of  the  most  conservative,  prosperous  and 
influential  in  the  state.  Mr.  Schneider's  occu- 
pancy of  the  presidential  chair  for  twenty  one 
years  is  certainly,  ample  testimony  to  the  high 
appreciation  the  stockholders  have  of  his  ability. 
As  in  his  management  of  the  Stoat z  Zeitung  in 
earlier  years,  it  is  Mr.  Schneider  who  defines  the 
policy  of  the  bank,  and  its  success  is  the  most 
certain  indication  of  his  ability  as  a  financier. 
In  addition  to  the  public  positions  already  men- 
tioned Mr.  Schneider  was.  in  1876,  appointed  bj 
President  Hayes  as  Minister  to  Switzerland,  but 
declined  the  position.  In  1880  he  was  an  i 
at  largefor  Illinois  on  the  Garfield  ticket.  He  has 
ever  labored  for  the  1  ><st  interests  of  Chicago  ami 
has  been  liberal  with  his  money  and  his  services  fi  ir 
the  advancement  of  public  institutions,  and  is  an 
active  member  of  tin-  World's  Fair  directory.  He 
has  been  of  great  aid  to  the  societies  formed  t" 
assist   German   emigrants.     He   was  one  of  the 


original  incorporators  of  Rosehill  Cemetery,  and 
has  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  city's  public 
park  and  boulevard  systems.  Mr.  Schneider  held 
t!'c  position  of  treasurer  of  the  South  Park  Hoard 
of  Commissioners,  from  1877  to  1882.  For  a  long 
time  hi'  has  been  a  director  in  the  Illinois  Humane 
Society;  and  he  promoted  the  establishment  of 
tlir  department  for  the  protection  of  helpless 
children.  Prom  the  November  1S89  issue  of  The 
Humane  Journal  we  quote  the  following: 

-Early  in  the  year  of  1879  Mr.  George  Schneider, 
president  of  tie-  National  Bank  of  Illinois,  said  to 
the  publisher  of  this  paper,  who  was  then  the 
secretary  of  the  Illinois  Humane  Society.  "What 
air  you  doing  for  the  protection  of  the  children?" 
The  answer  --The  Illinois  Humane  Society  does 
not  extend  its  care  to  children,"  astonished  Mr. 
Schneider  and  1m-  doubted  if  the  platform  of  the 
organization  was  as  comprehensive  as  it  should  be. 
At  his  suggestion  the  matter  was  brought  before  the 
directorsal  their  next  meeting,  but  only  two  of  the 
number  present  favored  amending  the  constitution 
so  as  to  include  children.  A  committee,  however, 
wasappi  inted  to  take  the  matter  under  advisement 
and  report  the  result  of  its  deliberations  at  tin' 
next  meeting.  Its  report  being  favorable,  Mr. 
Schneider's  suggestions  were  concurred  in.  and 
from  that  timi     !     society  has  cared  for  children." 

He  has  been  particularly  interested  in  the 
acement  of  music  and  the  drama  in  Chicago. 
He  has  always  believed  that  the  city  was  likely  to 
become  a  musical  center,  and  Ids  purse  lias  m  ver 
b,-,ii  close, 1  to  any  plan  in  furtherance  of  that 
art.  From  his  newspaper  connection,  Mr.  Schnei- 
der became  a  life  member  of  the  Chicago  Press 
Club  and  in  1S77.  was  elected  its  treasure]-,  a 
position  of  which  he  is  proud  and  which  he  con- 
tinued lo  hold  until  l*'.'l  when  he  resigned.  Mr. 
Schneider  was  married,  on  June  6,  1853.  to  Miss 
Matilda  Schloetzer.  They  have  had  seven  chil- 
dren, all  daughters.  In  looking  back  over  his 
past  Hie  Mr.  George  Schneider  cannot  experience 
any  great  feeling  of  regret  that  the  despotism  of 
Europe  drove  him  an  exile  from  his  native  land. 
He  found  a  welcome  on  the  free  soil  of  America, 
and  in  her  avenues  of  commerce  he  found  a  field 
for  his  abilities  that  the  old  country  might  not 
have  afforded.  While  Mr.Schneider  has  achieved 
distinguished  successes  in  the  several  fieldsof  effort 
which  have  engaged  his  best  thought  and  his  emi- 
nent abilities,  he  has.  at  the  same  time,  demon 
strated  in  the  highest  and  broadest  sense,  by  his 
loyalty  to  his  adopted  country  and  her  institutions, 
that  nationality  or  birth  does  not  determine,  in  this 
country,  either  in  spirit  or  degree,  the  loftiest 
patriotism  or  the  truest  conception  of  the  Amen 
can  idea  of  the  "  common  brotherhood  of  man." 


yt/lcULA-i*- 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


197 


ROSWELL  B.    MASON. 

ROSWELL  B.  MASON  was  born  in  New  Hart- 
ford, Oneida  county,  N.  Y..  on  September  19,  1805, 
and  died  at  his  home  in  Chicago,  January  1.  1892. 
He  belonged  to  a  remarkably  long-lived  race,  his 
grandfather,  Levi  Mason,  having  lived  to  the  age 
of  ninety-eight,  and  his  father.  Arnold  Mason,  to 
of  eighty-four;  while  he  himself  attained 
the  ripe  age  of  eighty-seven.  He  was  the  fifth 
ehild  in  a  family  of  Beven  suns  and  six  daughters. 
Levi  Mason,  his  grandfather,  was  an  original 
colonist  of  Rhode  Island,  ami  removed  with  his 
family  at  an  early  day  to  Cheshire,  Berkshire 
county,  Mass.  He  served  with  honor  and  dis- 
111  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Arnold 
Mason,  his  oldest  sou.  on  arriving  at  manhood, 
journeyed  westward  along  the  fertile  valley  of 
the  Mohawk,  and  established  himself  01 
in  the  county  of  Oneida,  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  He  was  a  captain  in  our  army  in  tin-  War 
of  1812,  and  many  incidents  of  thai  contest  were 
distinctly  remembered  by  the  vi  oerable  subject 
of  this  notice.  Mr.  Mason's  early  experience  was 
like  that  of  most  con  atry  1  w  irh 

ing  on  a  farm  in  summers  and  attending 
school  in  winters.  This  he  continued  to  do  until 
he  was  sixteen  years  old.  In  the  summer  of  that 
year  (1821),  his  father  having  taken  a  contract  to 
furnish  stone  for  ,i  section  of  the  Erie  ('anal. nine 
miles  above  Albany,  he  engaged  in  drivii 
hauling  stone  a  distance  of  twenty  miles.  This 
work,  though  laborious  for  one  of  his  3  ears,  proved 
of  great  advantage  to  him,  Eor  it  brought  him 
into  acquaintance  with  Edward  P.  Gay,  the  assist- 
ant engineer  in  charge  'Miction  of  the 
canal  from  Albany  to  the  crossingof  the  Mohawk 
river,  and  in  the  spring  of  ls-J-J  that  gentleman 
offered  him  a  situation  as  rodman  in  his  engin- 
eering party.  He  accepted,  and  it  proved  to  bi 
the  beginning  of  his  life  work  as  a  civil  1 
Remaining  with  Mr.  Gay  until  the  completion  of 
the  Erie  Canal,  in  the  spring  of  1824 
with  Major  Beach,  the  chief  engineer,  and  his 
assistant,  E.  F.  Gay.  to  the  Schuylkill  Canal, 
with  headquarters  at  Reading.  Pa.  In  the  latter 
part  of  August  this  employment  was  terminated 
by  sickness,  and  lie  returned  to  his  home  in  New 
Hartford.  Soon  recovering,  he  joined  an  engin 
eering  party  organized  by  Holmes  Hutchinson,  of 
Utica,  X.  V..  to  make  a  survey  of  a  canal  from 
Lake  Champlain  through  the  northern  canities 
of  New  York-  to  the  St. Lawrence  riverat  <  Igdens- 
burg.     This  undertaking  was  finished  late  in  the 


fall,  and  Mr.  Mason  spent  the  winter  in  Utica. 
making  maps  and  estimates  of  the  proposed  im 
'it.  In  the  Bpring  of  1825  he  rejoined 
his  old  employers  on  the  Morris  Canal  in  New 
Jersey,  making  headquarters  for  some  time  at 
Morristown.  Here  Mr.  Gay  resigned  his  position 
as  principal  assistant  engineer,  and  Mr.  Mason 
was  appointed  to  til  1  his  place,  lb- was  connected 
with  this  work  six  years,  during  the  latter  part 
of  which  he  was  chief  engineer  and  superintend- 
ent of  the  canal.  In  the  spring  of  183]  hi 
joined  Mr.  Cay  as  his  principal  assistant,  in  the 
construction  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal,  or  that 
part  of  it  extending  from  Huntingdon  to  Holli- 
daysburgh,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains.  On  September  6th,  of  this  year,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Harriet  L.  Hopkins,  daugh- 
ter of  Royal  Hopkins,  of  Parsippany,  X.  J.,  and 
a  ft  ei-  a  brief  wedding  tour  to  his  parents'  home  at 
Xew  Hartford,  he  took-  his  bride  to  Williamsburgh, 
on  the  line  of  the  canal  on  which  he  was  engaged, 
where  he  remained  till  near  the  close  of  the  year 
1832.  In  the  spring  of  ]s;;:;  be  was  appointed,  by 
the  Monis  Canal  and  Banking  Company,  super- 
intendent oi  the  Morris  Canal,  extending  from 
Newark  across  Xew  Jersey  to  Easton,  Pa.,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  four  years,  or  until  the  spring 
of  1837,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  construction 
of  a  feeder  from  the  Pompton  river,  and  of  a  large 
reservoir  at  Long  Pond,  one  of  its  sources'.  In 
\  hen  the  wonderful  era  of  railroad  build- 
ing had  begun,  he  became  engaged  in  the  survey 
of  the  Housatonic  Railroad,  extending  from 
t  to  New  Milford  and  up  the  Housatonic 
Valley  to  the  north  line  of  the  state,  at  North 
Canaan.    The  Housatonic  was  one  of  the  largest 

iily  railroads  of  our  country.     Work  was 
begun  on  it  in  the  Bpring  of  I--:;;,  under  the  man- 

I  of  Mr.  Mason,  who  had  been  appointed 
chief  engineer.  In  the  spring  of  ls:;s  he  moved 
to  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  where  he  remained  as  civ 
gineer  and  superintendent  for  a  period  of  four- 
teen years,  in  the  meantime  extending  the  road 
to  West  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  to  connect  with  the 
Boston  A  Albany  Railroad  at  the  state  line  near 
that  place.  During  the  year  1st"  be  was  eon 
suiting  engineer  of  the  Xaugatuck  Railroad,  and 
in  the  spring  of  lsjs  he  became  the  chief  engin- 
eer of  the  Xew  York  A-  Xew  Haven  Railroad,  which 
was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1849,  when  he  was 
appointed  its  superintendent,  an  office  which  he 
held  for  two  years.  During  1850  he  also  had 
charge  of  the  construction  of  the  Vermont  Valley 
Railroad,  from  Brattleboro'  to  Bellows  Falls.     In 


[98 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


the  spring  of  1851  Mr.  Mason  carneWest  and  took 
charge  of  the  construction  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad,  which  tie  completed  in  October,  L856. 
After  ils  completion  he  resigned  his  position  as 
chiel  engineer,  and  took  charge,  as  contractor,  of 
a  road  runningwest  seventy  miles  from  Dubuque, 
[a.,  u  mm iving  liis  family  to  Dubuque  in  tin-  spring 
of  ls")7.  anil  there  remaining  until  the  failure  of 
the  company  compelled  him  to  abandon  the  en 
terprise,  after  having  completed  forty  miles  of 
ihc  ron. 1  and  partly  graded  the  balance.  He  re- 
sumed  his  residence  in  Chicago  in  the  spring  of 
1859.  Tin'  year  previous  he  hail  taken,  with 
Magill  &  Denton,  a  contracl  to  grade  forty  two 
milrs  of  the  Minneapolis  &  Cedar  Valley  Railroad, 
from  the  North  line  of  Iowa  to  Owatonna,  Minn. 
Work  continued  mi  this  road  until  the  spring  of 
L859,  when  this  company  also  failed,  and  the 
work  was  abandoned.  In  the  same  year  he 
took,  in  company  with  Magill,  Denton.  Keith 
A  Snell,  a  contracl  to  grade  twenty  miles  of 
the  Racine  &  Mississippi  Railroad,  near  Free- 
port,  which  was  completed  in  a  few  months. 
In  I860  he  became  superintendent  of  the  Chi- 
cago  A  Alton  railroad.  In  1801  he  was  ap- 
pointed comptroller  of  the  land  department  of 
tlie  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  which 
position  he  retained  till  August  1st,  1867.  lie 
then  took  charge  of  the  Dunleith  and  Dubuque 
bridge,  which  was  completed  in  December,  1868. 
While  at  the  head  of  the  land  department  of  the 
Illinois  Central,  in  1865,  he  and  William  Gooding 
were  appointed  by  the  state  to  take  charge  of  the 
lowering  of  the  summit  of  the  Illinois^  Michigan 
Canal,  lie  discharged  the  duties  of  this  position 
until  November,  1869,  when  he  resigned  the  office 
in  enter  upon  the  duties  of  mayor  of  i  'hicago,  to 
which  he  had  been  elected  for  two  years.  His 
administration  was  one  of  the  most  pure  and  sat- 
isfactory Chicago  had  ever  known,  and  occurred 
in  I  he  most  critical  period  of  the  history  of  the 
city.  The  great  tire  of  October  19th,  1871,  laid 
the  principal  part  of  the  city  in  ashes.  From  the 
court  house,  burning  over  his  head,  he  sent  tele- 
grams to  Milwaukee,  Detroit  and  other  places,  lor 
the  lire  engines  tiny  could  spare,  and  not  until 
the  great  bell  in  its  lower  came  crashing  down 
through  its  Hours  to    the   ground,    and    the    whole 

building  became  a  mass  of  smoke  and   flame,  did 

he  leave  his  post.  When  it  was  seen  that  the  city 
was  doomed,  a  single  sentence  from  his  pen  went 
Kast  ward  over  the  wires  and  was  cabled  to  every 
part  of  the  civilized  world:  " Before  morning  one 
hundred    thousand   people    will    he    without    food 


and  shelter.  Can  you  help  us?"  In  answer  to 
this  appeal  generous  contributions  of  food,  cloth- 
ing and  money  came  pouring  in  from  every  quarter 
of  the  civilized  world,  and  never  was  there  such  a 
magnanimous  response  made  to  any  people  in  dis- 
tress. Mr.  Mason  wisely  took  the  responsibility 
of  placing  all  the  funds  and  contributions  for  the 
relief  of  the  city  in  the  hands  of  the  relief  coin 
mittee.  And  being  advised  that  criminals  of  all 
classes  were  hastening  to  Chicago  to  take  advant- 
age of  the  confused  state  of  affairs  to  steal  and 
plunder,  he  earned  the  good -will  of  all  citizens  by 
appealing  to  the  government  of  the  United  States 
for  protection,  and  General  P.  H.  Sheridan,  then 
in  command  of  the  department,  placed  the  city 
under  martial  law.  Although  censured  by  the 
governor  of  the  state  for  what  seemed  to  him  an 
act  of  arbitrary  authority,  Mr. Mason's  course  was 
fully  justified  by  public  sentiment,  and  his  prompt 
and  vigorous  action  in  the  emergency  received  the 
unqualified  approval  of  the  people.  In  the  per- 
formance of  las  duties  as  mayor  he  enforced  the 
city  ordinances  without  fear  or  favor,  evincing 
the  same  un partisan  spirit  which  had  called  him 
to  his  great  trust.  He  was  truly  a  mayor  of  the 
people  and  for  the  people.  He  evinced  a  gener 
ous  and  humane  spirit  towards  the  criminal  classes. 
At  one  time  when  the  Bridewell  was  crowded  to 
repletion  with  petty  convicts,  two  or  three  in  a 
single  cell,  he  gave  orders  for  the  liberation  of 
some  seventy  prisoners,  who  were  accordingly  re- 
leased, and  apparently  without  injury  to  the  com 
munity.  He  trusted  to  gentleness  and  admonition 
rather  than  to  severity  of  punishment  for  the 
reformation  of  criminals  not  yet  hardened  in  vice. 
In  1873  he  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  of 
Illinois,  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Illinois  Indus 
trial  University.  In  1878  he  was  appointed  to  the 
same  office  by  the  succeeding  governor,  and  so 
held  the  position  ten  consecutive  years.  Mr. 
Mason  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  was  elected 
to  the  mayoralty  on  an  independent  ticket.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination 
and  one  of  the  elders  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian 
church  of  Chicago.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
incorporators  of  the  Presbyterian  Theological 
Seminary  of  the  Northwest,  which  was  organized 
February  1.6th,  I857,and  held  the  offices  of  director 
and  trustee  almost  continuously  up  to  his  death. 
During  his  later  years  he  was  president  of  the 
board,  and  also  president  of  the  Chicago  South 
Branch  Dock  Company.  His  habits  were  simple 
and  temperate;  so  was  his  life  serene  and  useful, 
and  his   days  were    prolonged  with    remarkable 


£%^    /^C  Jfrsi^Tyuu^ 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


199 


rigor  beyond  most  of  his  contemporaries.  Four 
sons  and  three  daughters  survive.  One  of  his 
sons.  George  Arnold  Mason,  was  killed  in  a  rail- 
road accident  in  1855.     Mrs.   Mason  died   in  1891. 


JOHN    V.    V  UiWKLL.   Sr. 

The  Parwell  family  is  of  English 
probably  among  the  oldest  in  the  world  of  which 
then-  is  any  direct  and  authentic  record.  English 
historians  agree  that  the  family  was  ]ir>>tty  well 
scattered  over  the  country  from  what  they  ambig- 
uously term  "the  earliest  period,"  but  the  genea- 
logical tree  traces  from  Richard  Farwell  of  York- 
slim-,  who  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I..  (1280), 
married  the  heiress  of  Elias  de  Rillertone.  The 
American  branch  of  the  family  was  founded  by 
Henry  Farwell  who  came  to  this  countrj  earlj  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  at  Concord,  Muss.,  which  was  incorporated 
September  2nd,  1635.  Tin- annals  of  the  colonies 
show  that  from  that  time  on,  the  Taiw- 
an important  people,  holding  many  places  of 
honor  in  the  government  and  being  prominent  in 
church,  military  ami  civic  matters.  It  was  a 
hardy  and  thrifty  family,  and  by  1820  had  spread 
into  nearly  every  part  of  the  New  England  and 
Easti  in  Stat  s,  and  had  become  closely  identified 
with  the  history  of  the  many  communitii 
which  its  members  mingled.  John  Villars  Far- 
well,  better  known  as  John  V.  Farwell,  Sr..  is  a 
nit.  in  the  seventh  generation,  of  the 
Henry  Farwell  above  mentioned.  Mr.  Farwell 
was  born  on  July  29th,  ls-_T>.  at  Campbelltown, 
Steuben  county.  N.  V..  where  his  parents  had  re- 
moved from  Massachusetts  in  1820,  and  was  the 
third  son  of  Henry  and  Nancy  (Jackson)  Farwell. 
His  father  was  a  farmer  in  moderate  circumstances 
and  John  Y.  Farwell's  boyhood  was  passed  in  the 
manner  common  to  others  in  the  same  station, 
the  summers  being  given  to  work  and  the  winters 
to  stud]  in  the  district  schools.  In  ls.'is  when 
he  was  thirteen  years  old.  the  family  removed  to 
Ogle  county.  Illinois,  and  three  years  later  he  I.e. 
gan  a  course  of  study  at  the  Mount  Mori 
nary.  Realizing  that  it  would  lie  probably,  his 
onlj  opportunity  to  obtain  an  education  and 
being  resolved  to  tit  himself  for  a  mercantile  life, 
the  young  man  brought  to  his  studies  1 
decisive  energy  and  force  of  will  that  have  always 
predominated  in  the  family,  and  became  an  expert 


in  mathematics,  bookkeeping  and  their  kindred 
branches.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  1845  that  Mr. 
Farwell.  then  barely  twenty  years  old.  but  im- 
pelled by  an  ambition  to  try  his  mettle  in  the 
business  world,  went  to  Chicago.  No  man  who 
has  achieved  success  can  say  more  truthfully  than 
Mr.  Farwell.  thi  his  battle  of  life  with- 

out a  dollar.  He  was  forced  to  depend  entirely 
upon  his  own  resources  and  he  literally  worked 
his  passage  to  Chicago   as   one   of   the   hands   in 

A  a  load  of  wheat.  When  Mr.  Farwell 
left  home  his  father  gave  him  three  dollars, 
probably  all  the  money  lie  had.  This  he  spent  for 
expenses  and  food  on  the  trip  to  Chicago,  so  that 
he  arrived  there  with-. ut  a  dollar  in  his  pocket. 
.Nothing  daunti  at    once   to  look  for 

employment,  which  he  soon  obtained  in  the  city 
clerk's  offici  irj    of  $12.00  per  month,  with 

the  privilege  of  reporting  the  proceedings  of  the 
council  ii'  $2  eting.     In  his  honesty,  how- 

ever, Mr.  Farwell  too  accurately  and  minutely 
I  the  meetings  of  the  city  fathers,  and  he 
as  soon  deposed  from  his  position.  To  tin- 
annoyance  and  chagrin  of  the  Aldermen  this  did 
little  good,  as  Mr.  Farwell  continued  hisreports. 
Soon  after  his  dismissal  from  the  servi- 
city,   Mr.  Farwi  d    as    bookkeeper   ami 

salesman  with  the  tirmof  Hamilton  A  White,  dry 

■  rchants,  where  he  remained  one  year   at 
the  princely    salary   of   18.00  per   month.     During 
this  time.  Mr.  Farwell  had  many  opportunities  to 
improve  his  position,    but    he   had   contracted  to 
work  for  one  year  and  considered  himself  bound 
todoso.     At  the  expiration  of  his  twelve  months 
service,  he  was  employed  by  Hamlin  &    Day.  who 
1  in  the  dry  goods  business.     This  seemed 
to  be  a  particularly  fascinating    line  of   trade  to 
Mr.  Farwell  and  he  made  rapid  progress  in  it.  His 
attention  of  Wadsworth  & 
Phelps,  another  dry  goods  firm,  and   he  was  en- 
them  at  a  salary  ol  1  ar  which 

in  those  times  was  very  libera)  pay.  Mi.  Far- 
well's  entrance  upon  the  singularl}  successful 
Career  which  has  since  made  him  famous,  may  be 
said  to  date  from  this  engagement.  He  brought 
to  his  duties  an  untiring  energy,  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  tin-  business  and  a  strict  integrity  - 
qualities  which  were  quickly  recognized  by  his 
employers  and  rewarded  by  timely  promotions. 
In  1850 Mr.  Farwell  was  made  a  partner  in  the 
firm,  the  nam.'  of  which  in  the  meantime  had  been 
changed  to  Co.. ley.  YYadsworth  A-  Co.  When  Mr. 
Farwell  modestly  assumed  a  proprietary  interest 
in  the  business,  the  house  of   Cooley.    Wadsworth 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


&  Co.  was  doing  a  trade-  of  n..t  more  than  slim. in  111 
a  year.  Now  the  great  establishmenl  of  the  John 
V.  Farwell  Company,  which  lias  succeeded  it.  has 
a  business  of  full}  520,000,000  a  .war.  and  fre- 
quently sells  as  man)   g Is   in  one  daj    as  the 

parent  firm  handled  in  a  year.  The  first  change 
in  the  title  was  in  1860,  when  it  became  Cooley, 
Parwell  &  Co  Afterward  Mr.  Marshall  Field  and 
Levi  Z.  Leiter  were  taken  into  the  partnership, 
and  the  firm  became  Farwell,  Field  &  Co.  The 
n,  \ I  change  was  iu  1805.  when  the  name  of  J.  V. 
Farwell  &  Co.  was  adopted.     From  that  time  to 

the  present  Mr.  Farwell  has  1 o  the  leading  and 

controlling  spirit  of  the  business,  and  under  his 
guidance  and  by  his  advice  their  eminent  position 
in  the  mercantile  world  has  been   attained.    The 
only  change  which  Mr.  Farwell  has  made  which 
betokens  in  any  way  a  disposition  to   retire   from 
this  active  control  was  when,  on  January    1.  1891, 
the  business  was  passed  to  the  stuck   corporation 
known  as  the  John  V.  Farwell  ( Jompany.     Several 
in,  ii  who  have  Income  famous  in  the  commercial 
world,  prominent  among  whom  are  Marshall  Field. 
L.  Z.  Leiter   and   H.  N.   Higinbotham,  received 
much  of  their  early  business  training  while  in  the 
employ  of  Mr.  Farwell.     He   is   a  man   of  strong 
religious  principles  and  com  ictions.     He   became 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church  when    he  was 
fourteen  years  old.  and  one  of  his  first   acts  when 
he  began  to  earn    money  for  himself  was  to  con- 
tribute to  the  church  one-half  of  his  first    j 
salary.     The    sum     was    small,    but    it    doubtless 
caused  the  giver  many  hardships,   as  he  had  his 
own  expenses  t< i  pay  ami  had  just  formed   a  reso- 
lution   to   accumulate   an    honest    fortune.     The 
principle    thus    established,    however,    has    never 
since  been  departed  from,  and   Mr.  Farwell   has 
been    for     many     years     known    as    a    generous 
patron  of  every  worthy  institution  and  cause.  The 
Young  Men's   Christian    Association   of  Chicago 
owes   its   prosperity    largel)    t,.   his  liberality  in 
money  matters  and  his   earnest  and  enthusiastic 
work   as    a    member    of    the   organization.    His 
1 1     wealth,    his    time  and    his   influence    are 
used     unsparingly   in     everything    which    tends 
to  advance  the  condition  of  the  association.    Mr. 
Dwight  L.  Moody,  when  he  conceived,  in  lsoO.  the 
founding   of  the  Illinois  Street  Mission   for    the 
reclaiming  of  street   waifs  and  outcast  children. 
had  in  Mr.  Farwell  a  most  hearty  and  substantial 
supporter.     For  ten  years  Mr.  Farwell  served  as 
superintendent  of  the  mission,  and  under  his  ad- 
ministration it  has  grown  into  a  church  andSun- 
day  school  of  large  proportions.     He  is  mm   one 


of   the   trustees  of  the  Chicago  Evangelization 

Society,  which  was  organized  by  Mr.  M ly  for 

the  purpose  of  giving  poor  young  men  who  have 

no  church  advantages  a  practical  training  for  re- 
ligious work.  This  same  Christian  spirit  was 
com  picuous  in  Mr.  Farwell  during  the  Civil  War. 
when    he    was    prominent    iu    many    ways,  with 

i iej  and  with  untiring  devotion  in  the  work  of 

the  celebrated  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commis- 
sions, the  labors  of  which  among  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers,  and  on  the  battlefields,  form 
some  of  the  brightest  pages  of  our  country's  his- 
tory. He  was  also  foremost  in  the  recruiting  of 
the  Hoard  of  Trade  regiment  and  in  the  raising  of 
the  slO.OOO  for  its  equipment.  Mr.  Farwell  has 
seldom  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics,  hut 
lias  been  selected  for  positions  of  high  honor  a 
number  of  times.  Once  was  in  1861.  when  he 
served  as  a  presidential  elector  tor  Illinois  on  the 
Republican  (Lincoln)  ticket:  and  again  in  1869, 
when  President  Grant  named  him  as  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners.  It  was  as  the 
presidential  elector  for  the  first  congressional 
district  of  Illinois  that  Mr.  Farwell  made, 'in 
writing,  a  fore, 'f\d  and  eloquenl  presentation  of 
his  political  views,  in  which  he  classed  himself  as 
a  "Democratic  Republican  -  Abolitionist,"  and 
gave  in  unanswerable  argument  his  reasons  for 
being  of  that  faith.  Mr.  Farwell  has  been  a 
vice  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  has  been 
in  other  ways  designated  by  his  fellow-citizens 
for  preferment.  Mr.  Farwell  has  been  twice  mar- 
ried. His  first  wile  was  Abigail  G. Taylor, daugh- 
ter of  John  G.  Taylor,  of  Ogle  county.  111.,  to 
whom  he  was  wedded  in  1849.  This  Mrs.  Farwell 
died  in  1851,  leaving  one  daughter.  InMarch.  L854, 
Mr. Farwell  married Emeret  C.<  !ooley,of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  by  whom  he  has  a  family  of  four  children, 
three  sons  and  one  daughter.  Of  the  sons,  John 
Y.  Jr..  is  the  manager  of  the  newly  incorporated 
John  Y.  Farwell  Company;  Frank  Cooley  is  iu 
the  credit  department,  and  Arthur  Lincoln  in  the 
buj  in-,  department,  of  the  same  house.  Mr.  Far- 
well's  home  is  a  beautiful  but  modest  one.  and  in 
it  peace  and  contentment  and  true  Christian 
charitj  hold  undisputed  sway.  The  same  indom 
it  able  and  fearless  personal  traits  of  character 
that  influenced  the  Richard  Farwell  of  800  years 
igo  to  deeds  of  prowess  are  there,  but  softened 
and  turned  to  a  better  purpose  by  the  mellowing 
hand  of  time  and  the  advantages  of  a  refining 
civilization.  A  fair  example  of  Mr.  Farwell's 
character  was  given  in  a  speech  made  by  him  at  a 
meeting  of  Chicago  business   men,  just   after   the 


'"^y 


JlW'C*' 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS 


20I 


great  fire  of  October,  lsTl,  had  driven  many  of 
them  to  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  Mr.  Farwell'e 
firm  was  among  the  heaviest  losers,  but  he  dis- 
countenanced in  Btrong  language  all  idea  of  taking 
unfair  advantage  of  the  disaster  in  dealing  with 
creditors.  "Every  man."  he  declared,  "  must  pay 
to  tlu>  full  extent  of  his  means  ami  begin  anew 
the  work  of  making  Chicago  the  commercial  and 
financial  center  of  the  whole  Northwest."  This 
characteristic  speech  made  a  strong  impression 
upon  his  fellow-merchants.  Mr.  Parwell's  advice 
was  followed,  and  how  well  it  was  given  the 
phenomenal  success  of  his  own  firm,  and  that  of 
thousands  of  others,  will  bear  witness. 


ARTHUR  G.  BURLEY. 

ARTHUR  OILMAN    BURLEY,   foul 
head  of  the  oldest   mercantile  establishment  in 

-  and  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  that  city, 
was  born  at  Exeter.  New  Hampshire,  Oct.  1.  1812. 
The  Hurley  family  in  this  country  is  descended  from 
Gdes  Burley,  who  came  from  England  in  1GIS  and 
settled  at  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  where,  in  1668, 

he  is  shown  by  the  records  t"  have  lieei ■  a  laud 

owner.  At  a  late  period  some  of  his  descendants 
settled  in  New  Hampshire,  and  at  Exeter,  in  that 
state,  James  Burley,  the  father  of  the  subj  cl  oi 
this  sketch,  was  born  during  the  lasl  quarter  of 
hteenth  century.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
cabinet  making,  and  for  some  years  conducted  a 
flourishing  business  on  his  own  account.  In  later 
life  he  became  interested  in  financial  affairs  and 
was  chosen  cashier  of  the  Exeter  Hank.    Hi-  was 

E  some  means  and  of  excellent  business 
standing,  and  was  highly  respected.  Arthur  was 
t  child.  He  was  brought  up  al 
eived  a  good  education  in  the  local  schools. 
In  the  spring  of  1835,  lie  journeyed  wesl  to  the 
flourishing  village  of  Chicago.  In  these  days  of 
"lightning  express  "  trains  it  is  not  without  inter 
est  to  note  the  method  of  transportation  to  this 
prairie  settlement  at  that  early  day,  long  before 
Horace  Greelej  gave  his  famous  advice,  "  j 
young  man.  go  west!"  The  following  itinerary  of 
the  trip  as  made    by    .Mr.    Hurley's   brother,    Mr. 

■  H.  Burley,  in  1837,  and  as  described  bj 
the  latter  in  a  speed le  by  him  at  the  Calu- 
met Club  in  Chicago,  in  .May.  1891,  maj  b 

ted  as  a  g I  description  of  the  journey  made  by 

Mr.    Arthur   G.    Hurley     two    years    previously. 


"From  Exeter,  in  New  Hampshire,  to  Boston  by 
■■eh;  thence  by  railroad  to  Providence, 
where  a  steamboal  was  taken  for  New  York. 
Thence  by  a  steamboat  to  Albany,  where  by  com- 
partment cars  the  journey  was  continued  toUtica. 
These  ears  had  substantial  oak  seats  and  each  pas- 
senger furnished  his  own  cushion.  From  Utica 
rapid  transit  to  Buffalo  was  secured  by  means  of 

canal    packet  boats.       As    stea rs    at    the    time 

could  not  gel  int.,  or  out  of  Buffalo  harbor  on 
account  of  ice.  the  journey  was  continued  in  a 
box  lumber  wag.m.  thirty -two  miles,  through  deep 
mud.  to  Silver  Creek,  where  a  steamboat  was 
taken  for  Detroit.  At  the  latter  place  the  option 
was  afforded  of  talcing  stage  or  private  team  for 
and  the  journey  thither  was  seldom  made 
than  seven  days."  When  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  leached  Chicago  it  had  a  population 
of  between  three  and  four  thousand.  The  houses 
wen  mostly  plain  wooden  structures,  some  of  lo^; 
and  the  brick  buildings  did  not  exceed  a  dozen  in 
number.  The  whole  of  the  land  was  low  and  wet 
except  along  the  lake  shore.  The  business  of  the 
place  was  mostly  done  on  South  Water  street 
west  of  Slate  street,  although    within  a  couple  of 

years  afterwards  there  were  thri r   four   stores 

on  North  Water  street  east  of  Walott.  now  North 
State  street.  The  "dry  goods  district"  was  on 
Lake  street.  Young  Burley  took  a  lett(  rof  intro 
duction  with  him.  but  as  he  succeeded  without 
difficulty  in  securing  employment,  he  did  not 
present  it.  His  first  position  was  a  clerkship  in 
of  John  Holbrook.  dealer  in  boots,  shoes 
and  clothing,  which  he  held  two  years.  lb-  was 
next   employed   as  a  clerk   by   Stephen   F.   Gale, 

dealer  in  stati i\  and  books,  whose  store  was  on 

Water  street.  Writing  of  those  times  and  the 
people  contemporaneous  with  them  the  editor  of 
•■The  Story  of  Chicago  "  says: 

-The  book  and  stationery  store  ol  Steven  Gale 
and  Augustus  Hurley,  was  the  only  one  of  its  kind 
in  the  whole  district  ami  was  the  natural 
ing  place  of  all  the  more  intellectual  members  of 
society,  who  talked,  read  the  papers  and  played 
chess  there,  by  hours  together." 

After   he    had    worked    here    faithfully   about    a 

year  he  invested  his  savings,  amounting  to  several 

hundred  dollars,  in  a  stock  of  crockery,  secured  at 

i    from  the  State  Bank  of  Illinois,  which 

had    taken    it    in   payment  of  a  claim.     With  this 

stock  he  began   business  a lei;,    merchanl 

in  April.  1838,  and  the  establishment  of  A.  G. 
Hurley  A  Co.,  thus  founded,   has  continued  under 

the   sa name,   down    to   the   present    time,— a 

period  exceeding  fifty-four  years,— and   in   point 


202 


BIOGRAPHY    OK    ILLINOIS. 


of  age  has  qo  rival  in  the  city  of  Chicago.    The 
business,  which  w;is  wholesale  and  retail  from  the 
beginning,  was  at  first  conducted  in  a  building  at 
the  corner  of  La  Salle  and  Lake  streets.     Burnt 
out   in   1812.    Mr.    Burley,   with   a   new    partner, 
st  a  it  ril  again  at  No.  105  Lake  street.  Managed  with 
extraordinary  enterprise  and  on  principles  as  hon- 
orable as  they  were  wise,  the  business  developed 
rapidly  and  in  time  became  one  of  the  most  flour- 
ishing in  the  city.     In   1884,  the  Arm  was  incor- 
porated as  a  stock  company,  retaining  its  original 
and  honored  title.     Upon  the  reorganization  Mr. 
Burley  became  president  of  the  retail  branch  of 
the  business,  which  had  grown  to  such  gigantic 
proportions  as  to  require  the  whole  of  the  large  es- 
tablishment on  State  street;  and  also  vice-president 
of  the  wholesale  branch,  then  permanently  estab- 
lished in  the  large  store  on   Lake  street,  his  part- 
ner, Mr.  John  Tyrrell,  becoming   the   vice-presi- 
dent  of  the  former   and  president  of  the   latter. 
Although    its   beginning   was   very   modest,    the 
house  of  A.  (i.    Hurley   &   Co..   was   not   long   in 
winning  its  way  to  prominence  among  the  lead- 
ing business  firms  of    the   city.     From    the    first, 
lair  and  honorable  dealing  was  relied  on  to  build 
up  its  trade  and   reputation;   and  the  consequence 
was  that  not  only  in  Chicago  but  in  a  wide  extent 
of    surrounding    territory  its  name    soon    became 
synonymous    with    every    mercantile    virtue.     Its 
patronage  was  limited  to  nosection,  nationality  or 
class,  but  was  drawn  in  almost  equal   proportions 
from  all.     In   fact    the   house   was   transacting  a 
metropolitan   business   long   before   the  city  had 
arrived   at    the   distinction  of   classification  as  a 
metropolis.     Back  of  the  splendid  success  achieved 
by  this  house,  and  constituting  one  of  its  unfail- 
ing sources  of  success,  was  the  untiring  enterprise 
of  its  now  venerable  founder.     One  of  the  few  sur- 
vivors of  that  noble  colony   of   young   New   Eng- 
enders,   in    "the    thirties",    who    brought    their 
sturdy    vitality,    thrifty   habits,   shrewdness    and 
energy  to  aid  the  fortunes  of  the  struggling  prairie 
village  that  Chicago  then    was,   Mr   Burley  is  not 
only  the  founder  of  a  leading  business  house  but 
also  one  of  thefoundersof  America's  greatesl  inland 
city,  and  in  the  latter  capacity  a   historic    person 
age.      From  the  day  the  house  of  A.  G.  Burley  & 
Co.  was  first  organized,  more  than  half  a  century 
ago,  down  to  the   present  time,  Mr.   Burley   has 
been  at  the  head  of  its  affairs,  controlling  and  di- 
recting them  with  sagacity  and  enterprise.      The 
panics  of  two  generations  have  failed  to  shake  its 
foundations  or  its  credit.     Even  the  great   tire    of 
1871.  in  which  this  house  suffered   heavily   with 


the  ot  hers,  caused  but  a  temporary  interruption 
in  its  business.  Within  sixty  days  after  the 
calamitous  event  the  firm  hail  paid  every  one  of 
its  creditors,  including  those  in  Europe,  and  hail 
alreadj  started  on  a  new  era  of  prosperity  based 
on  a  still  broader  foundation  than  at  first.  For 
years  the  house  has  enjoyed  a  wide  reputation 
for  the  excellence  and  beauty  of  its  wares;  and  of 

late  its  European  importations  have  been  of  the 
richest  and  most  artist ic character.  Vigorous  and 
hearty,  despite  his  years,  Mr.  Burley  still  contin- 
ues to  direct  the  great  retail  business  which  he 
founded,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  in  the  whole  city  there 
is  a  more  progressive  merchant.  Ever  since  Mr. 
Burley  established  himself  in  Chicago  he  has 
manifested  a  high  order  of  public  spirit.  His  ad- 
vice, personal  services  and  private  means  have 
been  liberally  given  to  aid  every  worthy  public 
movement.  The  numerous  splendid  institutions 
which  have  grown  up  about  him  during  the  half 
century  of  his  mercantile  activity,  have  received 
his  cordial  encouragement  and  generous  support, 
and  of  many  of  them  he  is  an  honored  member. 
In  his  early  life  Mr.  Burley  was  an  enthusiastic 
member  of  the  volunteer  fire  department.  ejviiiL:  to 
its  work  twelve  years'  active  service.  Many  years 
ago  he  joined  the  Masonic  order,  and  since  1849 
he  has  been  the  treasurer  of  Oriental  Lodge  of 
Chicago.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  and 
builders  of  the  Church  of  the  Messiah  ( Unitarian  I. 
which  was  founded  in  1836  (now  located  at  the 
corner  of  Twenty-third  street  and  Michigan  ave 
nue),  and  is  still  a  member  and  regular  attendant. 
He  is  likewise  a  member  of  a  number  of  the  lead- 
ing social  organizations  of  Chicago,  including  the 
Calumet,  Chicago  and  Washington  Park  Clubs. 
In  all  circles  he  is  known  and  respected  as  an  hon- 
orable merchant,  a  high-minded  gentleman  and  a 
progressive  and  public-spirited  citizen:  and  as 
one  of  the  pioneer  business  men  of  Chicago,  lie  is 
held  in  affectionate  regard  by  the  the  newer  gen 
erations  of  his  compeers,  who  gratefully  recognize 
the  heavy  debt  of  gratitude  which  the  splendidly 
developed  city  and  its  colossal  enterprises  owe  to 
the  untiring  labors  of  the  venerable  men  who 
have  devoted  their  lives  to  laying  the  foundations 
upon  which  this  brilliant,  modern  superstructure 
of  success,  wealth  and  power  has  been  erected. 
Mr.  Burley  was  married  on  Sept.  21,  1849,  to  Miss 
Welthyan  L.  Harmon,  of  Burlington,  Vermont. 
who  settled  in  Chicago  with  her  parents  in  July. 
1831.     This  esteemed    lady  enjoys    the    honorable 

distinction  of  being  tl Idest  female  resident  of 

Chicago  living  to-day. 


*s*  m^ 


)   19-zrl 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


CO: 


SILAS  B.  COBB. 

The  history  of  Silas  B.  Cobb  is  largely  identi- 
fied with  that  of  the  ,-it\  of  Chicago,  and  no  record 
of  either  man  or  cotnmunitj  would  be  complete 
without  full  mention  of  both.  A  resident  of  Chi- 
cago since  1833,  Mr.  Cobb  has  seen  the  little  mil- 
itary post  of  Port  Dearborn,  which  he  found  here 
at  that  time,  grow  to  a  magnitude  and  power  of 
which  his  fondest  hopes  never,  until  recent  years, 
conceived.  He  is  one  of  the  Eew  men  now  living 
whocansay  with  perfect  truth:  ■■This  is  a  part 
of  my  life  work:  with  my  own  hands  I  have  aided 
in  the  building  up  of  this  great  city;  my  faith  in 
it  was  strong  from  the  lirst.  and  I  have  the  same 
just  pride  in  its  advancement  that  a  father  takes 
in  the  prosperity  and  welfare  of  his  child."  Mr. 
Cobb  is  one  of  the  oldesl  and  most  widely  known 
business  men  of  Chicago,  where  he  has  moneyed 
interests  of  great  magnitude.  He  is  now  a  man 
of  eighty,  but  stronger  in  mind  and  bodj  than 
most  men  of  three  score,  and  intensely  acute  and 
active  in  all  the  cans  of  business  or  the  demands 
of  domestic  life.  The  Buccess  which  he  lias 
achieved  should  be  a  spur  to  the  ambition  of  ev- 

erj  boj  in  this  country,  latter  how    poor  or 

lowly.  Mr.  Col, I,  is  the  son  of  Silas  W.  Cobb, 
and  a  native  of  Vermont,  having  been  born  in 
Montpelier,  January  23rd,  1812.  His  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Hawkes,  died  when  Silas 
was  an  infant,  and  the  boy,  bereft  of  maternal 
care,  had  to  depend,  even  in  his  tender  years. 
largely  upon  his  own  resources.  At  an  age  when 
most  lads  are  deep  in  their  school  studies.  Silas 
was  an  assistant  to  his  father  in  the  latter's  ever 
g  vocations.  He  Eound  a  living  by  turns 
in  farming,  in  tanning,  and  in  tavern-keeping, but 
when  the  son  became  old  enough,  sent  him  to  a 
shoemaker  to  learn  that  trade.  This  useful  in- 
dustry, however,  was  quickly  given  up  for  that  of 
harness-making  which  the  lad  found  more  to  his 
liking.  As  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  young 
Silas  was  regularly  apprenticed  or  "bound  out" 
for  a  term  of  years,  hut  had  served  only  twelve 
months  when  Ids  employer  sold  out  his  shop  and 
business.  The  new  proprietor  recognized  in  Silas 
a  valuable  aid  ami  at  once  laid  claim  to  him  as  a 
part  of  the  chattels  he  had  bought.  Abolition 
was  n.it  then  s.i  much  discussed  as  it  was  in  after 
years,  and  there  was  usually  but  little  question 
..f  the  master's  right  to  control  the  services  of  an 
apprentice.  Silas  was  only  eighteen  years  ..1.1. 
but  his  independence  and  indomitable  spirit, 
which  was  in  a  large   degree   responsible   for  his 


after  successes,  fired  him  to  the  declaration  that 
"in  this  case  the  nigger  docs  not  go  with  the 
plantation."  The  newcomer  was  forced  to  make 
another  contract  with  Silas  and  on  much  more 
liberal  terms  than  those  of  the  original  agree- 
ment. When  this  contract  was  fulfilled  Mr.  ( '..lit, 
worked  as  a  journeyman  harness-maker  in  Mont- 
pelier and  other  Vermont  towns,  t'.  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  his  customers.  There  was  not  the 
money  in  the  business,  however,  that  Mr.  Cobb 
had  the  right  as  a  skilled  workman  to  expect:  nine 
months, .f  hard  work  and  frugal  living  left  him 
hut  560.00  of  savings  and  he  resolved  to  go  west. 
At  this  time  he  was  twenty-one  years  old.  a 
sturdy,  self-reliant  young  man.  hopeful  of  the 
future  and  fearless  of  the  present  so  long  as 
health  favored  him.  Oliver  (Joss  of  Montpelier. 
was  forming  a  company  to  take  up  some  govern- 
ment land  which  he  had.  in  a  previous  expedition, 
located  near  what  is  now  Chicago.  The  journey 
was  then  a  long,  wearisome  and  expensive  "lie. 
and  Mr.  Cobb,  Sr„  was  opposed  to  his  son's  un- 
dertaking it.  But  the  young  man  persisted  and 
one  tine  day.  having  made  his  way  with  the  rest 
of  Oliver  Goss' party  to  Albany,  he  took  passage 
on  an  Krie  canal  packet  for  Buffalo.  When  he 
reached  the  latter  city  Mr.  Cobb  found  that,  al- 
though he  had  been  careful  in  all  his  expendi- 
tures, there  was  but  seven  dollars  of  his  little 
capital  of  sixty  left.  The  price  of  passage  toChi 
cagoby  the  schooner  Atlanta,  was  just  seven  dol- 
lars, but  this  did  not  include  board,  as  each  pas- 
senger had  to  provide  his  own  provisions.  To 
most  men  this  would  have  been  an  almost  insur- 
mountable barrier,  as  the  trip  between  Buffalo 
and  Chicago  was  often  a  matter  of  three  or  four 
weeks  time.  But  as  Mr.  Cobb  relates,  lie  was 
bound  to  get  through,  even  if  In-  had  to  walk  or 
swim,  and  going  boldly  to  the  captain  of  the 
bc] ner  he  explained  his  condition.  To  his  sur- 
prise the  captain  told  him  to  buy  what  provisions 
led  for  the  journey  and  the  remainder  of 
the  seven  dollars  would  be  accepted  as  passage 
money.  This  seemingly  kind  offer  was  accepted 
andMr.Cobb  came  to  Chicago  on  the  Atlanta. 
They  had  an  unusually  boisterous  voyage  andhad 
been  live  weeks  on  the  water  when  the  schooner 
dropped  anchor  in  this  port.  The  youngpioneer 
was.  of  course,  anxious  to  get  ashore  at  once,  but 
to  his  disgust  the  captain  detained  him  on  the  pre- 
text that  the  rest  of  the  passage  money  was  due. 
It  was  in  vain  that  Mr.  Cobb  reminded  the  tricky 
mariner  of  the  bargain  make  in  Buffalo;  he  was 
obdurate  and  for  three  days  the  captive  was  tan 


204 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


talized  bj  the  sight  of  the  promised  land  he  could 
not  reach.  Thru  a  deliverer  appeared  in  the  per 
son  of  a  generous  stranger  who  went  aboard  the 
schooner  to  take  passage  bark  to  Buffalo,  and  on 
being  told  of  Mr.  Cobb's  plight,  paid  the  claim  of 
the  extortionate  captain  and  released  him.  The 
Chicago  at  which  Mr.  Cobb  landed,  May  29th, 
Is:;;;,  was  a  log-hut  settlement,  populated  bj  about 
one  hundred  whites  and  half-breeds  and  seventy 
soldiers.  On  that  day  he  was  actually  penniless, 
his  last  penny  having  been  given  to  the  captain 
of  the  Bchooner  at  Buffalo.  James  Kinzie  was 
about  constructing  a  rude  building  of  logs  and 
unplaced  boards  which  he  called  a  hotel.  He 
needed  a  boss  carpenter,  and  Mr.  Cobb,  who  was 
compelled  to  get  work  i  if  si  ime  kind,  applied  fi  ir  the 
job,  although  he  knew  nothing  whatever  of  that 
trade.  Fortunately  no  questions  were  asked  and 
Mr.  Kinzie  gave  him  charge  of  the  work  at  two  dol- 
lars and  seventy-five  cents  a  day.  which  Silas  con- 
sidered very  good  wages  at  that  time.  With  the 
first  monej  earned  he  repaid  his  kind  deliverer. 
His  pluck  and  natural  shrewdness  and  ability  car 
ried  him  along  successfully  until  a  meddlesome 
yankee,  who  coveted  the  position,  underbid  him 
fifty  cents  a  day  on  wages  and  clinched  it  by  an 
exposure  of  the  young  man's  ignorance  of  the 
building  trade.  With  the  monej  t  Ims  earned,  Mr. 
Cobb  bought  a  lot  of  trinkets  and  began  to  trade 
with  the  Indians,  making  in  this  way  a  little 
capital  with  which  he  determined  to  put  up  a 
small  frame  structure  of  his  own.  There  was  no 
lumber  to  be  had  in  Chicagoand  the  nearest  saw- 
mill was  located  at  the  settlement  of  PlainlieM. 
Illinois,  forty  miles  distant  across  an  unbroken 
prairie.  After  getting  directions  from  an  old 
Indian  chief,  Mr.  Cobb  set  out  on  foot  for  Plain- 
field  to  purchase  the  lumber  he  required  for  his 
building.  As  there  was  not  even  an  Indian  trail 
across  the  prairie,  he  was  guided  only  by  the 
groves  of  timber  that  dotted  the  prairie  at  long- 
intervals.  There  was  but  one  habitation,  a  set- 
tler's shanty,  the  whole  distance.  Arriving  at  his 
destination,  lie  purchased  the  lumber  he  required 
and  set  out  upon  his  return,  having  bargained 
with  a  settler  near  Plaintield.  for  the  use  of  three 
yoke  of  oxen  and  a  heavy  wagon.  He  was  fairly 
under  way  when  it  began  to  rain  and  continued 
without  intermission  for  three  days,  transforming 
the  formerly  hard,  dry  surface  of  the  prairie  into 
deep,  sticky  mud.  This  trip  Mr.  Cobb  will  never 
forget  to  his  dying  day.  At  night  he  slept  upon 
the  wagon  under  an  improvised  shelter  of  boards 
from  his  load.     The  pelting  rain  and  the  howling 


of  the  hungry  wolves  combined  to  make  the  sur- 
roundings the  most  dreary  and. desolate  the  young 
Vermonter  had  ever  experienced.  Continuing  his 
journey,  he  was  compelled  from  time  to  time  to 
throw  off  portions  of  his  load,  until  on  the  fourth 
day,  when  he  reached  the  Des  Plaincs  river. 
twelve  miles  from  Chicago,  he  was  finally  obliged 
to  abandon  the  last  of  his  load  and  turning  the 
oxen  in  the  direction  of  Plaintield.  set  them  adrift 
to  find  their  way  home  with  the  empty  wagon. 
This  they  did  finally  without  accident.  When  the 
prairie  was  again  sufficiently  dry,  the  trip  was 
again  made,  the  lumber  collected  and  safely 
brought  to  Chicago.  When  his  building  was  com- 
pleted Ic  rented  the  upper  part,  and  with  thirty 
dollars  furnished  by  Mr.  Goss,  bought  stock  for 
the  harness-shop  which  he  started  on  the  ground 
floor.  This  was  a  partnership  arrangement  and 
lasted  one  year,  when  Mr.  Cobb  withdrew  and, 
removing  to  larger  quarters,  began  business  on  his 
own  account.  Trade  prospered  with  him  and  in 
1848  he  sold  out  at  a  good  profit.  Chicago  was 
then  about  beginningthe  wonderful  growth  which 
has  since  made  it  famous,  and  with  his  native 
Bagacitj  Mr.  Cobb  foresaw  that  almost  any  legiti- 
mate enterprise,  honestly  conducted,  was  sure  to 
succeed.  This  led  him  to  form  a  co-partnership 
with  William  Osborne,  in  the  general  boot  and 
shoe,  and  hide  and  leather  trade.  Confident  as  he 
Isel  been  of  success,  Mr.  Cobb  found  the  business 
profitable  beyond  his  fondest  expectations,  and  in 
1852,  he  retired  with  a  fair  fortune.  Since  then 
he  has  confined  his  operations  to  real  estate  in- 
vestments and  the  promotion  of  corporations 
which,  while  assuring  a  fair  return  on  money. 
would  also  benefil  thecity.  When  Joel  Matteson, 
the  proprietor  of  the  old  Matteson  House,  at 
Randolph  and  Dearborn  streets,  died  in  1852,  Mr. 
Cobb  was  appointed  the  executor  of  the  estate  and 
guardian  of  the  rive  children.  This  trust  he  held 
until  1866,  and  the  settlement  then  showed  the 
w  isdoru  of  his  financial  management.  In  1855Mr. 
Cobb's  business  ability  was  again  recognized  by 
his  election  as  director  of  the  Chicago  I  his  Light 
&  Coke  Company,  and  his  advancement  a  few 
years  later  to  the  important  position  of  a  member 
of  the  Hoard  of  Managers.  This  he  held  until 
1SS7.  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  and  with- 
drew from  the  company.  One  of  the  greatest 
improvements  in  Chicago,  due  largely  to  the 
enterpriseof  Mr.  Cobb,  is  the  cable  railway  system 
which  was  inaugurated  and  constructed  while  he 
was  president  of  the  Chicago  City  Railway.  He 
is  still  prominent  in  the  councils  of  this  company 


BIOGRAPHY    OP    ILLINOIS. 


205 


and  also  in  those  of  tin- West  Division  Horse  Rail- 
way, as  well  as  the  National  Bank  of  Illinois. 
For  years  Mr.  Cobb  was  a  controlling  spirit  in  the 
Chicago  &  Galena  (now  the  Northwestern),  and 
the  Beloit  A:  Madison  railroads.  Several  fine 
blocks  <>f  buildings  on  Lake  and  Dearborn  streets 
bear  silent  testimony  to  his  faith  in  Chicago 
realty,  and  have  been  very  profitable  investments. 
Later  in  life  Mr.  Cobb  f<  >und  the  habits  of  economy 
which  had  been  forced  upon  him  in  his  youth  by 
stern  necessity,  had  become  second  nature. 
"Habit  is  a  cable.  We  weave  a  thread  each  day 
till  it  becomes  so  Btrong  wecannot  breakit."  But 
there  is  no  parsimony  in  hi-1  nature.  No  more  in- 
dulgent husband  and  father  ever  lived,  nor  one 
who  has  taken  more  delight  in  bestowing  all  the 
good  gifts  on  his  family  which  his  ample  means 
has  allowed.  In  1810  Mr.  Cobb  married  Maria, 
the  daughter  of  Daniel  Warren,  of  Warrensville, 
Du  Page  county.  111.  Il^w  his  first  acquaintance 
began  with  her.  who  for  nearly  half  a  century 
shared  with  him  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  an  event- 
ful and  finally  successful  pioneer  life.  Mr.  Cobb 
narrates  as  follows:  "I  arrived  at  Chicago  in  the 
spring  of  1833.  In  October  of  the  same  year  I  was 
occupying  my  little  shop  opposite  the  Kinzie 
Hotel,  in  the  building  of  which,  my  first  dollar 
was  earned  in  Chicago.  While  standing  at  the 
door  of  my  shop  one  afternoon  talking  with  a 
neighbor,  our  attention  was  attracted  by  the 
arrival,  at  the  hotel,  of  a  settler's  wagon  from  the 
East.  With  my  apron  on  and  sleeves  rolled  up.  I 
went  with  my  neighbor  to  greet  the  weary 
travellers  and  welcome  them  to  the  hospitality  of 
Fort  Dearborn,  in  accordance  with  the  free  and 
easy  customs  of  -high  society'  in  those  days.  We 
learned  that  the  travellers  were  the  Warren  family 
from  Fredonia.  X.  Y..  bound  for  the  settlement  of 
Warrensville  in  Illinois,  where  a  relative  had  pn 
ceded  them  about  six  months  previously.  There 
were  several  young  women  in  the  party,  two  of 
them  twin  sisters,  whom  I  thought  particularly 
attractive,  so  much  so  that  I  remarked  to  un- 
friend, after  they  had  departed,  that  when  I  was 
prosperous  enough  so  that  my  pantaloons  and 
brogans  could  be  made  to  meet,  I  was  going  to 
look  up  those  twin  sisters  and  marry  one  of  them, 
or  die  in  trying."  This  resolution  wasadhered  to. 
through  years  of  toil  and  privation,  with  tie-  same 
spirit  of  determination  that  characterized  his 
every  undertaking,  and  finally  resulted  in  his 
marriage  on  the  27th  of  October,  1840,  to  Miss 
Maria  Warren,  -one  of  the  twins."  Mrs.  ('obi. 
died    May   10th,   1888.     To   them   were  born  six 


children,  of  whom  two  only  survive,  viz.,  Maria 
Louise,  t  lie  wife  of  William  B.  Walker. and  Bertha, 
widow  of  tlie  late  William  Armour.  Those 
deceased  are  the  first  born  and  only  son  Walter,  and 
Lenora,  wife  of  Joseph  G.  Coleman,  and  two 
daughters  who  died  in  infancy.  In  politics  Mr. 
Cobb  was  an  old-time  Whig  until  the  Republican 
party  was  organized,  and  since  then  has  been  of 
that  faith.  His  success  in  business  has  been  so 
marked  that  his  methods  are  of  interest  to  every- 
body. His  rules  are:  "Industry,  economy,  tem- 
perate habits  and  strict,  unswerving  integrity." 
To  these  he  added  in  early  life  a  resolution  to  keep 
out  of  debt,  which  he  has  never  broken  but  two  or 
three  times  in  his  long  and  honorable  career. 
These  facts  of  Mr.  Cobb's  pioneer  life  mark  him  as 
one  of  those  indomitable  beings,  few  in  number 
at  all  times  but  growing  very  rare  in  our  day. 
who  expeei  to  suffer,  to  endure,  to  "die  in  trying." 
if  need  !»■.  for  the  prizes  of  life.  Upon  the  strong. 
supporting  shoulders  of  such  men  as  Mr.  Cobb. 
little  Port  Dearborn  was  lifted  out  of  the  mud. 
and  stands  to-day  the  World's  Fair  city.  Chicago 
— a  monument  to  the  courage,  energy,  industry 
and  heroism  of  these  pioneers— foremost  among 
whom  was  Silas  II.  Cobb. 


FRANKLIN  D.   GRAY. 

FRANKLIN  D.  CRAY,  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Safe  Deposit  Company  of  Chicago,  and  for 
many  years  one  of  the  leading  wholesale  merchants 
of  that  city,  was  born  at  Sharon.  Litchfield, 
county,  Conn..  May  10,  1818,  and  as  a  lad  worked 
on  his  father's  farm,  attending  the  district  school 
in  winter  and  leading  the  usual  life  of  a  country 
boy.  This  was  the  routine  up  to  the  time  lie  was 
ten  years  old,  and  with  the  exception  of  one  year 
passed  in  the  high  school,  he  had  noother  educa- 
tional advantages.  When  young  Gray  was  twelve 
years  old  he  thought  himself  well  embarked  on  life's 
journey,  having  secured  a  clerkship  in  a  country- 
grocery  store  at  Goshen  Center.  Conn.  Here  he 
remained  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
learning  every  detail  of  the  business  so  far  as  it 
could  be  done  under  the  conditions.  Soon  after 
reaching  his  majority,  Mr.  Gray,  in  company  with 
Messrs.  Morton  and  Walter,  of  Goshen,  came  to 
Chicago.  Tips  was  in  1S40.  and  the  city  was  then 
little  more  than  a  village.  Messrs.  Morton  and 
Walter  opened  a  general  store  on  South  Water 


2o6 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


street,  and  Mr.  Gray  served  with  them  as  a  clerk 
until  1845,  when,  the  business  having  prospered 
finely,  he  was  admitted  to  the  firm  as  a  partner,  the 
title  becoming  Mmion.  Walter  &  Co.  After  four 
years  of  fair  trade,  the  firm  dissolved  and  in  L849, 
Mr.  Gray  formed  a  copartnership  with  E.  N.  Dens- 
more.  Success  was  with  them  from  the  start,  and 
in  1853  the  firm  became  Gray,  Densmore  &  Phelps. 
Five  years  later  Mr.  Gray  bought  oul  Mr.  Dens- 
more's  interest,  and  with  his  brother,  Moses  W. 
Gray  and  Frederick  Gaylord,  as  additional  part- 
ners, organized  the  new  firm  of  Gray,  Phelps  &  I  !o. 
Mr.  Gaylord  withdrew  in  1869  and  the  firm  name 
was  then  changed  to  Gray  Brothers  &  Phelps, 
Franklin  D.  Gray  and  George  11.  Phelps  looking 
after  the  business  in  Chicago  while  Moses  W. 
t  iray  was  stationed  in  New  York  as  buyer  for  the 
house.  In  1871  another  change  was  made; 
Mr.  Phelps  retired  and  the  firm  name  became 
Cray  Brothers.  This  firm  did  business  until 
January.  1880,  when  Mr.  Gray,  needing  more  time 
for  his  diversified  interests,  brought  about  another 
reorganization.  The  old  copartnership  was  dis- 
solved and  a  new  one  ('..lined,  comprising  Moses 
W.  Gray.  William  Burt  and  Charles  H.  KingmaD 
as  general  partners,  and  Franklin  D.  Gray  as  special 
partner.  On  that  date  (January  1.  1880)Mr.  Gray 
retired  from  active  connection  with  the  grocery 
trade,  leaving  a  large  and  profitable  business 
which  has  been  built  up  largely  by  his  practical 
knowledge,  gained  by  elose  and  happy  methods  of 
observation,  and  his  great  natural  ability.  The 
principal    project    which    Mr.    Cray    then  had  in 

hand  was  the  National  Safe  Deposil   < ' pany  of 

Chicago,  which  was  organized  in  1881.  Previous 
to  this,  and  as  far  back  as  1867,  when  Mr.  Samuel 
Nickerson  was  made  President  of  the  First 
National  Hanli.  Mr.  Cray  served  with  him  as  a 
director,  and  after  his  second  term  of  service  was 
elected  vice-president  of  that  bank.  This  honored 
position  Mr.  Gray  held  until  the  organization  of 
the  National  Safe  Deposit  Company  as  stated. 
when  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the  presi- 
dencj  of  the  uewconcern.  Allofthe  best  thought 
and  ripe  experience  of  his  later  years  have  been 
devoted  to  the  advancement  of  this  enterprise  and 
the  company  is  now  one  of  the  most  solid  and 
prosperous  of  its  kind  in  the  West.  There  are  few 
public  movements  in  Chicago  with  which  Mr. 
Graj   has  not.  at  some  stage  of   their    progression. 

been  connected.  Ee  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Fireman's  Insurance  Company,  and  in  all 
matters  relating  to  the  tire  department,  he  has 
taken  a  deep    interest,   since   1840,   shortly   after 


which   time   Mr.  (bay   became  a  member  of  the 

volunteer  tire  department.  Mr.  Cray  won  many 
prizes  as  a  fireman,  which  he  still  preserves,  along 
With  his  exemption  Certificate,  granted  by  Charles 
M.Gray,  then  mayor  of  Chicago,  after  ten  years 
of  service  with  Engine  Con.]. any  No.  1.  during  all 
of  which  time  he  was  secretary  and  treasurer. 
Another  special  object  of  Mr.  Cray's  attention  is 
the  Chicago  Home  for  the  Friendless,  in  the 
management  of  which  he  has  always  been  promin- 
ent. He  was  its  vice-president  in  lSGri,  then  ser 
ved  as  president  for  several  years,  and  is  again  a 
vice-president.  This  is  but  one  of  the  many 
charitable  institutions  to  which  Mr.  Cray  contrib- 
utes liberally.  He  is  noted  not  alone  for  his  deep 
interest,  but  for  his  practical  direction  in  all 
organized  efforts  for  the  relief  of  tin-  poor  and  the 
educational  advancement  of  mankind.  Mr.  Gray 
was  married  July  1,  1st:;,  at  Norfolk.  Litchfield 
County,  Conn.,  to  Miss  Ann  C.  Phelps,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  W.  Phelps  of  that  place.    They  have 

but    ■   child,  Miss  Isabella  C.  Gray.    Mr.  Gray 

finds  his  greatest  relief  from  business  cares  in  the 
seclusion  of  his  beautiful  home,  but  he  is  a  leading 
member  of  the  Calumet  Club  and  at  times  devotes 
much  attention  to  its  affairs.  This,  in  brief,  is 
the  history  of  a  man  who  has  been  indentified  for 
fifty  years  with  every  public  movement  that  has 
tended  to  the  benefit  of  Chicago  in  a  financial  or 
moral  sense.  His  career  has  been  remarkably 
successful,  chiefly  by  reason  of  his  natural  ability 
and  his  thorough  insight  into  the  business  in 
which  as  a  young  tradesman,  he  embarked. 
There  is  one  point  in  his  career  of  half  a  century 
in  Chicago  to  which  all  old  settlers  refer,  and  that 
is.  thai  whether  as  a  wholesale  merchant  or  a 
financier,  Mr.  Gray  has  always  been  the  same  genial, 
courteous  gentleman,  whose  ways  are  those  of 
refinement,  and  whose  word  no  man  can  question. 


THOMAS   M.   AVERY. 

If  the  man  who  makes  two  blades  of  grain  to 
grow  where  but  one  sprouted  before  is  to  be  held 
up  as  a  benefactor  of  his  race,  what  shall  be  said 
of  him  under  whose  wise  management  a  mammoth 
business,  giving  employment  to  thousands  of 
bread-winners,  is  built  up?  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
show  men  how  to  furnish  food  for  mankind;  it  is 
a  greater  thing  to  give  to  mankind  the  means 
with  which  to  not  only  earn  its  food,  but  to  build 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


207 


its  homes,  to  educate  its  children,  and  to  create 
centers  of  population,  of  wealth  and  of  intelli- 
gence. At  Elgin.  Illinois,  the  works  of  the  much 
famed  Elgin  National  Watch  Company  are  located. 
From  an  humble  beginning  in  1865,  with  a  capital 
of  $100,000.00,  the  company  lias  expanded  until 
now  it  requires  a  capital  of  $2,000,000.00  to  carry 
on  the  business,  and  in  its  factory  alone  3,000  men, 
women  and  children  are  employed.  The  man  who 
directs  the  affairs  of  this  vast  concern  is  Thomas 
M.  A  very,  of  Chicago.  It  stands  to-day  a  monu- 
ment to  his  business  ability  and  untiring  energy, 
more  flattering  than  sculptured  shaft  or  painted 
canvas.  Mr.  Avery  is  now  seventy-one  years  of 
age  and  has  been  the  executive  head  of  the  great 
watch  company  for  twenty  three  years,  but  he  is 
still  hale  and  hearty  and  as  active  in  mind  and 
body  as  when  he  first  took  the  management  of 
the  company's  affairs.  The  boyhoodof  Mr.  Avery 
was  passed  at  Perryville,  Madison  county.  N.  Y.. 
where  he  was  born  October  12th,  1821.  He  is  the 
son  of  Orrin  S.  and  Abigail  (Morris)  Avery,  both 
of  whom  were  old  time  residents  of  Madison 
county.  The  Avery  family  originally  came  from 
Connecticut,  while  the  Morris  family  maj  be  de- 
scribed as  the  pioneers  of  Madison  county,  to 
which  they  moved  from  Connecticut  about  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century.  The  town  of 
Morrisville,  Madison  county,  is  named  after  sturdy 
old  Jacob  Morris,  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Avery 
on  the  maternal  side,  and  a  man  who 
spicuous  in  the  early  history  of  interior  New  York. 
The  education  of  a  child  in  thus.-  days  was  not  the 
easy  matter  it  now  is.  and  at  ten  years  of  age  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  trying  to  master  the 
-rule  of  three"  in  the  district  school.  The  same 
year  he  was  sent  to  the  Polytechnic  Academj  at 
Chittenango,  a  pretentious  establishment  at  that 
time,  and  where  he  studied  for  two  years.  This. 
with  a  three  years'  term  at  theCazenovia  academy, 
completed  his  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  edu- 
cation. But  even  at  that  young  age.  inheriting 
from  his  parents  scholarly  tastes  and  a  warm 
desire  for  advancement.  Mr.  A  very  had  made  com- 
mendable progress,  and  when,  at  fifteen  years,  he 
wasforcedby  the  death  of  his  father  to  begin 
life's  struggle  in  reality,  he  was  comparatively 
well  prepared  for  the  task.  It  was  in  1836  that 
Mr.  A  very  acquired  his  first  mercantile  experience 
as  a  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  Harvey  Morris 
at  New  Woodstock,  Madison  county  N.  Y.  Here 
the  young  man's  aptitude  for  mercantile  pursuits 
received  encouragement  in  the  shape  of  an  agree- 
ment by  Mr.  Morris   in   1810,  to   take   him   into 


partnership  the  following  year.  Shortly  after 
this  understanding  was  reached,  however,  Mr. 
Morris  died  and  the  work  of  settling  up  the  estate 
and  closing  the  business  devolved  upon  Mr.  Avery. 
This  he  accomplished  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  con- 
cerned and  then  began  trade  on  his  own  account 
in  the  same  store.  He  prospered,  but  the  lauda- 
ble ambition  to  get  into  a  larger  field  was  too 
strong  to  allow  him  to  remain  in  New  Woodstock, 
and  in  1851,  Mr.  Avery  sold  "Ut  his  business  and 
went  to  Chicago.  His  first  venture  in  that  city- 
was  in  the  lumber  trade  as  a  partner  with  Read 
A.  Williams,  the  firm  title  being  Williams  &  Avery. 
The  junior  member  was  without  experience  in 
this  particular  line,  but  his  sound  business  train 
ing  and  good  common  sense  carried  him  along, 
and  the  new  firm  was  soon  doing  a  large  trade. 
Retail  orders  were  not  by  any  means  despised. but 
the  bulk  of  the  trade  was  in  the  wholesale  line, 
big  lots  of  lumber  being  shipped  by  canal  boats 
to  dealers  along  the  Illinois  river.  This  partner- 
ship lasted  five  years  and  was  dissolved  in  1856, 
when  the  business  had  assumed  such  proportions 
that  it  warrantee!  a  division,  Mr.  Avery  soon  be- 
came noted  as  urn ■  of  the  most  successful  dealers 
in  the  West,  and  in  1872  his  eldest  son.  Charles  O. 
Avery,  was  taken  in  as  a  partner.  Tn  1875,  having 
amassed  a  comfortable  fortune  and  rinding  other 
cares  crowding  upon  him,  Mr.  Avery  decided  to 
abandon  the  lumber  trade,  and  did  so.  It  is  as 
the  president  of  the  Elgin  National  Watch  Com- 
pany that  Mr.  Avery  is  the  most  widely  known. 
and  here  his  fame  as  a  great  organizer  and  suc- 
cessful handler  of  men  rightly  rests.  It  requires 
something  beyond  ordinary  business  ability  to 
manage  an  army  of  employes,  to  get  their  wares 
on  the  market  at  advantageous  terms  and  to 
secure  a  profitable  income  on  millions  of  dollars 
of  capital.  The  man  who  can  do  this  is  a  general. 
for  "peace  hath  its  victories  no  less  renowned  than 
war."  The  watch  company  was  started  in  1864, 
but  the  work  of  making  watches  did  not  begin  in 
earnest  until  1867,  in  which  year  Mr.  Avery  was 
elected  president  of  the  company.  He  accepted 
the  office  only  after  great  urging  by  the  stock 
holders,  and  with  the  distinct  understanding  that 
they  would  relieve  him  as  soon  as  the  proper  man 
could  be  found.  But  it  soon  became  evident  that 
Mr.  Avery  was  the  proper  man.  and  there  was 
such  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  him  by  the 
directors  of  the  company  that  every  new  year 
found  him  more  closely  identified  with  them, 
until  finally  in  1875,  he  was  compelled  to  surren- 
der his  valuable  lumber  business  in  order  to  give 


208 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS. 


more  time  to  his  greater  interests  in  the  watch 
works.  The  history  of  how  Elgin  came  to  have 
such  a  large  establishment  is  almost  as  interest 
ing  as  that  of  the  gentleman  whose  life  forms  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  In  1864  two  employes  of 
the  American  Watch  ( iompany  at  Waltham,  Mass., 
Perry  Bartlett  and  Ira  G.  Blake  made  a  visit 
to  Chicago,  and  while  here  met  .1.  C.  Adams,  a 
watchmaker  at  Klein.  This  trio  became  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  <>f  starting  a  factory  in  the 
West,  ami  finally  the  "National  Watch  Company 
of  Chicago,"  was  organized.  The  capital  was 
£100,000.  Elgin  people  headed  by  Messrs.  S. 
Wilcox.  W.  T.  Pease,  H.  Sherman,  anil  li.  F.  Law- 
rence, subscribed  for  $25,000  of  the  stock,  donated 
thirty  live  acres  of  land  for  a  factory  site,  and  the 
works  were  located  then-.  The  organization  was  not 
completed  until  February,  15th,  1865,  ami  it  was 
in  April  of  the  same  year  that  the  first  building  was 
completed.  On  the  25th  of  April  the  company 
found  that  its  capital  was  too  small  for  the  work  in 
hand,  and  was  increased  to  $500,000.  The  next 
two  Mars  was  a  period  of  experiments:  of  hopes 
and  fears;  of  fond  expectations  and  deep  disap- 
pointments. It  was  on  the  1st  of  April.  1867,  that 
the  pioneer  Elgin  watch  was  placed  on  tie  mar 
ket.  This  was  the  "  B.  W.  Raymond,"  a  movement 
that  soon  became  popular  as  a  good  timekeeper, 
and  of  which  thousands  are  now  in  use.  It  was 
about  this  time  that  Mr.  Avery  was  called  to  take 
charge  of  the  company's  affairs.  Many  improve- 
ments were  made,  and  since  March,  187.>.  e\en 
part  of  the  watches,  even  to  tin-  mainsprings,  have 
been  made  at  Elgin.  In  May,  1876,  the  utmost 
capacity  of  the  factory  was  taxed,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  refuse  foreign  orders  and  deliver  all 
the  product  to  the  home  trade.  Many  men  would 
have  been  well  contented  with  this  fullness 
of  success,  but  not  so  Mr.  Avery.  He  saw  oppor- 
tunities for  a  much  more  extended  trade,  and  he 
grasped  them.  More  capital  was  needed,  and  in 
L884  he  induced  the  stockholders  to  give  him 
82,000,000  with  which  to  extend  the  business. 
They  did  it  without  a  question.  They  had  seen 
this  man  build  up,  without  a  hitch  of  any  kind,  an 
enterprise  which,  with  a  working  force  of  3,000 
people,  turns  out  I. son  watch  movements  every 
twenty  four  hours,  and  they  were  satislied  with 
his  management.  When  Mr.  Avery  secured  the 
increase,,!'  $1,500,000,  the  plant  was  enlarged  and 
otherwise  improved  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  most 
perfect  in  the  world.    The  company  owns 22  acres 

of   valuable    land,   has   six    first  class   shops    tilled 
with   the   best   of  modern   machinery,  an  artesian 


well  of  pure  water,  steam-heating  and  electric 
light  plants,  in  fact  almost  everything  that  money 
can  buy  and  ingenuity  devise.  The  company  has 
built  and  furnished  a  magnificent  hotel  for  the 
accommodation  of  such  of  its  employes  as  wish  to 
board,  and  for  these  only.  It  has  also  erected  at 
a  cost  of  $40,000,  the  most  complete  gymnasium 
and  concert  hall  in  the  west  a  building  which  is 
always  pointed  out  to  strangers  as  the  pride  of 
Elgin.  The  man  under  whose  direction  all  this 
has  been  accomplished  is  one  of  Chicago's  most 
modest  residents.  He  has  other  business  inter- 
ests, but  none  of  them  so  extensive,  or  so  close  to 
him  as  the  watch  company.  The  one  to  which  his 
best  second-thought  is  given  is  the  Chicago  Brass 
Company,  which  he  organized  in  1S87.  This  is  not 
only  the  first  concern  of  the  kind  ever  started  in 
Chicago,  but  the  first  in  the  U.  S.  west  of  Detroit, 
and  is  prospering  finely  under  the  control  of  Mr. 
Avery's  youngest  son,  Frank  M.  Avery.  The 
presidency  of  this  company  is  also  vested  in  Mr. 
Avery,  and  he  takes  just  pride  in  its  success.  As 
a  member  of  the  First  Congregational  Church, 
Mr.  Avery  is  an  earnest  Christian,  firm  in  the 
faith,  but  quiet  in  his  professions;  a  man  whose 
■rood  works  are  not  paraded  for  the  applause  of 
the  public.  In  politics  Mr.  A  very  is  aEepublican. 
He  has  never  been  an  office-holder,  and  never 
sought  political  favor  of  any  kind,  preferring  to 
keep  as  clear  from  it  as  possible.  In  1847  Mr. 
Avery  was  married  to  Margaret  E.  Morris,  the 
daughter  of  Harvey  Morris,  his  first  employer  at 
New  Woodstock.  To  them  were  born  two  sons, 
Charles  O.  and  Frank  M.  Avery.  The  latter,  as 
previously  stated,  is  now  the  manager  of  the  Chi 
cago  Brass  Company,  and  is  a  thorough  man  of 
business.  The  first  son.  Charles  O.,  was  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  lumber  trade,  and  when 
that  was  given  up  went  to  Colorado,  where  he 
acquired  extensive  mining  interests,  but  became 
the  victim  of  a  melancholy  accident  in  1883,  by 
which  In-  lost  his  life. 


JOHN  S.   GOULD. 

JOHN  STEARNS  GOULD  was  born  at  Essex. 
Essex  county.  New  York,  on  January  7,  1822.  He 
is  the  son  of  Judge  John  and  Theodosia  (Nichols) 
Gould.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Concord.  Mass.. 
who  did  a  large  business  as  a  manufacturer  and 
dealer  in   lumber  and   iron.     He  moved    to   Essex 


.TVvivJ^im^L/ 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


>OQ 


county  New  York  at  an  early  date,  andwasfor 
many  years  a  judge  in  that  district.  The  grand 
father  of  John  S.  <  ion  Id  was  Henry  Gould,  a  pat  riot 
of  the  Revolution  who  participated  in  the  first 
battles  of  the  War  for  Independence  at  Concord 
and  Lexington.  Mrs.  John  Gould,  the  mother  of 
the  subject  <if  this  sketch,  was  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, who  was  taken  to  New  York  state  h\  bier 
family  when  she  was  a  child.  The  early  school 
days  of  John  S.  Gould  were  passed  at  the  Burling- 
ton academy,  from  which  he  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont.  He  took  a  partial  course  at  the 
latter  institution,  injuring  his  health  by  overstu.lv 
to  such  a  degree  that  he  was  forced  to  pass  two 
years,  after  leaving  college,  in  recuperation. 
When  his  health  began  to  improve,  Mr.  Gould 
went  to  New  York  and  entered  the  wholesale  gro- 
cery house  of  Wood  &  Sheldon.  He  was  badly 
injured  while  saving  goods  from  the  store  in  the 
great  fire  of  July.  1845,  and  was  again  compelled 
to  go  into  retirement.  He  was  laid  up  for  t  wo  years, 
and  he  then  formed  a  partnership  with  Messrs. 
I  Joss  &  Low.  under  the  name  of  Ross,  Low  &  Gould, 
for  the  manufacture  of  merchantable  iron  and 
nails,  near  his  native  town  of  Essex.  In  this  ven- 
ture Mr.  Gould  was  quite  successful.  Under  his 
management  the  business  prospered  so  that  he 
was  enabled  to  sell  out  his  interest  at  a  good  profit 
in  L853.  He  then  came  to  Chicago,  and  the  sec- 
ond day  that  lie  was  in  the  city  he  becamea  mem 
ber  of  the  firm  of  Gould  &  Bro.  This  house  was 
established  by  William  R.  Gould,  a  brother  of 
John  s.,  who  had  come  to  Chicago  two  or  three 

years  before  and  started  what  grew  into  a  very 
profitable  business.  The  firm  was  continued  as 
Gould  &  Bro.  until  1865,  when  John  S.  took  an 
older  brother  into  the  partnership  ami  retired 
from  theaetive  management  of  the  business  whieh. 
in  the  twelve  years  of  his  supervision  he  had 
greatlj  enlarged.  The  following  year  (1866)  John 
S.  Gould,  and  his  brother  William  1;.,  erected  a 
linseed  oil  mill  in  Chicago,  whieh  also  proved  a 
very  profitable  investment,  until  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1868.  Undaunted  by  their  loss,  the  brothers 
purchased  a  large  building  ami  converted  it  into 
an  oil  mill  whieh  was  at  that  time  exceeded  in 
size  by  only  one  other  concern  of  the  kind  in  the 
country.  In  this  mill  the  linn  of  Gould  &  Him. 
did  a  large  business  for  three  years,  until  the  fire 
of  Is71  swept  it  away.  The  mill,  together  with  a 
very  large  stock,  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  the 
loss  to  (lie  linn  was  enormous.  Not  onl)  was  the 
business  completely  stopped,  but  a  great  money 
value   was  wiped  out.  with  only  a  small   insurance 


t iver    il.      What  made  the  loss  the  more  severe 

to  Mr.  Gould  was  the  fad  that  in  the  preceding 
year  llSTili  he  had  withdrawn  from  the  grocer) 
business  and  concentrated  all  his  surplus  capital 
in  the  oil  mill.  What  to  most  men  would  have 
been  a  crushing  calamity,  caused  only  a  temporary 
halt  in  the  business  career  of  John  S.  Gould,  and 
in  1875  he  had  so  far  recovered  from  his  losses  as 
be  able  to  re-enter  the  grocery  business.  At  thai 
time  be  organized,  a  new  firm  under  the  title  of 
Gould,  Fisher  A-  Wells,  which  built  up  a  large 
trade.  There  were  several  changes  in  the  firm 
between  L875  and  1883,  the  last  of  which  was  the 
reorganization  of  the  partnership  and  the  adop 
tion  of  thi'  name  of  John  S.  Gould  A-  Co..  a  title 
which  is  still  retained.  Mr.  Gould's  partners  are 
George  II.  Wells  and  Charles  Fleetwood.  The 
of  Mr.  Gould  in  all  his  business  ventures 
has  been  due  to  his  sound  principles  and  consen 
ative  methods,  lb-  is  oneof  the  most  careful  men 
in  his  line  of  trade,  and  has  never  undertaken  a 
rash  or  unconsidered  enterprise.  He  is  highly 
esteemed  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  high 
moral  character,  and  has  had  numerous  trusts, 
invoh  ing  great  can  s  and  responsibilities,  imposed 
upon  him.  He  has  served  as  trustee  and  executor 
of  several  large  estates,  which  he  has  handled  to 
the  advantage  of  his  wards  and  the  satisfaction  of 
the  courts.  While  Mr.  Gould  has  nevet 
public  man  in  social  or  political  life,  he  has  always 
been  quite  prominent  in  church  circles,  and  there 
is  no  good  work,  either-  in  the  name  of  charity  or 
the  advancement  of  religion,  whieh  does  not  hint 
in  him  an  earnest  and  material  helper.  That  his 
tastes  have  mil  led  him  into  public  walks  is  the 
only  reason  whj  Mr.  Gould  has  not  been  honored 
by  his  fellow-townsmen  with  office  and  political 
preferment.  His  ability  is  recognized,  but  respect 
for  his  own  oft-experienced  desires  to  be  left  in 
the  modest  seclusion  of  his  home  life,  has  kept 
from  him  what  other  men  dearlj  crave  and  seldom 
obtain.  Mr.  (  iould  has  been  an  elder  in  the  See- 
on, I  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago  for  twenty- 
six  years,  and  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees 
for  twentj  one  years.  It  is  iii  the  work  incident  to 
these  positions,  and  in  other  labor  for  the  benefit 
of  the  church  and  its  people,  that  he  finds  his  rec 
reation.  Mr.  Gould  lias  an  interesting  family  at  his 
tine  home  on  Calumet  avenue,  lie  was  married  on 
.May  15,  L850,  to  Miss  Sarah T.  Doolittle,  daughter  of 
P.  Doolittle.  of  Burlington,  Vermont,  and  for  many 
years  president  of  the  Bank  of  Burlington.  They 
have  had  eight  children  three  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  only  three  daughters  are  now  living. 


2  IO 


BIOGRAPHY  (>K   [LLINOIS. 


Mr.  Gould's  strong  characteristics  are  well  esti- 
matedin  a  paragraph,  by  a  prominent  Chicago  busi- 
ness man  who  has  know  him  Eor  many  years.  He 
says;  "  1  would  trust  Mr.  Gould  with  everything  I 

I  possess  without  question;  1  would  take  his  opinion 
on  business  matters  before  that  of  any  other  man 
1  know:  1  think  he  is  one  of  the  most  level-headed, 
careful  and  honest  men  I  ever  knew." 


NATHANIEL  S    BOUTON. 

As  the  organizer  and  incorporator  of  the  Union 
Foundry  Works.  Nathaniel  Sherman  Bouton  lias 
Keen  one  of  the  most  prominent  producers  of 
architectural  iron  and  railway  castings  in  the 
West,  and  although  no  longer  actively  identified 
with  the  business  he  is  still  recognized  as  an  au- 
thority in  all  that  pertains  to  it.  Mr.  Bouton  was 
born  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  on  May  14, 
1828.  His  parents  were  Rev.  Dr.  Bouton  and  Har- 
riet (Sherman)  Bouton.  the  latter  being  the  grand- 
i  of  the  celebrated  statesman  and  philan- 
thropist. Roger  Sherman.  The  Bouton  family  were 
originally  French  Huguenots,  who  had  settled  in 
England,  where  they  went  at  the  time  of  the  mas- 
sacre of  St.  Bartholomew.  In  1835  John  Bouton 
emigrated  from  England  to  America,  and  from 
him  the  family  in  this  country  is  descended,  Na- 
thaniel S.  Bouton,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  be- 
ing of  the  seventh  generation.  Rev.  Dr.  Bouton 
was  born  at  Norwalk,  Conn.,  and  graduated  from 
Vale  College  in  1820.  The  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  was  subsequently  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  Trustees  of  Dartmouth  College.  Dr.  Bouton 
was  one  of  the  oldest  anil  best-known  Congrega- 
tional ministers  in  New  England.  He  preached 
for  fifty-two  years  at  Concord,  and  occupied  one 
pulpit  for  forty-three  years.  Besides  the  manifold 
duties  incident  to  his  ministry.  Dr.  Bouton  served 
for  a  long  time  as  state  historian,  and  was  the 
author  of  many  profound  essays  and  sermons. 
After  his  death,  in  1878,  some  of  the  most  interest 
ing  facts  in  Dr.  Bouton's  life  were  published  by 
his  son,  John  Bell  Bouton,  in  the  shape  of  an  au- 
tobiography which  the  Reverend  Doctor  had  pre- 
pared sonic  years  before.  When  he  was  fourteen 
years  old,  Nathaniel  S.  Bouton  went  to  work  upon 
a  farm  in  Connecticut,  anil  followed  this  avocation 
until  he  was  sixteen,  when  he  taught  school  for  a 
short  time  in  the  same  state.  His  business  career 
was  begun  in  L846,  when,  after  a  prospecting  tour 


of   the   west,    he   returned  to  New  Hampshire   and 

engaged  with  the  firm  of  E.  A  T.  Fairbanks  A  Co.. 
scale  manufacturers,  as  a  traveling  salesman. 
He  continued  in  their  employ  lor  six  years,  travel 
ing  on  horseback  and  bj  stage  over  Pennsylvania. 
Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan  and  Illinois. 
Having  acquired  in  this  position  a  thorough  know  1 
edge  of  the  commercial  development  of  the  west. 
he  finally  determined  to  locate  in  Chicago.  He 
went  there  in  1852  and  entered  the  employ  of 
( l-eorge  \V.  Sizer  A-  Co.,  a  foundry  firm,  who  had 
extensive  establishments  in  Cleveland  and  Cincin 
nati,  and  were  about  to  organize  another  in  Chi- 
cago. He  was  put  in  charge  of  the  business  in 
[lus  city,  and  a  year  later  became  a  partner  in  the 
firm.  The  foundry  was  situated  on  Clark  street 
near  Fifteenth,  where  they  built  up  a  large  busi- 
ness, manufacturing  car -wheels  and  castings  for 
the  railroad  enterprises  then  being  developed  in 
the  large  territory  of  which  Chicago  is  the  center. 
They  also  furnished  all  the  castings  and  wheels  re- 
quired for  the  Union  Car  Works  of  Messrs.  Stone 
&  Boomer  in  their  varied  operations  as  car  and 
bridge  builders.  When  the  latter  firm  was  burned 
out  in  September.  1855,  Mr.  Bouton  purchased  for 
them  the  American  Bridge  Company"s  works,  and 
shortly  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the  tirm, 
the  name  of  which  was  changed  to  Stone,- Boomer 
&  Bouton.  From  this  time  until  1857.  when  they 
sold  their  plant  (then  known  as  the  Union  Car  & 
Bridge  Works,)  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railway 
Company,  this  firm  built  nearly  all  the  railway 
bridges  used  in  the  west,  including  the  first  one 
built  across  the  Mississippi  river  at  Rock  Island. 
They  were  also  extensive  manufacturers  of  all 
kinds  of  material  for  railways,  more  especially  cars. 
Before  the  sale  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railway. 
Mr.  Bouton  had  purchased  on  his  own  account 
the  architectural  iron  business  of  Frederick Letz ; 
and  in  1858  he  bought  from  Messrs.  Stone  & 
Boomer,  their  interest  in  the  plant  of  the  old 
Union  Car  Works,  which  he  rebuilt  and  operated 
until  1863.  In  that  year  the  firm  of  N.  S.  Bouton 
A  ( !o.  was  formed,  the  partners  being  N.  S.  Bouton, 
Christopher  B.  Bouton  and  Edward  P.  Hurlburt. 
After  nine  years  of  successful  business  the  com 
pany  was.  in  1871,  incorporated  under  the  name 
of  The  Union  Foundry  Works,  with  X.  S.  Bouton 
as  president,  Edward  F.  Hurlburt,  vice-president 
and  superintendent,  and  Christopher  B.  Bouton, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  The  corporation  thus 
formed  and  conducted  by  members  of  the  old  tiini, 
was  noted  for  the  line  quality  of  its  work,  espe 
cially  in  architectural  iron  work,  and  the  contracts 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


i  i 


for  the  prominent  hotels  and  business  blocks  of 
Chicago,  the  Custom  House   both   there   and   St. 

Linus,  the  State  House  of  Illinois,  and  also  of 
Iowa,  and  most  of  the  grain  elevators  of  Chicago 
were  executed  by  this  company.  In  1881,  the 
premises  occupied  by  the  company  wire  acquired, 
for  right  of  way.  by  the  Western  Indiana  Railway 
Company,  and  inducements  being  offered  by   the 

Pullman    Palace   Car  Company,  a   new  c panj 

was  organized  under  the  name  .if  the  Union 
Foundry  and  Pullman  Car  Wheel  works,  and  lo- 
cated at  Pullman,  Mr.  Bouton,  being  president. 
The  new  plant  covering  eleven  acres  of  ground 
and  employing  about  six  hundred  men.  was  car- 
ried on  as  a  genera]  foundry  and  machine  shop, 
in  addition  to  the  manufacture  of  car  wheels  and 
ear  castings  for  the  Pullman  Car  Company, — 
melting  daily  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of 
inm.  and  having  an  annual  product  of  upwards  of 
81,500,000,  with  a  monthly  pay  roll  of  aboul  830,000. 
In  L886,  Mr.  Bouton  sold  out  his  interests  to  the 
Pullman  Palaee  Car  Company,  and  established 
the  Bouton  Foundry  Company  in  Chicago,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  the  young  men  who  had 
been  in  his  employ  an  opportunity  of  eventually 
acquiring  the  concern,  he  purposing  soon  to  nine 
from  active  business.  All  through  his  business 
career,  Mr.  Bouton  has  been  untiring  in  his  efforts 
to  encourage  and  aid  worthy  young  men  with 
whom  his  large  manufacturing  interests  in  ( 'hi 
cago  have  brought  him  in  contact,  and  there  are 
in  this  city  to-day  many  prosperous  men  who  owe 
their  success  to  the  material  assistance  extended 
by  him.  He  has  been  easy  of  access  to  them  for 
advice  and  aid  at  all  times,  for  business  success 
and  increasing  interests  have  not  changed  his 
kindly  and  benevolent  nature.  At  the  present 
time  there  are  at  least  seven  concerns  in  Chicago 
doing  business  in  kindred  lines  which  wereorgan- 
ized  and  developed  by  young  men  who  received 
their  business  training  with  Mr.  Bouton,  and 
aside  from  these  there  are  semes  of  other  men 
who  have  been  started  toward  prosperity  by  him. 
In  national  and  state  affairs  Mr.  Ponton  has  acted 
with  the  Republican  party,  but  in  local  politics  he 
is  independent.  He  was  made  superintendent  of 
Public  Works  by  Mayor  Wentworth  in  1857,  and 
was  continued  in  the  office  by  Mayor  Haines.  It 
was  during  Mr.  Bouton's  administration  of  the 
Public  Works'  Department  that  the  first  street  pav- 
ing in  ( Ihicago  wasdone,  and  the  present  city  grade 
was  established.  He  was  one  of  the  committee  of 
three  appointed  by  the  council  to  fix  the  grade  of 
the  city,  and  recommend  the   present   levels.     In 


1862  he  became  quarter-master  of  the  88th  Illi- 
nois Infantry,  but  served  as  staff  officer,  A.  A.  <v>. 
M.,  until  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  when 
the  pressure  of  private  business  compelled  him  to 
resign.  Mr.  Bouton  is  an  active  man  in  church 
work;  he  was  an  elder  in  the  Olivet,  now  united 
with  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago; 
was  president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation for  a  number  of  years;  and  was  prominent 
in  the  organization  of  the  Kenwood  Evangelical 
Church,  one  object  of  which  is  the  sinking  of  all 
denominationalism.  In  this  last  named  church, 
Mr.  Bouton  is  still  an  active  member  and  worker. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Union  League  and  the 
Kenwood  Club,  but  is  not  what  is  called  "a  club 
man."  his  tastes  being  strongly  domestic  in  nature. 
His  pleasure!  are  found  in  works  of  benevolence 
and  Christianity,  and  in  the  society  of  his  family 
circle.  Mr.  Bouton  was  one  of  the  twelve  original 
members  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society, 
and  he  not  only  had  charge  of  all  the  organized 
charitable  institutions  in  the  city,  but  assisted  in 
the  organization  of  branch  societies  in  the  same 
line  of  work.  Mr.  Bouton  had  charge  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  fund  of  8100,000  contributed 
jointly  by  A.  T.  Stewart  of  New  York,  and  the 
Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  .just  after  the 
great  liie  of  1871,  for  the  relief  of  destitute,  si  If 
supporting  women.  His  labors  in  connection 
with  the  distribution  of  this  money  were  very 
arduous;  and  he  gave  personal  attention  to  tin- 
many  thousands  of  applicants  for  relief,  who  be- 
sieged his  works,  office  and  residence,  and  extended 
aid  to  over  four  thousand  deserving  women.  It 
was  the  hard  work  that  devolved  uponMr.  Bouton 
in  this  charitable  undertaking,  lasting  over  live 
years — from  1871  to  187G — which  brought  on  a 
crisis  in  his  physical  condition,  his  system  being 
already  weakened  by  the  strain  attendant  upon 
the  direction  of  his  large  private  interests.  Ho 
persevered,  however,  to  the  end,  and  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  knowing  that  the  immense  relief  fund 
had  been  honestly  and  wisely  distributed.  At 
present  Mr.  Bouton  is  president  of  the  Chicago 
Bible  Society,  and  gives  much  of  his  time  to  Bible 
work  in  this  city.  Mr.  Bouton's  predominating 
characteristic  is  benevolence,  and  he  is  untiring 
in  his  works  of  philanthropy  in  a  quiet,  unosten- 
tatious way.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  views,  and  of 
that  kindly,  forgiving  disposition  which  is  incapa- 
ble of  harboring  resentment  against  any  one  who 
has  done  him  a  wrong,  no  matter  how  grievous; 
and  in  this  he  shows  the  spirit  of  true  Christianity 
by  which  he  is  animated.    There  is  no  bigotry   in 


212 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


his  religious  virus;  he  is  a  broad  Christian  and 
strictly  non-sectarian.  No  man  can  justly  say 
thai  Mr.  Bouton  ever  did  any  one  an  intentional 
wrong,  and  when  he  is  called  away  t<>  his  eternal 
reward,  it  may  be  truthfully  written  of  him,  "Ho 
was  just  and  generous."  In  his  business  and 
benevolences  Mr.  Bouton  is  indefatigable;  he 
combines  strong  executive  ability  with  untiring 
energj .  and  pushes  to  success  e\  erything  in  which 
be  becomes  inti  rested.  Mr.  Bouton  has  been 
twice  married;  his  first  wife  was  Miss  Emily  L. 
Bissell,  daughter  of  Dr.  Bissell  of  Suffield,  Con- 
necticut. She  died  in  1858,  about  one  year  after 
their  marriage.  His  present  wife  was  Mrs.  Ellen 
Shumway,  daughter  of  Judge  Gould,  of  Essex, 
New  York. 


SAM  TEL    E.   GROSS. 

As  an  extensive  dealer  in  real  estate,  a  builder 
ami  promoter  of  suburban  villages,  ami  an  active 
man  in  business  and  municipal  affairs.  Samuel  E. 
Gross  has  been  prominent  in  the  advancement  of 
the  lies!  interests  of  Chicago,  and  in  the  securing 
of  those  substantial  elements  of  success  which 
have  made  the  city  so  prosperous.  Mr.  <  Jross  was 
horn  November  11,  1843,  at  the  Mansion  Farm,  on 
the  Susquehanna  river,  in  Dauphin  county.  Penn. 
His  father,  John  C.  Gross,  was  a  descendant  of 
the  French  Huguenots,  who.  at  the  time  of  the 
early  religious  persecutions  in  France,  settled  near 
Mannheim,  Germany,  from  whence  they,  in  after 
years,  came  to  America,  settling  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  first  known  record  of  the  Gross  family  in  this 
country  dates  back  to  1726,  Joseph  Cross  holding 
property  at  thattimein  Montgomery  county.  Penn- 
sylvania. His  grandson.  Captain  John  Gross,  who 
was  the  great-grandfather  of  Samuel  E.  Gross, 
served  as  a  Captain  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  his 
commission  from  John  Hancock.  Governor  of  Penn 
sylvania,  hearing  date  of  Nbvember25,  I77C  After 
the  Revolutionary  war,  Captain  Gross  removed  to 
Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  owned 
a  large  farm  and  other  property,  such  as  flouring 
mills,  iron  forges,  etc.  Captain  Gross  married  a 
Mjbs  Sahler,  whose  mother  was  a  Du  Bois.  The 
Du  Bois  family  was  of  Huguenot  descent  and  as 
early  as  1659  was  a  rich  and  powerful  factor  in  the 
community     about     Kingston.     Xew     York.     The 

of  Samuel  E.  Gross  was  Elizabeth!  Eberly) 

Cross.      Her    family    was  of    tiiat    sturdy   German 


stock  which  settled  in  Pennsylvania  in  L725,  and 
with  the  Erlis  and  Hersheys,  has  been  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  or  more,  prominent  in 
the  educational,  commercial  and  religious  histor) 
of  Pennsylvania,  [n  1846  the  parents  of  Samuel 
E.  Gross  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Illinois. 
locating  first,  near  Dover,  in  Bureau  county,  hut 
afterwards  in  Carroll  county,  where  the  lad 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools. 
followed  by  a  course  at  Mt.  Carroll  Seminary. 
Mr.  Gross  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age  when 
the  Civil  war  broke  out.  hut  he  enlisted  in  the 
fist  Illinois  Infantry,  and  went  with  it  to  Mis- 
souri. Being  under  the  required  age.  he  was.  al 
the  request  of  his  parents,  mustered  out,  of  ser- 
vice, and  returned  to  his  home  in  Carroll  county. 
There  for  a  short  time,  he  attended  the  Mt.  Carroll 
Seminary,  going  in  1862  to  Whitehall  Academy  in 
Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  June, 
1863.  the  Confederates  having  invaded  the  state, 
young  Gross  again  determined  to  become  a  sol 
dier,  and  on  June  29th,  of  that  year,  he  was  com 
missioned  First  Lieutenant  of  Company  D,  20th 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  being  one  of  the  youngest 
officers  of  that  rank  in  the  army.  He  had  active 
service  during  1863,  in  following  up  tin-  retreal  of 
General  Lee's  army  from  Gettysburg  to  Virginia- 
having  a  number  of  spirited  contests  with  the  rear 
guards  of  the  Confederate  forces.  On  Pebruarj 
17th,  186*4.  he  was  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of 
Company  K.  in  the  same  regiment,  and  cam 
paigned  with  his  command  in  Virginia,  in  1864-5, 
being  actively  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Piedmont, 
Lynchburg,  Ashby's  Gap,  Winchester  and  other 
engagements.  At  the  close  of  the  war.  he  was 
itered  out  of  the  service  at  Cloud's  Mills,  Vir- 
ginia, on  July  13th.  180.").  Chicago  was  at  that 
time  just  becoming  noted  for  the  push  and  energy 
which  have  since  made  it  famous,  and  Mr.  Gross, 
in  looking  about  for  a  field  of  labor,  decided  to  lo- 
cate t  here.  He  was  young  and  ambitious,  and  his 
choice  was  not  made  without  careful  consideration 
of  the  merits  of  other  cities,  which  is.  in  itself,  an 
indication  of  his  business  sagacity  and  foresight. 
In  September,  1865,  Mr.  Cross  look  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Chicago,  and  began  the  study  of  law. 
lie  entered  the  Union  College  of  Law.  and  gradu- 
ated in  1866.  He  passed  a  very  favorable  exami 
nation,  was  admitted  to  practice  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Bar. 
Previous  to  this — in  fact  just  after  locating  here  in 
1865  Mi.  (  boss  had  bought  a  few  lots  in  Chicago, 
and,  in  this  way  laid  the  foundation  for  his  pres- 
ent large  business.     On  these  lots  he  built  a  niiin 


<_V    S~  ^^T*^^ 


LIBRARY 

OF  TH£ 

MNMJttmr  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS 


2  1 


ber  of  houses  in  L867  and  while  still  active  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  became  much  interested 
in  real  estate  operations.  In  the  winter  of  1868  9  he 
was  prominentin  the  establishment  of  the  park  and 
boulevard  system,  and  was  energetic  in  pushing  it 
to  completion,  securing  for  the  city  one  of  its  most 
beautiful  and  attractive  features.  Wh<  i 
fire  of  <  tetobei  9th,  1871,  started,  Mr.  Gri 
occupying  an  office  at  Clark  and  Smith  Water 
streets,  where  he  had  many  valuable  1  . 
other  business  papers,  deeds,  abstracts  of  titles. 
etc.,  which  he  only  succeeded  in  saving  l>y  dump- 
ing them  into  a  rowboat  and  pulling  over  to  a  tug 
on  which  he  stored  them  for  safety.  The  daj 
after  the  cessatii  in  (if  tie-  Are,  lie  brought  back  his 
documents  and  resumed  his  business  with  even 
greater  energy  than  he  had  before  displayed. 
During  the  dull  business  season  of  1873  to  1879, 
Mr.  Gross  spent  most  of  his  time  in  the  study  of 
Bcience,  art.  literature  and  political  economy  ;  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession  and  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  number  of  important  papers  on  various 
subjects.  Being  of  a  naturally  ingenious  and  in- 
ventive turn  of  mind,  he  perfected  and  patented 
several  inventions  for  the  improvement  of  streel 
paving,  and  also  designed  several  valuable  mathe- 
matical instruments.  With  the  revival  of  trade 
in  L879  80,  there  was  a  decided  increase  in  the  re- 
alty business,  and  the  city  began  to  grow  so  rap 
idly  that  Mr.  Gross  decided  to  confine  his  atten 
tion  entirely  to  real  estate.  With  this  object  in 
view  he  closed  up  the  rest  of  his  interests,  and 
began  tin-  subdividing  of  additions  to  the  city. 
He  was  probably  one  of  the  first  men  in  Chicago 
to  go  into  this  as  a  business,  and  as  earl}  as  1880. 
he  had  platted  several  new  villages  to  the  south 
west  of  what  was  then  the  city  limits.  In  1882  he 
started  what  is  now  the1  flourishing  suburb  of 
Gross  Park,  near  the  northern  city  limits.  -  cured 
a  station  on  the  Chicago  A  Northwestern  Rail- 
way, and  soon  had  a  settlement  of  over  2,000  peo 
pi.- on  what  was  but  a  few  months  before,  a  mere 
cabbage  patch.  In  lss:i.  Mr.  ( irose began  I  lie  work 
of  building  homes  for  people  of  moderati 
selling  them  for  a  small  cash  payment  and  taking 
the  rest  in  monthly  installments.  It  was  the  in- 
auguration of  a  new  system  in  Chicago,  and  won 
public  favor  from  the  start.  In  lss?..  Mr.  'boss 
built  and  sold  m  this  way.  three  hundred 
houses;  in  1SS4  ."i  he  built  and  sold  over 
•_!.  000,  and  the  business  is  still 
A  feature  of  the  work  is  the  building 
up  of  districts  hitherto  undeveloped  and  unim- 
proved, and  which  would  be  long  neglected  undei 


the  system  of  individual  building.  In  this  way  a 
number  of  small  villages  which  were  started  by 
Mr.  Gross,  only  a  few  years  ago.  in  tin-  outskirts 
of  the  city,  are  now  solidly  -built-up  portionsof  the 
city  itself,  [n  1886,  Mr.  Gross  founded  the  town 
of  Brookdale,  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad, 
south  of  the  city  limits.  The  next  \ear  li- 
the village  of  Calumet  Heights,  to  the  west  oi 
South  Chicago;  and  also  the  village  of  Dauphin 
Park,  on  the  Illinois  Central,  besides  improving  a 
forty  acre  sub-division  at  the  comer  of  Ashland 
avenue  and  Forty-ninth  street.  In  1888,  his 
suburban  venture  was  one  of  the  largesl  he  had 
yet  undertaken,  the  opening  oi  "Under  the  Lin- 
den." just  northwest  of  the  city.  In  this  year 
Mr.  Gross  also  improved  a  large  district  near 
Humboldt  Pork,  and  erected  over  two  hundred 
houses  near  Anher  avenue  and  Thirty-ninth 
street.  In  1889,  the  magnetic  town  of  Grossdale 
was  located  on  the  Chicago.  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Railway,  one  mile  west  of  Riverside,  where  a 
tract  of  five  hundred  acres  of  farm  land  1 
transformed  into  a  beautiful  residence  village, 
containing  many  fine  public  buildings,  including 
a  theater,  churches,  etc.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
successful  of  Mr.  1 1  ross'  many  similar  ventures. 
and  he  very  naturally  takes  great  pride  in  it. 
During  the  last  ten  years.  Mr.  ( iross  has  done  a 
great  work  in  the  enlargement  of  Chicago,  by  his 
original  methods,  bis  transactions  in  this  eon  i  pa  i  a 
tively  short  till  follows:  Thirty  thou- 
sand lots  sold,  seven  thousand  houses  erected  and 
sold,  and  sixteen  thriving  towns  and  villages 
located.  In  securing  these  grand  results.  Mr.  ( Jross 
has  confined  his  efforts  entirely  to  his  own  methods. 
His  plan  is  to  buy  a  well  situated  piece  of  laud  at 
able  price,  and  improve  it  with  streets. 
parks,  depots,  public  buildings,  etc.  This  done  he 
both  builds  attractive  houses  and  sells  lots  to 
people  who  will  build  homes  on  them,  and  when 
necessary,  advances  the  money  to  build  with, 
taking  it  back  in  small  monthly  payments.  Not 
withstanding  the  magnitude  of  his  business,  it  is 
to  the  credit  of  Mr.  (iross  that  he  has  never  fore- 
closed a It  is  largely  on  the  reputation 

for  generous  dealing  thus  established  that  he  has 
secured  such  an  immense  business.  He  is  now 
the  owner  of  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  sub- 
divisions in  all  parts  of  the  city,  containing  al I 

24.000  lots.  Mr.  (Iross  is  a  director  and  large 
stockholder  in  the  Calumet  Electric  Railroad  in 
the  southern  portion  of  the  city.  His  fortune  is 
estimated  at  from $2,500,000  to  $3,000,000,  but  this 
did  not  prevent    the  United    Working men's    socie- 


214 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


ties  of  Chicago  fn ominating  him  for  mayor  in 

1889,  an  honor,  which  from  pr<  ss  of  private  busi 
ness,  and  a  feeling  that  the  time  was  inopportune, 
he  was  forced  to  decline.  Mr.  i  iross  is  a  member 
of  the  Chicago,  Union,  Iroquois,  Marquette  and 
Washington  Park  Clubs.  He  is  also  much  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  the  Humane  and  similar 
societies,  and  contributes  liberally  to  their  sup- 
port. In  1886  Mr.  Gross  made  a  four  months' 
tour  of  Europe,  during  which  he  made  extended 
inquiry  into  methods  of  building  and  of  city 
development.  In  1889  he  visited  Mexico  and 
many  of  the  western  seaboard  cities,  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  tile  same  year  made  another  trip  to 
Europe,  giving  a  large  share  of  his  time  to  the 
Paris  Exposition.  So  wide  is  the  fame  of  Mr. 
Gross  as  a  successful  handler  of  real  estate,  that 
while  in  Mexico,  and  also  on  his  second  European 
tour,  he  was  solicited  to  undertake  mammoth 
works  of  development  in  those  countries,  but  re- 
fused. Mr.  (Jross  is  a  man  of  robust  constitution, 
and  bright  and  happy  disposition.  He  is  positive 
in  character,  but  liberal  in  the  reception  of  the 
views  of  others.  He  possesses  great  executive 
and  administrative  ability,  and  is  thoroughlj 
practical  in  his  ideas.  Of  fine  culture,  and  highly 
educated  and  refined  tastes,  he  isa  very  genial  and 
companionable  man.  He  lives  in  a  handsome 
residence  on  the  Lake  Shore  Drive,  at  Division 
street,  with  his  wife,  a  lady  of  fine  appearance  and 
sterling  mind  and  worth.  They  were  married  in 
January.  1871.  Mrs.  Cross  was  formerly  Miss 
Emily  Brown,  and  comes  of  a  good  English  family. 
Great  as  has  been  the  success  of  Mr.  Gross,  it  is 
beyond  dispute  that  he  is  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortune.  There  has  been  no  combination  of  lucky 
circumstances  in  his  favor.     He  has  won  his   way 

bj  the  fori f  his  own  brain  power  and  resistless 

energj  and  integrity  intellectual  effort  well 
seconded.  There  are  lew  men  who  have  accom- 
plished so  much  as  Mr.  ( iross.  when  the  benefits 
i"  the  community  as  well  as  individual  profit  are 
considered. 


EMORY   COBB. 

EMORY  coin;  was  bom  at  Dryden, Tompkins 
county,  New  York.  August  20,  1831.  His  parents 
were  William  and  Achsah  (Bradley)  Cobb.  The 
family  was  of  English  origin,  and  while  there  is 
no  authentic  record  of  the  fact.it  is  thought  that 
He-    American    branch    was  established   by   the 


immigration  of  two  brothers,  .Morgan  and  Nathan 
Cobb,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Rev. 
Sylvanus  Cobb,  the  historian  and  novelist,  is  a 
descendant  of  Nathan,  and  considers  himself  as  of 
theseventh  generation,  which  tends  to  confirm 
approximately  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Eore 
runners  of  the  family  in  this  country.  On  this 
subject.  William  Cobb,  of  Warwick.  .\l;i-s„  on,,  of 
the  early  descendants  of  the  original  immigrant, 
Morgan  Cobb,  wmte.  on  Maj  17.  1844,  to  Wil- 
liam Newell  Cobb,  the   eldest    brother  of   El j 

Cobb,  as  follows:  -" I  have  no  one  to  consult  on 
this  subject  except  my  mother,  who  resides  in  mj 
fnmily,  and  is  now  ninety-four  years  old.  but  re- 
tains her  mental  faculties  to  a  g 1   degree.     The 

most  that  I  can  learn  is  that  two  brothers  b\  the 
name  of  Cobb  emigrated  from  England  to  America, 
but  at  what  time.  I  cannot  ascertain.  One  was 
named  Morgan,    the   other  Nathan.     Our   family 

I  from  Morgan  Cobb.  It  has  be. 
that  we  are  tinctured  with  Scotch  blood.  I  was 
born  in  Norton.  October  '-!7.  177H.  and  am  now 
seventy-four  years  old."  The  connection  of 
Emorj  Cobl.  to  the  Morgan  Cobb  mentioned  in 
this  letter  as  the  founder  of  this  branch  of  the 
family  in  America,  may  be  traced  in  the  following 
manner:— Emory  Cobb.  William  Cobb,  his  father: 
Elisha  Cobb,  his  grandfather;  William  Cobb,  his 
great-grandfather;  Morgan  Cobb,  his  great-greal 

grandfather;  ■ — Cobb,  and  Morgan  Cobb,  the 

immigrant.  In  Revolutionary  days.  theCobbs  had 
become  quite  numerous  in  Massachusetts  ami 
New  York,  and  were  active  and  prominent  Whigs. 
William  Cobb,  the  father  of  Emory,  was  a  farmer. 
but  operated  several  mills  on  Fall  Creek,  in 
Tompkins  county.  N.  Y..  audit  was  there  that  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  passed  his  time  until  he 
was  twelve  years  old.  when,  on  the  death  of  his 
father,  he  went  to  live  in  Genoa,  Cayuga  county, 
with  Lemi  Bradley,  his  mother's  father.  In  1S47. 
Emory  Cobb  went  to  Ithaca  to  study  telegraphy, 
and  the  next  year  secured  a  position  as  operator 
at  Predonia,  on  the  Erie  &  Michigan  Telegraph 
Line,  which  had  just  been  constructed  by  Hon. 
Ezra  Cornell,  and  Col.  J.  J.  Speed,  between 
Buffalo  and  Milwaukee.  His  service  gave  such 
satisfaction  that  in  1851,  he  was  made  bookkeeper 
Eor  the  company  at  Cleveland.  Ohio,  and  in  March 
ls.VJ,  became  manager  of  their  office  in  Chicago. 
It  was  during  his  manageniant  of  the  Chicago 
office,  that  the  first  -pool."  it  is  believed,  ever 
formed  in  this  country,  went  into  effect.  At  that 
time  there  were  three  telegraph  companies  doing 
business    from  Chicago  to  the  East — The  Erie  & 


oF  THE       uftlC 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


215 


Michigan;  the  Ohio,  [ndiana  A:  Illinois;  and  the 
Southern  Michigan.  In  1853,  it  occurred  to  the 
managers  of  these  companies  that  they  could  unite 
their  offices  in  Chicago,  and  divide  the  earnings. 
They  did  so  under  Mr.  Cobb's  supervision,  and 
the  experiment  was  so  satisfactory  that  it  was 
followed  in  1S">6.  by  the  merging  of  the  companies 
into  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  Mr. 
Cobb  being  retained  as  manager  of  the  I 
office,  and  his  authority  and  territory  enla 
his  appointment  as  superintendent  of  the  Western 
Division.  This  important  dual  position  he  held 
until  October,  1865,  when  his  health  having  be- 
come impaired,  he  was  given  a  year's  leave  of 
.  and  went  abroad,  passing  most  of  his 
tine-  traveling  in  Europe.  Asia  and  Africa.  On 
his  return  in  1866,  Mr.  Cobb  was  earnestlj 
solicited  to  resume  his  old  place,  but  fear  of  agaii 
breaking  down  under  his  growing  cares  and  re- 
sponsibilities led  him  to  decline.  He  afterwards 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  Mr. 
Cobb  introduced  the  system  of  transmitting 
money  by  telegraph,  and.  with  the  consent  of  the 
Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  the  n 
of  which  were  doubtful  of  its  practicability,  con- 
ducted the  business  on  his  own  account  from  L857 
to  1867.  In  these  ten  years  he  establishei 
in  all  the  principal  Eastern  cities,  and  so  demon 
strated  the  success  and  profit  of  the  bush 
the  company  in  1867,  withdrew  all  objections,  and 
incorporated  the  system  as  a  leading  feature  of  iis 
service.  As  early  as  1861,  Mr.  Cobb  had  made 
some  investments  in  lands  at  Kankakee,  Illinois. 
and  when  he  retired  from  hit  position  with  tin- 
Western  Union  company,  in  1866,  he  sought  refuge 
from  tile  cares  and  worry  of  business  life  by 
retiring  to  his  farm  at  Kankakee,  and  there  as 
a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  again  built  up  his 
health,  which  had  been  in  danger  of  being  perma- 
nently shattered.  In  this  connection,  he  became 
prominent  as  a  breeder  of  Short-horn  cattle,  and 
when  the  American  Slant  horn  Breeders  Associa- 
tion was  formed  in  1881.  he  was  chosen  as  its 
president,  ami  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
when  he  was  absent  in  Europe,  he  has  hi  Id  the 
position  ever  since.  This  association  is  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  live-stock  industry  of 
America.  It  has  eight  hundred  stockholders,  and 
conducts  the  Short -h  in  S  _  '  a  foi  tl 
horn  breeders  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
Mr.  Cobb  is  still  actively  interested  in  general 
farming  and  stock-raising.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
serving    as   vice-president    until   he   declined  re- 


election in  1882,  when  about  to  make  a  foreign 
tour  with  his  family.  He  started  on  this  tour  in 
lss-j.  and  was  abroad  two  years,  visiting  most  of 
the  important  continental  centers.  It  was  in  1883. 
while  abroad  in  Europe,  that  Mr.  Cobb  in  divest- 
ing himself  as  much  as  possible  of  exacting  duties. 
declined,  in  connection  with  other  ..II 
position  of  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  .•( 
the  Illinois  Industrial  University,  at  Champaign 
(now  the  University  of  Illinois),  in  which  position, 
he  had  served  continuously  from  1*7:;  to  1883. 
Of  the  original  trustees.  Mr.  Cobb  is  the  only  one 
who  yet  retains  a  place  on  the  board,  having  been 

named  year  after  year   by  succeeding  Governors 

to  this  honorable  position.  From  his  first 
appointment  as  trustee  he  has  been  a  member  of 
the  executive  committee.  Of  late  years.  Mr. 
Cobb  has  done  much  to  develop  ami  improve  Kan 
kakeeandit  is  largely  to  him  that  this  flourishing 
town  owes  its  present  prominence  and  prosperity. 
[i  1884,  he  erected  at  Kankakee,  the  Arcade  Build- 
ing, which  is  one  of  the  most  complete  and  unique 
office  buildings  in  the  state.  He  was  instrumen- 
tal in  erecting  the  celebrated -Hotel  Riverview," 
at  Kankakee,  and  is  the  president  of  the  company. 
Mr.  Cobb  is  also  largely  interested  in  the  Kanka- 
kee Electric  Railway  Company.  The  First 
Xational  Bank  of  Kankakee,  of  which  he  is  presi- 
dent, owes  its  existence  to  his  foresight,  as  does 
also  the  prosperous  Teed  Shoe  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Kankakee,  which  he  assisted  in  organ 
izing  in  1887.     B  been  active  in  business 

enterprises  in  other  promising  centers.  One  of  his 
many  successful  ventures  was  the  organization  of 
the  Bozeman  National  Bank,  at  Bozeman,  Mon- 
tana, which  was  profitably  conducted  bj  his  so::. 
Charles  II.  Cobb,  until  lie  was  called  home  to  take 
charge  of  the  Electric  Railway  at  Kankakee.  Mr. 
Cobb  was  married  on  February  :«.  IsoS.  to  Miss 
Isabella  Haven,  daughter  of  Aaron  Haven,  one  of 
tin-  pioneer  merchants  of  Chicago.  He  has  three 
sons,  Charles  Haven  Cobb,  born  February  17. 
I860,  now  General  Manager  of  the  Kankakee  Elec- 
tric Railway;  William  Walter  Cobb,  born  Novem- 
ber 11.  IStJ'J.  now  vice-president  of  the  Teed 
Shoe  Manufacturing  Company;  Duane  Phillips 
Cobb,  bom  November  14.  1867,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  in  the  Class  of  '91,andnow  traveling  with  his 
mother  in  Europe.  Mr.  Cobb  is  a  very  public- 
spirited  man.  and  while  careful  in  his  invest- 
ments, he  has  always  had  in  view  the  benefit  of 
the  general  public,  as  well  as  his  individual  profit. 
He  has  been  uniformly  successful  in  his  business 
enterprises,  and  has  amassed  a  comfortable  fortune 


2  l6 


BI<  1GRAPHY  OK    ILLINOIS. 


He  is  in  every  respecl  a  thoroughly  self-made 
man.  His  judgment  of  men  and  times,  and  oppor- 
tunities, is  excellent,  and  he  is  lasting  and  true  in 
his  friendships.  Although  quick  to  act  inimportant 
matters,  he  rarely  makes  a  mistake,  and  his  opin- 
ions and  advice  are  valued  by  all  men.  Socially, 
Mr.  Cobb  is  a  very  genial  and  affable  man,  eonsid- 
erate  of  the  Eeelings  of  others,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  holding  strongly  to  his  own  views  He  was 
brought  up  a  Methodist,  but  has  been  for  over 
twenty-live  yearsa  memberof  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal church,  and  is  very  active  and  prominent 
in  all  the  works  of  that  Christian  body,  whether 
in  the  parish,  the  diocese,  or  the  country  at  large. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  vestry  of  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Kankakee,  since  the  parish  was  organ- 
ized in  lSli:!,  and  a  warden  of  the  church  since 
L865.  He  is.  however,as  broad-minded  in  religion 
as  in  other  things,  and  lias  little  sympathy  with 
narrowness  and  sectarianism,  whether  in  the  pul- 
pit, or  in  religious  and  charitable  work. 


HENRY  II.   EVANS. 

Wherever  Illinois  politics  are  known  and  under- 
stood, Senator  Henry  H.  Evans  is  recognized  as 
one  of  tile  most  energetic  champions  of  stalwart 
Republicanism  that  the  state  contains.  Colonel 
Evans — and  he  is  entitled  to  the  rank  by  reason 
of  appointment  on  the  staffs  of  Governors  Culloni 
and  Pifer  was  born  at  Toronto.  Canada.  March 
9,  L836.  He  is  the  .on  of  Griffith  and  Elizabeth 
(Weldon)  Evans,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Harrisburg,  Pa.  His  father  was  a  millwright. 
and  his  work  took  him  to  various  parts  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  it  was  while  on  one 
of  these  extended  business  tours  that  Henry  H. 
Evans  was  bom.  The  Evans  family  traces  back  se\ 
eral  generations  in  Pensylvania,  but  came  origin 
ally  from  Wales,  the  family  having  been  established 
in  this  country  many  years  before  the  Revolution 
ary  war.  ( rriffith  Evans  moved  to  Aurora.  111.,  with 
his  family  in  June.  1841,  and  aided  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Black  Hawk.  Montgomery  and  Eagle 
Mills.  Later  he  was  foreman  of  the  car  building 
hops  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincj  Rail 
road,  in  Aurora.  He  died  suddenly,  of  heart  dis- 
ease, September  28,  1882,  aged  73  years.  His  wife 
had  died  on  .January  29,  1882,  aged  69.  Thej  lefl 
a  famih  a    I  lie    lirst     four 

were  bom  in   Canada,  and  the  remaining  six   in 


Aurora.  Colonel  Evans  was  only  live  years  old 
when  his  parents  moved  to  Aurora,  and  his  life 
since  then  has  been  passed  in  that  town,  with  the 
welfare  and  prosperity  of  which  he  is  unquestion 
ably  more  closely  identified  than  any  other  indi- 
vidual. As  a  child  he  had  no  special  advantages. 
He  went  to  the  village  schools,  and  was  reared  in 
the  same  way  as  thousands  of  other  village  boys. 
He  had.  however,  the  benefit  of  good  home  train 
ing  and  example,  and  it  has  left  an  indelible  im- 
press upon  his  character.  "  Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother,"  was  always  a  live  precept  with  him, 
and  in  IS?:!,  being  convinced  that  there  was  no 
necessity  for  his  father  to  continue  in  the  shops. 
he  induced  him  to  resign,  on  the  promise  that  he 
would  pay  him  a  yearly  salary  sufficient  for  all  his 
needs.  The  contract  was  not  only  faithfully  car- 
ried out.  but  the  aged  couple  were  frequently  the 
recipients  of  handsome  presents  in  addition.  The 
first  business  venture  made  by  young  Evans  was 
the  selling  of  peanuts.  He  was  successful,  and 
in  L858  had  accumulated  capital  enough  to  open 
a  restaurant.  This  he  conducted  with  a  fair  profit 
until  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  124th  Regiment 
of  Illinois  Volunteers,  and  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  His  first  active  service  as  a  soldier 
was  al  Jackson.  Tenn.  He  next  assisted  in  the 
iege  and  capture  of  Vicksburg,  and  after  the 
capitulation  of  that  stronghold  was  detached  and 
assigned  to  hospital  duty,  his  knowledge  of  the 
restaurant  business  making  him  a  valuable  man 
in  tin-  cook  room.  During  his  army  career  he 
made  a  little  money  in  two  or  three  legitimate 
speculations,  and  when  he  was  mustered  out  in 
l-i'.:.  he  relumed  Pi  Aurora    with  the   nucleus   for 

what  is  now  a  large  fortune.    On  leaving  the  army 

Mr.  Evans  again  embarked  in  the  restaurant 
business,  which  he  followed  until  1873,  when  he 
bought  the  Pitch  House-— now  known  as  the  Hotel 
Evans.  This  he  conducted  for  a  few  years,  and 
then  lease. 1  if.  About  that  time  Colonel  Evans, 
with  his  natural  shrewdness  and  business  fore 
sight,  began  buying  up  real  estate  in  and  around 
Aurora,  and  every  investment  of  this  kind  has 
broughl  linn  a  handsome  profit.  He  has  made  ten 
large  additions  to  the  city.  In  the  successful 
handling  of  this  realty  he  developed  a  greal 
capacity  for  other  business  enterprises,  which 
havs  been  of  vital  importance  in  the  building  up 
of  Aurora.  He  organized  and  put  in  operation  the 
lirst  street  railway  in  tin-  town:  induced  the 
Aurora.  Joliet  and  Northern  Railway  to  run  its 
road  there, and  secured  the  watch  factory,  and  the 
Rathbone,    Sard   A    Co.  stove   works,   ami    several 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  aflLUHOiS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


2  17 


other  factories,  all  of  which  have  large  plants  in 
Aurora,  and  give  employment  to  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple. In  addition  to  these  enterprises,  Colonel 
Evans  is  directly  interested  in  many  others  of 
equally  vital  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the 
town.  He  is  president  of  the  German-American 
National  Bank  of  Aurora;  president  of  the  Aurora 
Novelty  Manufacturing  Company;  president  of 
the  Piano  Manufacturing  Company,  and  a  direc- 
tor in  the  Aurora  Gas  Company,  all  of  which  he 
has  been  largely  instrumental  in  forming  and  put- 
ting on  a  paying  basis.  He  is  the  owner  now  of 
the  new  additions  to  the  city,  and  is  improving 
and  developing  them;  has  lately  erected  a  new 
business  block  and  an  opera  house,  and  is  about 
to  undertake  the  construction  of  a  belt  railway 
and  a  new  street  railway.  Colonel  Evans  seems 
to  be  a  natural  builder  of  railways.  He  organized 
the  first  Aurora  street  railway  in  September,  1882, 
was  elected  president  of  the  company,  and  two 
months  later  had  rive  miles  of  track  laid  and  the 
road  in  operation.  He  was  also  the  founder  of  the 
Joliet.  Aurora  and  Northern  Railway,  secured 
most  of  the  subscriptions  to  the  capital,  superin- 
tended its  construction,  and  not  only  got  the  road 
to  running  in  a  short  time,  but  made  it  a  financial 
success  from  the  start.  Industrious  and  success 
ful  as  he  has  been,  however,  in  all  his  business  un- 
dertakings, whether  for  the  advancement  of  per- 
sonal interests  or  the  benefit  of  Aurora,  it  is  as  a 
politician  that  Colonel  Evans  has  won  his  greatest 
fame.  His  political  career  began  in  1876.  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature.  In  the  same 
year  he  was  elected  to  the  Aurora  City  Council 
from  the  Ninth  Ward.  In  1880  he  was  chosen  to 
represent  the  district  in  the  State  Senate,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1881.  receiving  each  time  a  very 
complimentary  majority.  Since  then  he  has  been 
in  the  Senate  continuously,  and  has  done  good 
work  for  his  constituents  and  the  state.  It  was 
by  the  efforts  of  Colonel  Evans,  while  a  represen- 
tative in  1876,  that  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Quincy 
was  established,  and  his  fighting  qualities  were  so 
well  shown  at  that  time  that  Governor Cullom  ap- 
pointed him  a  Colonel  on  hisstaff .  He  was  influen- 
tial also  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  State  Militia. 
and  Police  pension  bills,  both  of  which  measures 
have  since  received  warm  public  endorsement. 
The  only  real  opposition  ever  developed  against 
Colonel  Evans  was  in  1890  when  a  faction  of  his 
party,  unable  to  defeat  him  for  renomination, 
sought  to  beat  him  by  running  an  independent 
candidate  at  the  polls.  Colonel  Evans  was  re- 
elected,  however,  by  a  good  majority,  and  signal- 


ized his  return  to  the  Senate  by  taking  a  radical 
stand  against  any  compromise  for  the  election  of 
a  United  States  Senator.  Neither  the  Republicans 
nor  Democrats  had  votes  enough  to  elect  a  senator 
without  winning  over  the  Farmer's  Alliance  mem- 
bers. The  latter  repeatedly  offered  to  vote  with 
the  Republicans  on  certain  conditions,  but  as 
often  as  any  move  in  this  direction  was  detected, 
Colonel  Evans  and  the  three  or  four  men  who 
stood  by  him.  defeated  it  by  refusing  to  vote. 
The  result  was  the  election  of  Hon.  John  M.  Pal- 
mer, the  Alliance  members  finally  going  over  to 
him.  On  being  accused  of  thus  helping  to  elect  a 
Democrat.  Colonel  Evans  said  :  "  I  prefer  the 
election  of  an  outspoken  Democrat  like  Governor 
Palmer  to  that  of  any  compromise  man  secured 
by  a  surrender  of  Republican  principles  by  Repub- 
lican members."  His  course  has  since  been  en- 
dorsed  by  the  leading  men  of  his  party  as  a  wise 
and  proper  one.  In  1888  he  was  seriously  consid- 
ered as  a  candidate  for  Governor,  and  but  for  his 
own  protestations  would  have  been  nominated. 
Colonel  Evans  is  a  very  liberal  man  in  money  con- 
tributions to  all  deserving  objects.  He  is  not  a 
church  member,  but  no  church  has  been  built  in 
Aurora  without  a  generous  subscription  from  him. 
He  was  the  largest  contributor  to  the  fund  for 
building  the  Soldiers  Memorial  Hall  and  Library. 
In  1888,  when  there  was  urgent  need  for  a  new- 
city  hospital  he  pledged  himself  to  raise  $5,000  for 
the  purpose,  and  he  did  so,  although  at  the  time 
he  was  more  than  usually  busy  with  political  and 
business  affairs.  There  is  no  man  in  Aurora  who 
enjoys  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  people, 
irrespective  of  party,  to  a  greater  degree  than 
Colonel  Evans.  He  has  not  only  been  singularly 
fortunate  in  all  his  ventures,  and  free  from  errors 
in  his  official  career,  but  there  is  a  spirit  of  hearty- 
good  fellowship  about  him  which  makes  friends 
by  the  score.  He  is  liberal  to  all  in  distress,  but 
never  gives  with  ostentatious  display.  He  is 
happy  in  his  expressions,  whether  of  condolence 
or  congratulation,  and  shoves  in  all  his  actions, 
sound  common  sense.  At  fifty  five  years  of  age 
Colonel  Evans  is  a  physical  and  mental  giant. 
He  stands  sis  feet  two  inches  in  height,  weighs 
210  pounds,  and  is  as  alert,  erect  and  vigorous  as 
a  man  of  twenty-five.  He  is  not  easily  provoked 
to  anger,  but  when  occasion  requires,  uses  his  great 
strength  like  an  athlete.  On  April  25,  1S90,  while 
walking  on  Madison  street  in  Chicago  he  saw  a  bully 
iusultiug  a  young  girl  with  indecent  talk  and  by 
trying  to  kiss  her.  Colonel  Evans  interfered  in 
the  girl's  behalf  and  was   told   by   the   loafer   to 


2l8 


i;ioci;Ari[Y  of  Illinois. 


mind  his  own  business.  "  Well!  out  in  the  country 
I  make  all  such  affairs  as  this  my  business,"  he 
said,  and  gave  the  bully  a  terrible  slap  in  the  face. 
The  chap  showed  right  and  Colonel  Evans  boxed 
his  ears  and  threw  him  into  the  gutter.  This  did 
not  satisfy  the  offender  and  he  followed  the  Col- 
onel with  aggravating  remarks  until  the  latter 
turned  short  and  knocked  him  into  the  middle  of 
the  street  with  a  left-hand  blow.  The  policemen 
who  witnessed  the  occurrence  would  not  interfere 
because  they  saw  the  bully  was  getting  what  he 
deserved,  and  also  because  they  recognized  in  Col- 
onel Evans  the  champion  of  their  pension  fund 
bill.  The  brain  of  Colonel  Evans  is  bright  and 
clear  and  continually  at  work  evolving  some  new 
scheme  for  adding  to  the  material  prosperity  of  Au- 
rora. Colonel  Evans  was  married  in  1858  to  Miss 
Alice  M.  Rhodes,  a  native  of  Lancashire,  England. 
They  have  one  son,  Arthur  R.Evans,  now  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  United  States  Express  Company  as  agent 
at  Aurora,  111.  Colonel  Evans  is  almost  as  well 
known  in  Chicago  as  he  is  in  Aurora  and  has 
some  large  business  interests  there,  as  well  as 
many  warm  friends.  He  is  a  director  in  the 
National  Bank  of  the  Republic,  of  Chicago,  and  is 
active  in  other  financial  and  industrial  concerns. 


WILLIAM   E.   MASON. 

HON.  WILLIAM  E.  MASON  was  born  in  the 
village  of  Franklinville,  Cattaraugus  county, 
New  York,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1850.  He  is  the 
son  of  Lewis  J.  and  Nancy  Winslow  Mason.  His 
father  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in 
Franklinville,  and  was  a  practical  man  of  affairs, 
of  high  character,  who  took  an  active  interest  in 
politics,  and  identified  himself  in  his  early  man- 
hood with  the  movement  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  When  the  Republican  party  was  organ- 
ized, he  became  a  member  of  that  party,  and  was 
an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  John  C.  Fremont  for 
the  Presidency  in  1856.  In  1858  he  removed  to 
Bentonsport,  Iowa,  and  lived  there  up  to  the  date 
of  his  death  in  1865.  William  E.  Mason  received 
his  education  at  the  public  schools  of  Franklin- 
ville and  Bentonsport,  and  had  spent  two  years  at 
Birmingham  college,  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
death.  Being  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  he  began  teaching  school,  and 
devoted  himself  alternately  to  teaching  and  study- 
ing until   1808.    He  then  went  to  Des  Moines, 


Iowa,  where  he  obtained  a  position  as  teacher  in 
the  public  schools,  which  he  held  for  two  years. 
In  1870  he  began  the  study  of  law  with  Hon. 
Thomas  F.  Withrow,  who  was  at  that  time  a  pros 
perous  corporation  lawyer.  Soon  after  Mr.  Mason 
entered  his  office,  Mr.  Withrow  was  appointed 
grin  iiil  solicitor  of  the  Rock  Island  railway  com- 
pany, and  removed  to  Chicago.  Mr.  Mason 
accompanied  Mr.  Withrow  to  this  city,  and  re- 
mained in  his  office  one  year.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  entered  the  office  of  Hon.  John  N.  Jewett, 
where  he  completed  his  legal  studies.  He  re- 
mained  with  Mr.  Jewett  for  some  years  after  his 
admission  to  the  bar.  In  1873,  about  the  time  he 
received  his  license  to  practice,  he  married  Miss 
Julia  Edith  White,  daughter  of  George  White,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Des  Moines,  and  now  has  an 
interesting  family  of  children.  In  1877  he  left  the 
office  of  Mr.  Jewett  to  form  a  partnership  with 
Judge  M.  R.  M.  Wallace.  He  soon  distinguished 
himself  at  the  bar,  especially  as  an  advocate. 
Very  early  in  his  career  it  was  observable  that  he 
belonged  to  that  active,  energetic  class  of  young 
men  who  never  remain  long  in  the  background  in 
any  community.  He  became  noted  as  a  political 
speaker.  Keen  in  his  perceptions,  clear  and  lucid 
in  the  logical  construction  of  his  arguments,  and 
with  a  remarkable  fluency  and  readiness  in  the 
expression  of  his  views,  he  gained  a  considerable 
reputation  as  an  orator,  and  his  abilities  on  the 
rostrum,  combined  with  a  geniality  and  bonhomie 
that  made  him  friends  wherever  he  went,  led  to 
his  election  to  the  lower  branch  of  the  Illinois 
legislature  in  1879,  before  he  had  reached  his 
thirtieth  year.  The  Republicans  were  not  success- 
ful at  the  polls  in  his  district  in  1881,  a  representa- 
tive of  the  labor  party  taking  Mr.  Mason's  place. 
He  returned  to  his  legal  practice,  and  obtained 
lucrative  engagements  as  attorney  for  several 
important  corporations.  After  practicing  for  a 
time  with  Judge  Wallace,  he  became  the  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Mason,  Ennis  &  Bates,  with 
which  he  is  still  identified.  While  he  has  achieved 
distinction  as  a  member  of  the  Chicago  bar,  and 
is  looked  upon  as  an  able  lawyer,  his  public 
services  have  won  for  him  the  commendation  and 
high  regard  of  a  large  constituency,  and  the  esteem 
of  many  of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  country. 
Evii  since  he  could  cast  a  vote,  he  has  been  an 
enthusiastic  member  of  the  Republican  party  and 
an  ardent  worker  for  the  success  of  the  organiza- 
tion. They  have  repaid  him  by  electing  him  to 
fill  successive  terms  of  public  office,  and  his  failure 
to  gain  a  majority   in  1800  was  due  to  no  with- 


\ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

MWVERSlTYaflLUMOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


2  19 


ilrawal  of  party  confidence,  but  more  than  any- 
thing else  to  the  revulsion  of  public  feeling  over 
the  first  effects  of  the  MeKinley  tariff  bill,  which 
swept  so  many  prominent  Republicans,  including 
the  author  of  the  bill  himself,  from  their  places  in 
Congress.  That  Mr.  Mason's  rejection,  in  1890, 
was  not  caused  by  any  withdrawal  of  party  con- 
tinence but  simply  to  a  tidal  wave  of  popular 
sentiment  occurring  in  what  is  called  an  "off  year," 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  eminent  Republicans  all 
over  the  country  lost  their  seats  at  the  same  time. 
Hut  we  have  somewhat  anticipated  the  natural 
course  of  our  narrative.  Mr.  Mason  was  not  per 
mitted  to  remain  long  in  retirement  after  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  service  as  a  member  of 
the  Illinois  House  of  Representatives,  in  1881. 
In  1882  he  was  promoted  to  the  State  Senate, 
where  he  represented  the  Ninth  Senatorial  Dis- 
trict, which  embraces  the  north-western  portion 
of  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  had  many  important 
interests  to  be  looked  after  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  state.  As  a  state  legislator  he  was 
conspicuous  not  only  for  his  ability,  but  for  his 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents,  his 
useful  consideration  of  proposed  legislation,  and 
his  close  attention  to  business  at  all  times.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  four  years. 
The  last  session  of  Mr.  Mason's  legislative  term 
was  the  famous  session  of  1885,  when  Genera] 
Ligan  was  elected  Senator  of  the  Unite. 1  States. 
after  a  long  protracted  tight  by  the  Democrats  on 
behalf  of  General  William  R.  Morrison.  Mr. 
Mason  was  the  chairman  of  tin-  judiciary  com 
inittee  of  the  Senate  at  that  time,  and  made 
several  characteristic  speeches  during  the  joint 
sessions  of  the  General  Assembly.  These  sessions 
used  to  begin  at  noon,  and  the  balloting  would 
last  from  half  an  hour  to  two  hours  each  day. 
Sometimes  little  dramatic  episodes  occurred,  such 
as  are  usually  incidental  to  such  occasions,  and 
Mr.  Mason  would  get  up  and  make  a  short  and 
pithy  speech,  which,  as  one  of  his  legislative  com- 
peers in  that  session  has  described  it,  "was  like 
the  crack  of  a  whip  among  an  unruly  herd,  and 
stirred  every  body  up."  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  what  is  known  as  the  "steering  com- 
mittee" in  General  Logan's  interest.  As  is  well 
known,  the  tight  was  protracted  until  a  Demo- 
cratic assemblyman  died,  and  his  place  was  filled 
by  a  Republican,  to  secure  whose  return  the  late 
Dan  Shepard  made  his  famous  "still  hunt"  through 
the  district,  in  the  disguise  of  a  peddler,  and 
brought  the  voters  in  sufficient  numbers  to  the 
polls  to  secure   the   election   of   General   Logan. 


That  was  an  unusually  bright  and  capable  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  comprising  such  men  as  Abner 
Taylor.  W.  .1.  Campbell,  "High  License"  Harper, 
and  E.  C.  Fuller,  and  among  them  Mr.  Mason 
ranked  as  one  of  the  foremost.  He  left  behind 
him  at  the  close  of  his  term  the  tradition,  that  he 
was  the  best  relator  of  a  humorous  story  and  the 
best  improptu  speaker  in  either  branch  of  the 
Legislature.  In  1888  he  was  nominated  for  rep- 
resentative in  Congress  from  the  third  congress- 
ional district  of  Illinois,  and  was  elected  after  a 
spirited  contest.  He  soon  justified  the  choice  of 
his  constituents,  and  won  laurels  for  himself  and 
his  district,  by  his  ability  as  a  parliamentarian  and 
his  ready  wit  as  a  debater.  His  first  speech  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  at  Washington,  was 
largely  impromptu,  and  the  best  things  in  it  were 
uttered  in  the  heat  of  debate,  without  previous 
preparation.  He  was  making  a  reply  to  some 
Southern  member,  who  interrupted  him  by  a  re- 
tort, which  at  once  put  Mr.  Mason  on  his  mettle. 
He  paid  his  Southern  antagonist  back  with  a  re- 
tort in  kind,  and  for  a  time  the  house  was  enter- 
tained with  the  competition  of  oratorical  fire- 
works between  the  two,  in  which  our  young  con 
gressman  was  admitted  to  have  had  the  best  of  it. 
Since  then  Mr.  Mason  has  distinguished  himself 
on  the  floor  of  the  house  on  numerous  occasions. 
and  few  of  the  younger  members  of  that  body 
have  been  listened  to  with  more  respectful  atten- 
tion. It  may  also  be  said  of  him.  that  during 
his  brief  term  in  Congress,  few  of  his  colleagues, 
except  those  who  have  for  many  years  held  their 
places  there,  have  had  greater  influence  in  shap- 
ing legislation  and  controlling  the  policy  of  the 
party  of  which  he  is  a  member.  So  good  a  rec- 
ord had  he  made  during  his  first  Congressional 
term  that  he  was  nominated  for  re-election,  but 
failed  for  the  reason  already  indicated.  There 
will  be  no  defections  from  the  party  standard  in 
1892,  and  there  is  no  visible  reason  why  Mr.  Mason 
should  not  still  have  a  long  and  honorable  public 
career  before  him.  He  stands  in  the  happy  and 
fortunate  position  of  being  still  able  to  determine 
the  shape  of  his  future  life,  and  he  has  two  allur- 
ing alternatives  before  him — either  to  pursue  rep- 
utation and  fortune  in  his  profession,  in  which  he 
has  already  an  honorable  place,  or  to  carve  out  a 
record  for  himself  in  the  legislative  annals  of  his 
country.  Both  alternatives  are  within  his  grasp, 
and  there  are  few  public  men  who  can  point  to 
such  a  record  at  the  time  of  life  at  which  he  has 
now  arrived.  While  in  Congress  Mr.  Mason  was 
one  of  the  most  popular  of  its  members,  and  there 


2  20 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


was  seldom  a  week  passed  over  that  the  Washing- 
ton correspondents  did  not  spice  their  letters  with 
some  characteristic  anecdote  of  him.  He  had  the 
reputation  ot  being  one  of  the  wittiest,  as  he  was 
one  of  the  most  genial  and  accessible,  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  House.  As  a  political  orator,  he  has 
been  always  in  demand  for  campaign  service.  In 
the  Presidential  campaign  of  1888  he  became 
known  as  an  effective  political  speaker,  and  dur- 
ing the  hotly  contested  campaign  of  1890,  in  Ohio, 
he  added  to  his  fame  as  a  campaign  orator.  Had 
he  devoted  more  attention  to  his  personal  interests 
in  his  own  district  at  the  time,  the  result  so  far  as 
he  is  concerned  might  have  been  different,  but 
none  can  withhold  from  him  the  admiration  due 
to  his  generous  sacrifice  of  personal  ambition  on 
the  altar  of  party  loyalty. 


ISAAC  L.   MORRISON. 

HON.  ISAAC  L.  MORRISON  was  born  Jan.  26, 
182G,  near  the  village  of  Glasgow,  Kentucky.  His 
grandfather  was  Andrew  Morrison.  He  was  from 
the  North  of  Ireland,  but  the  date  of  his  emigra- 
tion to  the  colonies  is  not  known.  However,  he  was 
settled,  near  Orange  Court  House,  Virginia,  and 
had  a  family,  at  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolution.  He  enlisted  in  the  Continental  army, 
and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  Isaac 
L.  Morrison's  mother  was  of  the  Welborn  family 
of  North  Carolina.  Her  father,  Samuel  Welborn, 
was  also  a  soldier,  and  served  under  General 
Greene  in  his  campaigns  against  Cornwallis.  John 
Organ  Morrison,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  An- 
drew Morrison,  and  father  of  Isaac  L.  Morrison,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one  moved  from  Virginia  and  set- 
tled in  Kentucky  in  1793.  He  was  a  farmer.  Hedied 
when  Isaac  L.Morrison  was  fifteen.  As  the  eldest 
of  the  sons  at  home  the  management  of  the  farm 
was  left  to  his  charge.  Prom  that  time  till  he  was 
twenty  the  subject  of  this  sketch  continued  to  man- 
age the  farm,  at  the  same  time  reading  history  and 
acquiring  knowledge  in  other  branches,  so  far  as 
was  within  his  reach.  In  his  twentieth  year,  Isaac 
L.  entered  Masonic  College,  in  Ky.,  and  continued 
his  studies  there  for  two  years,  when  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  the  law.  He  read  in  the  office 
of  a  practicing  lawyer  for  eighteen  months,  and 
was  admitted  in  1819.  He  remained  in  Kentucky 
till  1851,  when  he  settled  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois, 
where   he   has  since  resided.     Mr.  Morrison  came 


to  Illinois  a  stranger,  and  unaided  by  any  influ- 
ence, except  that  of  merit  and  honorable  ambition, 
he  quickly  gained  recognition  as  an  able  prac- 
titioner, and  this,  with  a  well-deserved  reputation 
for  unbending  integrity,  and  unceasing  energy 
soon  placed  him  in  the  front  ranks  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  was  soon  known  as  an  adept  in  the  sci- 
ence of  special  pleading,  and,  although,  having  to 
contend  often  with  some  of  the  ablest  of  the  bar 
at  that  time,  he  never  lost  his  clients'  confi- 
dence in  his  ability.  His  one  purpose  from  the 
start  was  to  win  the  causes  entrusted  to  him  in 
an  upright,  honest  way,  and  in  this,  few  lawyers 
have  been  more  successful.  His  skill  in  special 
pleading,  and  in  the  direct  and  cross  examination 
of  witnesses  is  recognized,  and  his  services  are 
always  in  demand.  Mr.  Morrison  is  a  man  of 
force,  and  while  he  generally  tries  his  cases  and 
makes  his  arguments  with  the  sole  object  of  plac- 
ing the  facts  before  the  court  in  the  most  favora- 
ble light  for  his  client's  interest,  rather  than  any 
attempt  at  eloquence,  he  can,  if  he  so  desires,  use 
invective  and  sarcasm  with  effect.  Like  all  men 
of  pronounced  force,  Mr.  Morrison  has  at  times 
aroused  bitter  feelings  against  himself,  but  his 
treatment  of  his  antagonists  has  been  so  uniformly 
fair,  and  his  practice  has  been  so  conducted,  that 
no  lasting  resentment  has  resulted.  He  justly 
commands  both  the  respect  of  the  bench  and  bar, 
as  a  lawyer,  and  of  the  community  as  an  honora- 
ble and  public  spirited  man.  Mr.  Morrison  has 
never  been  a  seeker  for  office,  and  his  hearty  de- 
testation of  the  begging  for,  and  the  giving  of 
patronage, has  kept  him  from  being  a  politician. 
He  was  an  opponent  of  slavery  before  he  left  his 
native  state,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  ever  since  its  organization  in  Illinois. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  Republican  State 
Convention,  that  of  1850.  and  also  to  that  of  I860. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  National 
Convention  of  1801,  and  also  served  as  a  member 
of  the  Republican  state  central  committee  for 
that  year.  He  represented  the  thirty-eighth  dis- 
trict in  the  State  Legislature,  in  1877,  1879  and 
again  in  1883.  His  services  to  his  party  and  Un- 
people of  his  state,  were  of  great  value,  especially 
in  the  session  of  1883.  The  Republicans  at  that 
time,  organized  the  House  of  Representatives, 
having  only  one  majority,  and  put  themselves 
on  record  as  responsible  for  the  legislation  of  that 
body.  Shortly  after  this,  one  Republican  member 
was  taken  sick  and  another  declined  to  vote  with 
his  party.  Being  thus  left  without  the  means  of 
controlling  the  House,  and  at  the  same  time  being 


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sponsors  for  its  acts,  the  Republicans  needed  the 
services  of  a  cool,  able,  intrepid  leader,  and  Mr. 
Morrison  was  placed  in  command  upon  the  floor 
of  the  House.  He  was  recognized  at  once  as  the 
ablest  lawyer,  parliamentarian  and  debater,  on  the 
floor,  and  his  opinion  was  generally  deferred  to. 
At  the  same  time  Mr.  Morrison  was  chairman  of 
the  judiciary  committee  and  in  this  capacity 
assisted  in  moulding  all  the  important  measures 
of  the  session,  including  the  Harper  high  license 
bill.  Major  James  A.  Connelly  and  Mr.  Morrison 
prepared  the  original,  which  was  a  skeleton  bill 
and  it  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Harper.  This  bill 
was  reported  from  the  committee  on  licenses,  with- 
out recommendation,  and  against  the  more  astute 
judgment  of  the  Honorable  Elijah  M.  Haines. 
This  bill  was  amended  in  second  reading,  and  put 
in  the  shape  it  ultimately  passed  the  House  and 
became  a  law.  Mr.  Harper  was  not  a  debater, 
but  a  very  judicious  and  industrious  friend  of  the 
bill.  There  were  some  Republicans  representing 
constituencies  opposed  to  the  passage  of  tin- 
bill,  and  they  failed  to  obtain  the  support 
of  these  representatives;  upon  the  other  band, 
t  lure  «ne  nine  Democrats  who  refused  to  obey 
the  decision  of  their  party,  and  supported  the  bill. 
The  opposition  was  led  by  the  Hon.  Elijah  M. 
Haines,  a  gentleman  of  very  great  skill  in  all  legis 
lative  proceedings.  Mr.  Morrison  led  the  chain 
pions  of  the  measure,  ami  in  the  discussion  and 
management  of  the  bill,  won  for  himself  the 
admiration  of  the  opponents  of  the  measure.  For 
some  three  months,  almost  every  move  in  the 
House  had  for  its  object,  either  to  obstruct  the 
passage  of  this  bill  or  to  advance  it.  For  ten  days 
the  House  was  in  a  deadlock  over  a  contested 
election  matter,  the  result,  to  either  increase  the 
strength  of  the  friends  of  the  bill,  or  to  hold  a  man 
in  a  seat  to  which  he  was  not  elected.  After  more 
than  three  months  spent  in  the  struggle,  the  bill 
passed  the  House,  was  sent  to,  and  quickly  passed 
the  Senate,  was  signed  by  the  Governor  and  be 
came  a  law.  The  district  represented  by  Mr. 
Morrison  was  largely  interested  in  the  charitable 
institutions  of  the  state,  and  Mr.  Morrison  was  at 
all  tunes  willing  to  work  for  the  passage  of  liberal 
appropriations  for  the  care  of  the  inmates  of  the 
same.  In  1880,  Mr.  Morrison  was  nominated  for 
Congress  and  made  a  canvass  of  his  district,  not 
with  any  expectation,  or  even  desire  to  be  elected, 
the  district  being  controlled  by  a  large  Democratic 
majority.  He  received  a  vote,  largely  reducing 
the  usual  Democratic  majority  in  his  district. 
Since  the  closeof  his  term,  last  mentioned,  in  the 


Legislature,  Mr.  Morrison  has  retired  from  poli- 
tics and  has  since  taken  no  active  part  in  political 
matters,  except  to  address  meetings  in  the  interest 
of  his  party,  when  called  upon.  His  time  is  now 
given  almost  wholly  to  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. Principal  among  his  clients  is  the  aggrega- 
tion of  railway  corporations,  known  as  the  "Jack- 
sonville Southeastern  Line."  of  which  he  is  chief 
solicitor  and  vice-president.  Mr.  Morrison  was 
married  in  1853  to  Anna  R.,  eldest  daughter  of 
Jonathan  and  Miriam  Weeks  Tucker,  of  New  York 
City.  A  son  and  daughter  have  been  born  to  them. 
The  residence  of  Mr.  Morrison  is  in  the  western 
part  of  the  city  of  Jacksonville.  The  house  is 
finely  situated  in  a  small  grove  of  tine  old  forest 
trees,  surrounded  by  a  large  ami  well  kept  lawn. 
An  artistically  arranged  interior  bespeaks  the  cul- 
tured tastes  of  the  family.  There  are  many  orna- 
ments which  go  to  make  home  attractive,  not  the 
least'of  which  is  a  large  and  well  selected  library. 
Mr.  Morrison  is  a  man  of  modest  aims,  and  entirely 
free  from  ostentation  or  show.  In  his  every  daj 
life,  as  well  as  in  court,  or  legislative  hall,  he  is  in- 
different to  personal  appearance,  his  mind  beiDg 
concentrated  on  the  successful  handling  of  the 
subject  to  which,  for  the  time  being,  he  is  giving 
his  attention. 


EDWARD    P.   RIPLEY. 

EDWARD  PAYSON  RIPLEY  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Chicago,  actively  connected  for  many 
years  with  several  of  the  principal  western  rail- 
roads, and  now  third  vice-president  of  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad,  was  born  at  Dor- 
chester, now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Boston.  Massa- 
chusetts, October  30,  1815.  The  Ripley  family  to 
which  he  belongs  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  re- 
spectable in  New  England,  having  been  founded 
thereby  two  brothers  who  came  from  England  to 
Massachusetts  in  1630.  Mr.  Ripley's  father, 
Charles  P.  Ripley,  was  a  native  of  Vermont.  He 
removed  to  Massachusetts  in  early  manhood  and 
established  himself  in  the  grocery  business  at 
Dorchester,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in 
1866.  He  married,  in  1843,  Miss  Anne  Payson, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Payson,  of  Dorchester.  This 
lady  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  a  member 
of  the  same  family  as  the  distinguished  scholar 
and  divine,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Payson.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch  finished  his  education   at 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


the  Dorchester  high  school,  one  of  the  best  insti- 
tutions of  its  grade  in  the  United  States.  At  the 
age  "I  seventeen  years  he  entered  commercial  life 
as  a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  drygoods  business 
at  Boston,  remaining  thus  employed  several 
years.  About  the  time  he  became  of  age  he 
entered  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company  as  a  clerk  in  the  freight  depart- 
ment of  the  Boston  office.  In  1870  he  left  this 
position  to  accept  a  responsible  clerkship  in  the 
Boston  office  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quiney 
Railroad  company,  his  duties  connecting  him  with 
both  the  freight  and  passenger  departments.  Two 
years  later  he  was  made  the  New  England  freight 
and  passenger  agent  of  the  company,  with  head- 
quarters at  Boston.  In  1876  he  was  appointed 
general  eastern  agent  of  the  company  for  the  ter- 
ritory east  of  Buffalo,  still  retaining  his  official 
headquarters  at  Boston.  In  1878  he  was  made 
general  freight  agent  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington 
&  Quiney  system,  with  headquarters  at  Chicago. 
In  1887  the  office  of  traffic  manager  was  created  by 
the  directory  of  the  road,  and  his  special  excel- 
lence in  this  department  was  recognized  by  his  ap- 
pointment to  till  it.  Further  promotion  came  to 
him  in  1888,  when  he  was  made  general  manager  of 
the  road.  This  position  he  resigned  on  June  1, 
1890;  and  on  August  1,  following,  he  was  elected 
third  vice-president  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  Rail  Road  Company,  his  offices  being  in 
Chicago.  Mr.  Ripley's  specialty  is  traffic,  and  in 
this  department  he  stands  second  to  no  railway 
official  in  America.  A  quarter  of  a  century's  ex- 
perience in  railroad  affairs  has  made  him  a  master 
in  this.  He  brought  to  the  railroad  business  a 
well  trained  and  active  mind,  and  his  quarter  of  a 
century  of  experience  in  this  line  has  broadened  and 
perfected  his  knowledge  of  it  to  a  degree  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  surpass.  Mr.  Ripley's  various 
promotions  and  present  position  have  been  won  by 
unremitting  application  to  duty  and  an  intelli- 
gent comprehension  of  the  demands  of  the  public. 
He  is  one  of  the  galaxy  of  brillant  young  Eastern 
men  to  whom  the  rapidly  growing  West  is  in- 
debted for  practical  work  of  inestimable  value  and 
the  City  of  Chicago  for  a  number  of  its  most  ma- 
terial and  enduring  successes.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  untiring  in  his  labors  to  secure  for  Chicago 
the  World's  Fair,  and  at  the  election  of  directors 
in  April,  1891,  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  direc- 
tory and  appointed  on  the  committees  on  ways 
and  means  and  transportation.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Chicago  Club.  On  October  4, 1871, 
he  was    married    to    Miss  Frances   E.   Harding, 


daughter  of  Wilder  Harding,  of  Dorchester,  Mas- 
sachusetts. They  have  four  children,  Alice,  Fran- 
ces, Robert  and  Frederick.  The  two  girls  are  now 
in  Germany  finishing  their  education.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ripley  have  resided  since  marriage  in  the 
township  of  Riverside,  where  for  the  last  seven 
years  Mr.  Ripley  has  filled  the  office  of  supervisor. 


xMATTHEW  T.  SCOTT. 

MATTHEW  THOMPSON  SCOTT,  a  promi- 
nent citizen  and  wealthy  business  man  of  Bloom- 
ington,  and  one  of  the  largest  landed  proprietors 
in  tin'  state,  was  born  at  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
Feb.  21,  1828,  and  died  at  his  home,  in  Blooming- 
ton,  111.,  on  May  21,  1891.  He  came  from  Revo- 
lutionary stock  and  from  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent of  the  old  families  of  Kentucky.  On  his 
father's  side  he  traced  his  ancestry  in  an  unbroken 
line  to  Robert  Scott,  an  old  Covenanter  hero,  who 
fought  at  the  battle  of  Bothwell  Briggs,  in  1679, 
for  the  Covenant  and  the  Crown.  This  ancestor 
was  a  member  of  the  old  Scottish  parliament  and 
opposed  the  union  of  the  crowns  during  the  reign 
of  Queen  Anne,  because  of  the  ignoring  of  the 
Scottish  crown  and  name  in  the  new  Parliament  of 
Great  Britain.  For  this  offense,  he.  with  a  num- 
ber of  others  of  the  two  old  houses  of  Parliament 
was  immured  in  the  Tower  of  London  with  the 
risk  of  their  heads.  Upon  his  release  by  George 
I.,  when  brought  over  from  Hanover  to  take  the 
throne  in  virtue  of  his  being  a  descendant  of  the 
Stuarts,  Robert  Scott  and  his  friend,  the  Earl  of 
Belhaven,  a  member  of  the  upper  house  of  the  old 
Parliament,  emigrated  in  disgust  to  the  north  of 
Ireland.  The  eldest  son  of  Robert,  named  John, 
emigrated  to  America  about  172.r>  and  settled  first 
in  New  Jersey.  His  son,  Matthew,  married  at 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  in  1702  or  1763,  Miss  Betsy 
Thompson,  daughter  of  William  Thompson,  who 
was  commissioned  a  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary 
army  on  June  25,  1775,  and  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Brigadier-General  on  March  1,  1770.  Matthew 
T.  Scott,  Sr.,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  grandson  of  this  couple  and  was  one  of 
three  brothers  who  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania 
to  Kentucky  at  an  early  day.  One  of  these 
brothers,  Dr.  Joseph  Scott,  settled  at  Lexington, 
where  he  became  a  leading  physician  and  also  one 
of  the  principal  citizens.  The  other  brother,  Dr. 
John   Scott,   was   the  confidential   friend   and   a 


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223 


member  of  the  personal  staff  of  General  Win. 
Henry  Harrison,  afterwards  President  of  the 
United  States.  Each  of  the  latter  named  his 
eldest  son  after  the  other,  one  becoming  the  Hon. 
Scott  Harrison  father  of  President  Benjamin 
Harrison,  and  the  other,  Dr.  Harrison  Scott,  a 
prominent  physician  of  Illinois.  The  three  Scott 
brothers,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  were  all 
men  of  refinement,  liberal  education,  sterling  vir- 
tues and  great  force  of  character;  in  themselves 
splendid  illustrations  of  the  many  noble  qualities 
which  characterized  the  revolutionary  stock  of 
Scotch-Irish  blood,  from  which  they  were 
descended.  Matthew  T.  Scott.  Sr.,  made  a  study 
of  finance  ami  rose  to  distinguished  eminence  in 
this  department.  He  became  associated  with  the 
Northern  Bank  of  Kentucky  at  its  incorporation, 
and  for  about  thirty  years,  as  cashier  or  president, 
guarded  its  interests  and  shaped  its  policy.  The 
business  of  this  bank  extended  from  New  York  to 
New  Orleans  and  embraced  transactions  over  a 
large  part  of  the  Ohio  valley.  It  passed  through 
several  financial  storms  which  wrecked  the  busi- 
ness of  the  country  and  ruined  great  industries, 
without  ever  suspending  specie  payment  or  hav- 
ing its  credit  impaired,  or  omitting  its  regular 
dividend  of  eight  per  cent.  The  skill  and  fidelity 
with  which  Mr.  Scott  managed  its  affairs  gave 
him  wide  renown  in  the  business  world  and  his 
name  became  a  synonym  throughout  Kentucky 
for  the  highest  personal  and  commercial  honor. 
Matthew  T.  Scott,  Sr.,  married  Miss  Webb,  whose 
father,  Isaac  Webb,  a  Virginia  gentleman  of  a 
prominent  colonial  family,  settled  near  Lexington, 
Ky.,  at  an  early  date.  A  brother  of  this  lady  was 
Dr.  James  Webb,  whose  daughter  Lucy  became 
the  wife  of  General  R.  B.  Hayes,  afterwards  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  Lexington.  Kentucky, 
at  that  day,  was  probably  the  most  conspicuous 
religious,  educational  and  social  centre  west  of 
the  Alleghenies.  It  was  the  home  of  Henry  Clay, 
the  greatest  political  leader  of  the  day.  and  as 
such  enjoyed  unusual  prominence  politically.  Its 
society  possessed  both  wealth  and  refinement,  and 
the  educational  facilities  for  youth  were  except- 
ionally excellent.  It  was  something  at  that  day, 
for  a  youth  susceptible  as  was  Matthew  Scott  to 
the  good  influences  of  such  surroundings,  to  be  so 
fortunately  placed.  He  imbibed  the  ennobling 
stimulus  of  these  environments  in  his  youth,  and 
illustrated  them  in  all  his  after  life.  He  received 
a  careful  preparatory  training,  and  was  sent  to 
Centre  College,  at  Danville,  the  educational  pride 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  then  under  the  presi- 


dency of  Dr.  John  C.  Young.  Here  he  graduated  in 
the  class  of  1846  with  a  high  reputation  for 
scholarship,  being  then  but  eighteen  years  of  age. 
Even  thus  early  in  life  he  was  a  remarkable  young 
man.  Without  any  affectation  of  superior  virtue  he 
eschewed  the  ordinary  vices  common  among  men 
of  all  ages,  never  indulging  in  liquor,  tobacco,  pro- 
fanity or  gambling.  He  was,  nevertheless,  very- 
popular  with  his  associates,  and  being  gifted  with 
marked  physical  strength  took  rank  as  a  leader  in 
their  sports.  When  nineteen  years  of  age  he 
received  from  his  father  an  interest  in  a  large 
landed  property  in  Ohio,  of  which  the  latter  was 
owner;  and  thither  Matthew  went  and  spent  sev- 
eral years.  It  was  while  he  resided  at  this  place 
that  his  marvelous  faculty  for  perceiving  the 
latent  advantages  of  a  locality  first  manifested 
itself.  Impressed  by  the  possibility  of  early  and 
great  developments  in  the  then  sparsely  settled 
State  of  Illinois,  he  invested  for  himself  and  differ- 
ent members  of  his  family,  in  a  large  amount  of 
government  lands,  and  at  once,  with  the  boldness, 
confidence  and  resolution  which  characterized  all 
his  business  ventures,  proceeded  to  reduce  them 
as  rapidly  as  possible  to  cultivation.  Speaking  to 
a  friend,  shortly  before  his  death,  he  said  that  he 
had  made  and  owned  over  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  of  hedge  fence;  had  reduced  to  cultivation, 
for  himself  and  others,  as  much  as  sixteen  thous- 
and acres  of  prairie  land  in  Illinois  and  Iowa;  had 
built  on  these  lands  nearly  two  hundred  houses; 
had  made  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of 
ditch,  and  the  tile  drains  for  thoroughly  tiling  five 
thousand  acres.  He  added,  that  single-handed  he 
had  conducted  tin'  largest  business  transaction 
ever  consummated  in  the  State  of  Tennessee  by 
one  man,  viz;  the  purchase  and  sale  of  forty-six 
thousand  acres  of  mineral  and  timber  lands.  One 
of  Mr.  Scoffs  earliest  enterprises  was  the  founding 
of  the  city  of  Chenoa  (Indian— Chenowa)  in  1856. 
His  farm  at  this  place  was  the  first  large  one  in 
the  country  cultivated  without  fences — except 
those  around  the  pasture  lots  to  confine  his  own 
stock.  His  successful  experiments  in  this  line  en- 
couraged many  to  follow  his  example  and  led  to  the 
rapid  settlement  and  improvement  of  that  section 
of  the  state.  The  passage  of  the  so-called  "  No  fence 
law  "  by  the  Illinois  legislature  was  the  result  of  his 
testimony  before  a  committee  of  that  body.  Mr. 
Scott  had  great  faith  in  investments  in  lands  and 
he  steadily  increased  his  possessions  in  realty. 
His  next  step  was  to  improve  and  cultivate.  He 
was  never  a  mere  speculator,  but  a  liberal,  enter- 
prising, far-seeing  business  man,  whose  operations 


224 


l!IO(  iKAPHV  OF   ILLINOIS. 


all  tended  to  developing  the  resources,  and  build 
nig  up  the  prosperity  of  the  community,  and  state. 
As  a  business  man  he  was  extremely  bold,  re- 
sourceful, and  self-reliant,  and  it  has  been  truth- 
fully said  of  him,  "that  no  man  gave  more  earnest 
effort  toward  developing  the  young  and  growing 
commonwealth  of  Illinois.  While  capable  of  the 
largest  transactions,  and  built  for  the  broader 
arena  of  life,  he  was  also  of  the  most  generous 
and  kindly  nature,  a  warm  and  steadfast  friend, 
and  achieved  success  without  making  enemies,  or 
arousing  envy,  because  his  own  upbuilding  meant 
the  advancement  of  many  others."  From  1870  to 
1872  he  resided  at  Springfield,  111.,  whither  he  had 
removed  in  the  hope  of  benefitting  his  wife's  health. 
In  the  latter  year  he.  chose  the  town  of  Bloom- 
ington,  111.,  as  his  permanent  residence  and 
bought  the  beautiful  home  there  in  which  he 
passed  the  remaining  twenty  years  of  hislife.  lb' 
became  prominently  identified  with  the  interests 
of  the  city  and  invested  largely  in  enterprises 
within  the  county.  He  organized  and  became 
president  of  the  McLean  County  Coal  Company, 
which  proved  of  the  highest  value  to  both  city 
and  county,  greatly  increasing  their  importance 
and  prosperity.  He  remained  at  the  head  of  this 
great  enterprise  until  his  death.  A  man  of  intense 
public  spirit  he  invested  in  a  number  of  minor 
enterprises  on  general  principles,  most  of  them 
having  their  basis  in  real  estate.  One  of  the 
most  important  of  these,  to  prosecute  which  he 
organized  a  company  and  became  its  president — 
led  to  the  development  of  the  celebrated  Galena 
(Kansas)  lead  mining  district.  A  volume  might 
be  filled  with  reminiscences  of  his  great  business 
activity.  Energetic,  far-seeing,  honest  and  public- 
spirited,  he  operated  boldly  and  continuously  and 
by  the  stimulus  of  his  exertions  roused  the  enter- 
prise of  others,  and  through  this  means  added  to 
his  own  great  labors,  and  furnished  thousands  of 
laborers  remunerative  employment.  He  was  never 
a  public  man  in  the  ordinary  sense.  He  was  never 
an  office  holder,  or  an  office  seeker,  having  no 
taste  for  official  or  political  life,  even  if  his  busi- 
ness interests  would  have  permitted  him  to  enter 
it.  But  during  all  his  business  life,  he  held  many 
important  relations  to  the  public  interest  through 
the  business  enterprises  he  conducted,  for  in  all  of 
them  the  public  was  a  large  indirect  beneficiary. 
In  fact  he  never  sought  to  figure  personally  before 
the  public  in  any  light  or  any  relation.  His  in- 
fluence was  felt  as  a  strong,  steady,  moving  force, 
in  the  social,  moral  and  industrial  movements  of 
the  community,  rather  than  seen,  and  no  man  of 


his  real  influence  and  force  made  so  modest  a 
figure  before  the  public.  In  politics,  he  was, 
until  the  war,  a  "Henry  Clay  Whig."  In  1860  he 
supported  Bell  and  Everett,  and  was  a  strong 
advocate  of  compromise  before  and  during  the 
war,  on  a  basis  of  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
In  1878,  he  with  others,  founded  the  Bloomington 
Bulletin,  a  democratic  newspaper,  of  which  he 
subsequently  became  the  sole  proprietor.  No 
better  evidence  of  his  real  modesty  can  be  adduced 
than  the  fact,  that  though  for  many  years  the 
owner  of  two  newspapers,  his  name  rarely  appeared 
in  either.  While  intensely  devoted  to  business, 
and  a  man  of  very  decided  views  and  strong  con- 
victions, he  was  by  nature  of  a  gentle  and  affec- 
tionate disposition.  His  moral  standing  was  high 
and  he  lived  up  to  it.  Said  one  who  knew  him 
well — himself  a  commanding  factor  in  the  business 
world— "his  word  was  as  good  as  his  bond;  he 
was  the  soul  of  honor,  and  the  better  one  knew 
him,  the  greater  the  respect,  and  the  warmer  the 
friendship.  His  genial  companionship,  his  tena- 
cious regard  for  the  simple  truth,  his  unostenta- 
tious generosity  and  large  hearted  Christian 
benevolence  were  among  the  qualities  that  greatly 
endeared  him  to  my  heart.  I  considered  him  the 
possessor  of  the  brightest  mind  in  my  whole 
acquaintance."  His  home  life  was  beautiful  and 
satisfying,  and  in  it  he  found  his  chief  enjoyment. 
There  the  influences  were  gentle  and  refining,  and 
the  intellectual  and  moral  graces  thoroughly 
cultivated.  When  death  came — the  result  of  a 
cold,  which  developed  pneumonia  and  bronchial 
difficulties— it  was  felt  to  be  a  public  calamity. 
"Well-descended  and  well-bred,"  reared  in  a  life 
of  constant  and  healthful  activity,  he  preserved  a 
sound  mind  in  a  sound  body  to  the  last.  His  life 
was  that  of  a  "  high-souled,  large-minded,  noble- 
hearted  Christian  gentleman."  Mr.  Scott  is  sur- 
vived by  his  widow,  Mrs.  Julia  Green  Scott,  and 
two  daughters— Mary  Letitia  Scott  and  Julia 
Green  Scott.  Mrs.  Scott,  to  whom  he  was  married 
in  1859,  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Lewis 
Warner  Green,  D.  D.,  then  president  of  Center 
College,  Danville,  Ky.,  previously  president  of 
Hampden-Sidney  College,  Virginia,  and  also  of 
Transylvania  University,  Kentucky.  Through  her 
father  Mrs.  Scott  is  descended  from  one  of  the 
early  colonial  families  of  Virginia,  one  of  her  unci's 
tors  being  Robert  Green,  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses  in  1731.  She  is  also  descended  through 
Lawrence  Washington,  from  Leonard  Washington, 
who  with  his  wife  Ann,  emigrated  to  America  in 
1659  from  Warton,  county  Lancaster,  England. 


OF  THE 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLIM  US. 


--:> 


JACOB  STRAWN. 

JACOB  STRAWN  was,  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
in  1865,  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  prosperous 
farmers  and  live  stock  dealers  in  the  West.  He 
was  a  man  who  had  made  a  study  of  the  business 
from  early  life,  and  was  master  of  all  its  details. 
He  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  Penn.,  May  30, 
1800.  His  father  was  Isaiah  Shawn,  a  well-to-do 
farmer  in  Somerset  county.  The  family  is  of  Eng- 
lish-Quaker origin.  Mr.  Strawn's  mother  was 
Rachel  (Reed)  Strawn,  a  native  of  Sussex  county. 
New  Jersey.  The  first  seventeen  years  of  Mr. 
Strawn's  life  were  passed  on  his  father's  farm  in 
Somerset  county,  uneventful  except  for  the  fact 
that  when  he  was  ten  years  old  he  went  to  visit 
one  of  his  aunts  and  found  her  feeding  calves. 
The  boy  became  interested,  and.  learning  that 
cattle  raising  was  a  profitable  business,  resolved 
tn  follow  it  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  earn 
his  own  living.  This  resolution  he  never  forgot, 
and  for  nine  years  it  was  his  daily  hope  and  am- 
bition. As  a  boy  Jacob  Strawn  received  a  fair 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
county,  and  when  at  the  age.  if  seventeen  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Licking  county,  Ohio,  he 
was  well  fitted  tn  take  care  of  himself.  Two  years 
later — in  1819 — he  married  Miss  Matilda  Greene, 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  Greene,  of  Licking  o  >untj  . 
and  settled  on  a  farm  near  his  father's  place.  He 
began  farming  on  a  small  scale,  and  was  success- 
ful from  the  start.  His  capital  was  limited,  but 
his  stock  of  integrity,  shrewdness,  tact  and  com- 
mon sense,  was  large,  and  he  carried  through  with 
profit  many  transactions  in  which  men  of  larger 
means,  but  less  ability,  would  have  failed.  Pros- 
perous as  Mr.  Strawn  was  in  Ohio,  however,  his 
real  start  on  the  highway  to  fortune  dates  from 
the  time  he  settled  in  Illinois.  His  first  visit  to 
this  state  was  made  in  February.  ls:J>>.  when  he 
went  to  Morgan  county  to  buy  stock.  He  was 
attracted  by  the  richness  of  the  land,  and  instead 
of  buying  the  horses  he  was  after,  he  invested  his 
money  in  land.  This  done  he  returned  to  Ohio 
and  closed  out  his  business  there.  On  May  17. 
1831,  Mr.  Strawn  removed  to  Morgan  county,  and 
entered  vipon  the  career  which  made  him  famous. 
Mrs.  Strawn  died  soon  after  reaching  Illinois, 
leaving  a  family  of  seven  children,  of  whom  two 
are  now  living.  In  July.  1832,  Mr.  Strawn  mar- 
ried Miss  Phebe Gates,  daughter  of  Samuel  Gates, 
of  Greene  county,  a  woman  of  tine  presence,  sweet 
disposition  and  rare  good  smse.  By  this  marriage 
Mr.  Strawn  had  six  children,  of  whom  three  are 


living.  The  first  few  years  of  Mr.  Strawn's  life  in 
Illinois  were  passed  in  studying  the  various  mar- 
kets and  conditions  of  trade,  and  in  the  buying  up 
of  desirable  farms.  Once  possessed  of  a  true 
knowledge  of  the  situation  he  pressed  his  business 
so  persistently  that  he  was  soon  in  command  of 
the  beef  trade  in  central  Illinois.  The  fact  that 
Jacob  Strawn  sent  a  drove  of  cattle  to  market 
was  a  guarantee  of  their  worth,  and  his  stock 
always  brought  high  prices.  He  practically  con- 
trolled the  trade  in  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis, 
and  held  it  by  honest  dealing  against  men  who 
tried  all  sorts  of  trickery  to  take  it  from  him.  At 
one  time  the  buyers  in  St.  Louis  combined  and 
agreed  not  to  buy  any  of  Mr.  Strawn's  cattle  except 
at  their  own  price.  Mr.  Strawn  was  then  offering 
stock  in  that  market  at  a  fair  price,  but  they  re- 
fused to  touch  it.  He  said  nothing,  but  sent 
agents  out  on  all  the  roads  leading  into  the  city 
and  bought  up  every  head  of  stock  coming  in. 
Two  days'  experience  convinced  his  opponents 
that  they  were  at  his  mercy,  and  they  never  both- 
ered him  afterward.  Mr.  Strawn  conducted  his 
cattle  business  on  broad  principles.  He  would 
handle  none  but  the  best,  and  they  must  be  in  the 
pink  of  condition  when  they  left  his  hands.  He 
wassoundly  honest  in  all  his  trading.  He  despised 
all  deception,  whether  in  buying  or  selling,  and 
his  word  was  freely  taken  by  purchasers,  who 
often  bought  cattle  of  him  without  seeing  them. 
Mr.  Strawn  made  money  very  fast.  He  did  so 
because  he  understood  hisbusines,  and  conducted 
it  on  an  immense  scale.  He  loved  a  farmer's  life, 
but  nn  ordinary  farm  was  large  enough  for  him. 
He  wanted  land  by  the  thousands  of  acres,  and  he 
was  constantly  adding  to  his  possessions,  until  he 
became  the  largest  land  owner  in  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois. His  lands  were  well  farmed  and  nearly  all 
the  produce  was  fed  to  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep,  and 
the  largest  possible  profit  thus  secured.  In  the 
handling  of  his  enormous  business  Mr.  Strawn 
employed  an  army  of  men,  and  he  rarely  had  a 
poor  one  among  them.  He  was  a  good  judge  of 
human  character,  and  had  the  faculty  of  surround- 
ing himself  with  assistants  who  understood  his 
policy,  and  were  act  ive  in  carrying  it  out.  He  was 
a  man  without  bad  habits,  and  would  not  tolerate 
them  in  others.  He  had  no  use  for  men  who 
drank  liquor  or  used  tobacco.  Vast  as  were  his 
interests,  Mr.  Strawn  gave  active  supervision  to 
them.  He  did  nothing  by  proxy.  He  not  only 
laid  out  hard  work  for  others,  but  he  did  lots  of  it 
himself.  By  his  own  example  he  incited  others  to 
labor.     Plain  in  manner  and  dress,  rough  at  times 


226 


moOU.UMIV  OK    ILLINOIS. 


in  speech,  he  always  commanded  the  respect  of 
all  who  labored  for  him.  No  weather  was  too 
severe,  no  hardship  or  privation  too  great  to  turn 
him  from  a  self-appointed  task.  Day  and  night 
he  was  in  the  saddle  riding  about  his  estate, 
looking  after  the  work,  and,  when  necessary,  tak- 
ing a  hand  in  it  himself.  Mr.  Strawn  was  a  man  of 
powerful  physique  and  iron  constitution.  None 
other  could  have  stood  the  great  strain  to  which 
his  body  and  mind  were  constantly  subjected. 
His  health  gave  way  at  last,  but  it  was  only  after 
toil  and  exposure  that  would  have  wrecked  a  doz- 
en ordinary  men.  Mr.  Strawn  amassed  (for  a  far- 
mer) a  great  fortune.  He  was  a  natural  money 
maker  and  money  saver.  There  was  nothing  of 
the  speculator  in  his  character.  He  believed  in 
hard  work,  in  frugal  living,  and  in  the  investment 
of  capital  in  safe,  legitimate  trade,  where  a  profit 
was  reasonably  sure.  He  was  never  hard-hearted 
toward  those  who  borrowed  money  from  him  and 
failed  to  meet  their  obligations,  and  he  never  op- 
pressed the  worthy  poor.  He  had  little  patience 
with  those  who  were  lazy,  neglectful  or  vicious. 
The  poor  workman  never  got  any  more  than 
the  agreed  wages;  the  good  workman  was 
always  rewarded  with  a  substantial  increase. 
He  believed  in  encouraging  industry,  but 
this  did  not  prevent  him  from  extending  aid  to 
those  who  deserved  it.  No  one  in  real  distress 
was  ever  turned  away  empty  handed  by  Mr. 
Strawn.  Rough  and  stormy  in  his  ways,  he  was 
readily  moved  to  tears  by  tender  words,  or  the 
sight  of  suffering.  In  the  relief  of  Union  soldiers 
during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  Mr.  Strawn  was 
especially  active.  He  contributed  to  their  comfort 
in  many  substantia!  ways,  not  the  least  of  which 
was  a  present  of  $10,000,  to  the  Christian  Commis- 
sion for  the  use  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  This 
gift,  he  was  afterwards  heard  to  say,  gave  him 
more  real  pleasure  than  anything  he  ever  did. 
Mr.  Strawn  was  not  a  member  of  any  church.  He 
was  slow  to  contribute  to  any  general  benevolent 
cause,  and  yet  he  was  very  liberal  in  furnishing 
funds  for  the  building  of  schools  and  meeting 
houses,  and  when  an  enterprise  struck  him  as  be- 
ing decidedly  good  he  would  make  a  generous 
donation  to  it.  Toward  the  end  of  his  life  Mr. 
Strawn  became  much  softened  in  character,  and 
was  a  daily  reader  of  the  Bible.  In  1859  Mr. 
Strawn  erected  a  fine  opera  house  in  Jacksonville, 
which  was  completed  in  1861,  and  was  the  hand- 
somest building  of  its  kind  at  that  time  in  that 
part  of  the  State.  In  politics  Mr.  Strawn  was  a 
Whig,  and  when  the  Republican  party  was  organ- 


ized he  became  one  its  members.  He  was  a  warm' 
personal  friend  and  supporter  of  President  Lin- 
coln whom  he  aided  in  many  ways  during  the 
war.  He  never  sought  political  preferment,  but 
always  refused  to  accept  a  nomination  to  any 
office.  Of  Mr.  Strawn,  as  of  many  other  men  who 
have  gained  unusual  prominence,  there  are  many 
odd  stories  told,  but  few  of  them  can  be  substan- 
tiated. He  was  simply  a  unique  character — a 
general  among  the  farmers  of  his  neighborhood. 
He  had  ambition,  enterprise,  grit  and  capital, 
backed  with  wisdom  and  ability,  and  with  these 
he  won  fame  and  fortune.  When  asked  at  one 
time  for  the  secret  of  his  success,  Mr.  Strawn 
gave  the  following  maxims  which  he  said  he  had 
followed  closely  all  his  life,  and  which  were  widely 
published  at  the  time. 

"When  you  wake  up,  do  not  roll  over,  but  roll 
out.  It  will  give  you  time  to  ditch  all  your  sloughs, 
break  them  up,  harrow  them,  and  sow  them  with 
timothy  and  red  clover.  One  bushel  of  clover  to 
ten  of  timothy  is  enough. 

"  Make  your  fence  high,  tight  and  strong,  so  that 
it  will  keep  cattle  and  pigs  out.  If  you  have 
biush,  make  your  lots  secure  and  keep  your  hogs 
from  the  cattle,  for  if  the  corn  is  clean  they  will 
eat  it  better  than  if  it  is  not. 

"Be  sure  to  get  your  hands  to  bed  by  seven 
o'clock;  they  will  rise  early  by  the  force  of  circum- 
stances. 

"Pay  a  hand,  if  he  is  a  poor  hand,  all  you  promise 
him;  if  he  is  a  good  hand  pay  him  a  little  more; 
it  will  encourage  him. 

"  Always  feed  your  hands  as  well  as  you  do  your- 
self, for  the  laboring  men  are  the  bone  and  sinew 
of  the  world  and  ought  to  be  well  treated. 

"I  am  satisfied  that  getting  up  early,  industry 
and  regular  habits  are  the  best  medicine  ever  pre- 
scribed for  health. 

"  When  it  comes  rainy,  bad  weather  so  you  can 
not  work  out  of  doors,  cut  and  split  your  wood. 

"Make  your  tracks  when  it  rains  hard,  cleaning 
your  stables,  or  fixing  something  which  you  would 
have  to  stop  the  plow  for  and  fix  in  good  weather. 

"Make  your  tracks,  fixing  your  fence  or  a  gate 
that  is  off  the  hinges,  or  weather-boarding  your 
barn  where  the  wind  has  blown  off  the  siding,  or 
patching  the  roof  of  your  house  or  barn. 

"Study  your  interests  closely  and  don't  spend 
any  time  in  electing  presidents,  senators  and  other 
small  officers,  or  talk  of  hard  times  when  spend- 
ing your  time  in  town  whittling  on  store  boxes,  etc. 

"  Take  your  time  and  make  your  calculations; 
don't  do  things  in  a  hurry,  but  do  them  at  the 
right  time  and  keep  your  mind  as  well  as  your 
body  employed." 

These  maxims,  which  constituted  his  rules  of  con- 
duct, evidence  very  strikingly,  by  their  originality 
and  epigrammatic  style,  his  peculiarly  suggestive 
mind  and  individuality;  their  rugged  philosophy 
explains  much  of  his  great  success. 


UVth£ 


5/VX^W^ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


CHARLES    S.   DOLE. 

CHARLES  S.  DOLE,  one  of  the  oldest   and 
most  highly  respected  citizens  and   business   men 
of  Chicago,  prominently  identified  for  upwards  of 
forty  years  with  the  grain  commission  trade  of  the 
West,  and  for  fully  thirty   years   with   the  grain 
warehousing  and  elevator  business  in  and   near 
the  city  named,  was  born  at   Bloomfield.  Oakland 
county.    Michigan,    on    November  2,  1819.     On 
the  paternal  side  he  traces  his  ancestry  to  James 
Dole,  a  gentleman  of  English  descent,  who  served 
in  the  American  army  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,   holding    a    commanding   position.     Subse- 
quent to  the   struggle   for   independence  James 
Dole  resided  at  Troy,  X.  V..  where,  as  late  as  1812, 
he   carried   on  an   extensive   business   as    vessel 
owner  and  grain  merchant.     He  was  a   man   of 
aristocratic  feelings  but  genial  and  popular   in   a 
large  circle,  and  both  he  and  his  family   occupied 
an  enviable  social  position.     His  son,  Sidney,  the 
father    of    the   subject   of   this   sketch,    married 
Elizabeth  Swan,  who  has  been  described  as  a  most 
estimable  woman  in  mind   and  heart,   possessing 
many    noble    traits     of    character.     She     was    a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Ziba  Swan  of  Albany.   X.  Y..  and 
through  her  mother — originally  a   Miss   Palmer, 
of  Stonington,  Connecticut— traced  her  lineage  to 
ancestors  who  came  over  in  the  Mayflower.    The 
immediate  ancestors  of   Dr.   Swan   were   of   Xew 
England  birth:  remotely  he  was  of  Scotch  descent. 
All  of  these  maternal  ancestors  of  Mr.  Dole  were 
of  the  earnest,  strong-minded  type,  and  extremely 
tenacious    of  their   convictions   where    principle 
was  at  stake.     With  them  industry  was   a    virtue 
and  they  practiced  frugality  and  economy   from 
conscientious  motives  down  to  the  latest  period  of 
their  lives  and  long  after  such  a  course  had  ceased 
to    be    obligatory.     Some    of    them  entered   the 
learned   professions,  others  followed  farming   or 
practiced  the  useful  handicrafts,  while   a   few  be- 
came  manufacturers.     One.   named  John   Swan. 
was  the  founder  of   the   popular   line  of  stages, 
known  as  Swan's  coaches,  which  connected  Albany 
with  neighboring  towns  at  an  early  day.     Sidney 
Dole  seems  to  have  inherited  his  father's  military 
tastes,  for  as  a  young  man  he  was  the  captain  of 
the  "Trojan  Greens,"  of  Troy.  X.  Y..  which  was 
the  crack   military  organization  of  the  state   in 
1812.  and  was  called  into  service  for  a  brief  period 
during  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain.    About 
this  time  he  held   a  responsible  position  in   the 
Bank  of  Troy,  but  he  resigned  this,  together  with 
the  command  of  the  company  named,   and,  form- 


ing a  co-partnership  with  a  Mr.  Wilson  and  two 
other  gentlemen,  embarked  in  the  milling  and  salt 
business    at    Syracuse.  X.   Y.     One   of   the  first 
heavy  shipments  of  salt  made  by  the  firm  was  sent 
to   the   fisheries   at  Detroit.   Michigan,  and   Mr. 
Dole  drawn  thither  by  his  business  interests,  took 
such  a  liking  to  the  place  that  he   removed  there 
and  was  followed  soon  after  by  Dr.  Swan  and  his 
family,   the   trip   being   made  on    board    of   the 
steamer  "Walk  in  the  Water  "—the  first  to  run  on 
Lake  Erie.     Mr.  Dole  and  Dr.  Swan,   with  their 
respective  families,  established  their  home  at  first 
on  a  farm  of  about  three  hundred  acres,  at  Bloom- 
field,  in  Oakland  county.   Michigan.     Soon   after- 
ward Mr.  Dole  and  his  family  removed  to  Pontiac, 
the  county  seat,  where  he  served  as  clerk  of  the 
county   court,   and    as  such    issued    on    July  10, 
1820,  the   first   legal   writ    ever   put  forth    in  the 
county.     He  was  a  man  of  decided  ability  and  his 
fellow-citizens  appreciating  his  worth  retained  him 
in  public  positions  until  his  death  which  occurred 
at  Pontiac,  in  1829.    After  the  death  of  his  father, 
Charles,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  spent  about  a 
year  upon  the  farm  of  his  grandfather.  Dr.  Swan, 
and  there  formed  a  love  for  agriculture  and  the 
beauties  of  nature  which  he  has  always  retained. 
Up  to  this  time  he  was  given  as  good  an  education 
as    the    circumstances    surrounding   him  would 
admit  of.  traveling  on  foot  to  the  nearest  school — 
which    was    two   miles  distant, — and   frequently 
meeting  on  the  way  bands  of  Indians  on  their  way 
to  Canada  to  collect  from  the  British  authorities 
the  annuities  paid  them,  it  is  supposed,  for  their 
depredations  upon  American  citizens.     With  these 
savages  the  young  lad,  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
divided  the  contents  of  his   lunch   basket   as   a 
peace  offering.     When  about  fourteen  years  of  age 
he  left  home  and  went  to  reside  with  his  maternal 
uncle  who  lived  at  White  Pigeon.  Michigan,  in  the 
interior  of  the  state.     This  uncle  was  the  proprie- 
tor of  a  general   store,   in   which   Charles  found 
employment    as    a    clerk.     After    several    years' 
service  in  this  capacity,  part  of  the  time   being  in 
charge  of  branch  establishments,   he,  with  other 
clerks,  bought  out  his  uncle's  business.     Most   of 
I   the  goods  disposed  of  were  sold  to  the  farmers  on 
credit,  to  be  paid  for  about  the  first  of  September, 
when  the   wheat    was   harvested.     As   the   firm's 
trade  extended  over  three   or  four   counties,  the 
making  of  settlements  required  considerable  work 
and  was  frequently   effected    by   purchasing   the 
farmers'  crops  for  cash,  deducting   the   indebted- 
ness.    The  wheat   thus   acquired   was   converted 
into  flour  in  the  mill  controlled  by  the  firm,  and 


»8 


BIOGBAPHY  <>K    ILLINOIS. 


this  commodity  was  then  shipped  to  New  York 
for  sale.  When  the  business  was  in  a  fair  way  of 
being  made  very  successful  for  the  new  firm,  a 
serious  fire  occurred.  There  being  no  insurance, 
the  loss  was  a  heavy  one  and  this,  together  with 
the  cost  of  overhauling  the  old  mill  and  building 
a  new  one — which  largely  exceeded  the  estimates 
of  experienced  millwrights-  -involved  the  firm  in 
financial  difficulties,  and  Mr.  Dole  was  obliged  to 
sacrifice  all  his  property  in  an  endeavor  to  meet 
the  claims  against  him.  When  he  had  done  all 
that  lay  in  his  power  he  was  still  about  three 
thousand  dollars  in  debt.  Unable  to  continue,  he 
gave  up  the  struggle,  and  with  cash  assets  of 
eighty  dollars  in  his  pocket  and  about  thirteen 
hundred  dollars  worth  of  maturing  paper,  he  and 
his  brother  James,  who  had  been  his  partner  in 
the  defunct  concern,  removed  to  Chicago.  Here 
James  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  clerkship  in  the 
office  of  the  Galena  Railroad  Company — which  then 
owned  about  eight  miles  of  track  running  out  of 
the  city.  Charles,  after  recovering  from  a  severe 
attack  of  chills  and  fever,  started  by  packet  on  the 
Illinois  &  Michigan  Canal  for  Pekin,  111.,  having 
letters  of  recommendation  to  a  firm  there,  doing  a 
large  business  in  packing  and  provisions.  He 
arrived  at  Pekin  with  but  five  dollars  at  his  com- 
mand, yet  succeeded  in  effecting,  independently, 
a  very  advantageous  business  arrangement,  which, 
however,  he  was  obliged  to  forego  owing  to  the 
lack  of  a  very  little  ready  money.  Taking  passage 
on  an  Illinois  river  steamboat  he  proceeded  to 
Beardstown,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  as  a  book- 
keeper until  the  following  spring,  when,  not  liking 
the  business  methods  of  his  employer,  he  gave  up 
this  situation  and  returned  to  his  old  home  in 
Michigan.  After  a  brief  rest  among  his  relatives 
he  went  back  to  Illinois  and  was  for  a  time  en- 
gaged in  purchasing  hay  in  the  vicinity  of  Lock- 
port.  Following  the  suggestion  of  his  friend,  Mr. 
Erastus  Ranson,  Chicago,  he  next  engaged  in  the 
purchase  of  wool,  and,  although  inexperienced  in 
this  line,  succeeded  very  well.  While  in  Chicago 
on  one  of  his  business  trips,  he  was  offered  a  re- 
sponsible position  in  the  distributing  room  of  the 
city  post-office  by  his  uncle,  Mr.  George  W.  Dole, 
who  had  been  appointed  postmaster  of  Chicago 
on  September  25,  1850.  He  accepted  this  posi- 
tion and  at  the  expiration  of  three  months' service 
was  appointed  assistant  postmaster,  holding  this 
office  during  his  uncle's  incumbency.  Although 
he  declined  re-appointment  at  an  increased  salary, 
tendered  him  by  Mr.  Isaac  Cook,  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Dole,  on  the  conscientious  ground  that,  as  he 


had  not  voted  for  President  Pierce,  he  was  not  en- 
titled to  the  place,  he  voluntarily  assisted  in  the 
work  of  the  office  until  a  suitable  person  was 
fi  .und  to  succeed  him.  While  Mr.  Dole  was  assistant 
postmaster  of  Chicago,  the  post-office  was  re- 
moved from  a  site  on  the  west  side  of  Clark  street 
— now  partly  covered  by  the  Sherman  House — to 
the  east  side  of  Clark  street,  immediately  oppo- 
site, in  what  was  then  called  the  Tribune  building, 
forming  part  of  the  Kingsbury  block.  In  1852,  Mr. 
Dole  embarked  in  the  grain  commission  business, 
having  as  a  temporary  partner,  Mr.  Samuel  Shack- 
ford.  Later,  he  formed  with  his  brother,  James 
H.  Dole,  the  firm  of  C.  S.  Dole  A-  Co..  which  be- 
gan systematic  operations  along  the  lines  of  rail- 
road running  and  being  built  from  Chicago  out 
into  the  surrounding  country,  including  the  Ga- 
lena as  far  as  Freeport,  the  Illinois  Central, 
and  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy.  The  last 
named,  extending  at  that  time  only  from  Turner 
Junction  to  Batavia — four  miles — was  gradually 
pushed  to  Princeton,  Walnut  Grove  and  on  tow- 
ards "the  Military  Tract,"  and  Mr.  Dole  was  kept 
busy  in  attending  to  the  business  of  the  firm 
along  its  entire  route,  which  lay  through  a  country 
abounding  in  grain  and  hogs.  With  the  farmers 
of  this  favored  district  he  succeeded  in  building 
up  an  extensive  and  profitable  commission  trade, 
the  principal  dealing  being  in  wheat,  which  the 
firm  was  obliged  to  handle  and  store  in  immense 
quantities.  Up  to  the  year  1856  there  had  been 
no  attempt  to  classify  this  staple  into  grades  and 
no  standard  was  recognized,  greatly  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  those  who  produced  and  dealt  in  a  su- 
perior quality.  In  that  year  the  Hoard  of  Trade 
of  Chicago  made  the  first  move  towards  estab- 
lishing grades  by  the  separation  of  the  three  lead- 
ing varieties  of  wheat  into  three  standard  grades. 
The  warehousemen  generally  sanctioned  this  first 
effort  to  classify  the  grain,  but  the  variable 
standard  of  inspection  at  the  different  warehouses 
still  remained  a  constant  source  of  annoyance, 
disagreement,  and  sometimes  of  great  damage  to 
receivers,  there  being  no  statutory  law  at  that 
time  which  defined  the  standard  or  enforced  its 
strict  adoption,  upon  all  alike.  The  mixing  of  good 
grain  with  inferior  grades  prior  to  its  delivery  be- 
came so  common  a  practice,  that  the  Chicago 
market  became  degraded  and  much  of  the  better 
grades  of  wheat  was  diverted  to  other  markets. 
In  1858  a  second  and  successful  attempt  was  made 
to  remedy  this  evil.  The  Board  of  Trade  placed 
the  matter  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  consisting 
of  Mr.   S.   H.   Butler   and   Mr.   Charles   S.   Dole. 


BKXiRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


229 


These  gentlemen  recommended  the  rejection  of 
much  of  the  product  previously  passed  as  "stand- 
ard" and  a  rigid  inspection  of  all  wheat  after  June 
15th.  Their  recommendations  being  adopted,  a 
chief  inspector  1  Mr.  George  Sittsi  was  appointed, 
and  also  a  committee  of  inspection,  composed  of 
Mr.  Julian  S.  Rumsey,  president,  and  Mr.  But- 
ler and  Mr.  Dole,  which  labored  with  such  excel- 
lent judgment  as  to  restore  to  Chicago  her 
former  prestige  as  a  grain  centre.  In  1860  Mr. 
Charles  S.  Dole,  being  by  far  the  largest  receiver 
of  grain  over  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Railroad,  applied  for  and  obtained  from  that  com- 
pany a  concession  for  ten  years  of  sufficient  gn  mnd 
and  tracks  upon  which  to  build  and  operate  a 
grain  warehouse  with  elevators.  An  arrangement 
was  then  made  with  Mr.  George  Armour  and  his 
partner.  Mr.  Wesley  Munger,  by  which,  in  1861, 
they  became  united  with  Mr.  Dole  under  the  firm 
name  of  Armour.  Dole  A  Co.,  each  partner  taking 
a  third  interest  in  the  enterprise.  The  business 
of  this  firm  was  continued  idespite  the  deaths  of 
Mr.  Munger  and  Mr.  Armour)  until  the  termina- 
tion of  the  lease  and  contract  with  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  A-  Quincy  Company,  which  expired  by 
limitation  on  August  1,  1887.  The  road  then 
purchased  the  elevator  warehouses  and  sold  them 
to  the  surviving  partner,  Mr.  Dole  and  Henry  E. 
Southwell.  Franklin  H.  Head  and  James  Barrell 
1  the  latter  associated  with  Armour,  Dole  & 
Co..  since  1803.  first  as  book-keeper  and  later  as 
general  manager),  who  organized  the  firm  of 
Dole  &  Co.,  and  operated  the  plant  until  the 
termination  of  the  copartnership,  on  August  1, 
1891,  when  the  elevators  were  again  purchased  by 
the  Chicago  &  Burlington  Company,  ami  again 
sold  to  the  new  firm  of  Dole  A  Co.,  all  men  of  high 
standing,  large  experience,  and  wealth.  The  two 
firms  named  had  successively  owned  the  ware- 
houses and  had  full  charge  of  the  grain  receipts 
of  this  road  from  1860.  when  elevator  "A" — capac- 
ity 850,000  bushels—  was  built,  down  to  1881.  The 
increase  of  their  business  has  been  as  follows: 
In  1863,  elevator  "B"  was  built— capacity  850,000 
bushels;  in  1873,  elevator  "C"  was  added — capac- 
ity 1,500,000  bushels;  in  1S79.  elevator  "D",  1,800,- 
000  bushels;  in  1882,  elevator  "E".  1.000,000  bushels. 
In  1867  the  capacity  of  elevator  "A"  was  enlarged 
to  L.250,000  bushels.  In  1885  the  capacity  of  the 
four  elevators  owned  by  Mr.  Dole  and  his  partners 
was  6,350,000  bushels,  with  a  receiving  and  ship- 
ping capacity  of  700,000  bushels  daily,  and  a  ship- 
ping capacity  1  when  not  receivingjof  1,500.000 daily, 
having  handled  through  these  houses  from  1876  to 


1880,  an  average  of  25,719.173  bushels,  and  from  1881 
to  1885  an  average  of  21,033,055  bushels.  Mr.  Dole 
personally  superintended  the  business  at  the  ele- 
vators in  1862  and  1863,  and  although  situated  at 
the  time  some  distance  from  the  business  centre, 
they  took  a  high  standing  from  the  start  and  soon 
became  the  favorites  with  many  shippers, 
some  kinds  of  grain  selling  at  a  premium  in 
them.  This  was  entirely  owing  to  the  scrupulous 
care  taken  of  all  grain  entrusted  to  the  firm,  and 
the  reputation  then  acquired  was  never  lost.  Sub- 
sequent to  1863,  Mr.  Dole  spent  a  large  portion  of 
his  time  in  the  country,  as  the  railroads  extended, 
making  business  arrangements  for  the  accumula- 
tion and  shipping  of  grain,  sometimes  assisting  in 
getting  new  stations  established  for  that  purpose 
(Sandwich,  111.,  being  one  of  them)  and  especially 
in  looking  after  the  grain  at  competing  points, 
and  building  houses  and  equipping  them  with 
proper  machinery  for  rapid  and  economical  work, 
thus  protecting  his  patrons  from  the  aggressions 
of  opponents  and  building  up  an  immense  busi- 
ness. In  the  interests  of  his  customers  he  inven- 
ted and  patented  a  device  for  unloading  grain 
from  the  farmer's  wagons,  practicable  even  if  a 
woman  or  boy  drove  the  vehicle  to  market,  as  was 
often  the  case.  To  sketch  in  detail  the  work  of 
Mr.  Dole  during  his  active  business  life  would  be 
a  task  of  no  small  moment,  however  agreeable  and 
interesting.  It  must  suffice  to  say  in  conclusion 
that  his  labors  have  been  of  the  most  earnest 
character,  that  they  have  been  exceedingly  com- 
prehensive, and  that  they  have  contributed  in  a 
most  important  degree  to  the  development  of  the 
agricultural  and  commercial  prosperity  and  wealth 
of  the  section  in  which  they  have  been  performed, 
and  in  no  slight  measure  to  the  material  advan- 
tage of  the  whole  country.  Although  making  no 
claim  to  greater  credit  than  that  which  belongs 
to  one.  who  by  wise  and  persistent  effort  has.  by 
honorable  means,  advanced  his  own  fortune  and 
at  the  same  time  that  of  hundreds,  even  thous- 
ands, who  have  shared  in  one  way  or  another  in 
his  enterprises,  a  discriminating  public  sentiment 
will  not  fail  to  accord  him  a  front  rank  among  the 
commercial  benefactors  of  his  country.  —  the 
giants  of  trade  and  commerce,  whose  nerve,  energy 
and  honorable  methods  redound  so  greatly  t"  the 
In. nor  of  the  American  name.  His  equipment  at 
beginning  life  was  a  strong  moral  principle  incul- 
cated by  a  pious  and  loving  mother,  whose  teach- 
ings he  has  always  respected  and  honored  by 
observance,  and  his  splendid  success  is  a  powerful 
lesson  to  all  who  strive  for  eminence  in  whatever 


BIOGRAPHY  OK   ILLINOIS. 


it  may  be  sought.  Mr.  Dole  was  married  to 
Miss  Julia  Louise  Coffin,  a  lady  of  sterling  worth, 
greal  refinement,  and  sympathetic  disposition 
and  character,— in  tact  "  charity  "  is  her  favorite 
verse  in  the  bible.  Her  father,  Joseph  Warren 
Chase  Coffin,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who  went  to 
Chicago  to  reside  in  1835,  was  warden  of  St.  James, 
the  first  Episcopal  church  organized  in  that  then 
border  town,  of  which  his  wife,  Harriet  Delia 
Coffin,  Julia  Louise's  mother,  was  also  a  member. 
The  surviving  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 
S.  Dole,  are  Mary  Florence,  Harriet  Delia  and 
Sydney  Hope. 


CHARLES  M.  HENDERSON. 

CHARLES  MATHER  HENDERSON,  one  of 
the  leading  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  Chi- 
cago, comes  of  good  old  New  England  stock. 
Mather  was  the  name  of  his  paternal  grandmother, 
who  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Cotton  Mather, 
the  great  minister  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Col- 
ony. He  is  a  native  of  New  Hartford,  Litchfield 
county,  Conn.,  the  son  of  James  F.  and  Sabrina 
Henderson.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Marsh.  Her  father,  Roswell  Marsh,  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  was  present  at  the 
hanging  of  the  ill-fated  Major  Andre.  Young 
Henderson's  early  education  was  received  at  the 
district  school  in  his  native  village,  but  when  fif- 
teen years  old  he  began  attendance  at  the  Baptist 
school  at  Suffield,  Conn.  He  remained  there 
about  a  year,  when  learning  that  a  teacher  for  a 
district  school  in  an  adjoining  county  was  being 
sought,  he  said  he  would  take  the  position,  and  to 
his  surprise  was  soon  applied  to  and  accepted. 
As  a  teacher  he  proved  successful,  but  at  the  close 
of  the  term  he  returned  to  his  studies.  About  a 
year  later,  in  1853,  he  was  offered  a  position  in 
Chicago  by  an  uncle  who  had  located  there  soaie 
years  before,  and  was  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
boot  and  shoe  business,  under  the  firm  name  of 
C.  M.  Henderson  &  Co.  The  offer  was  accepted, 
and  Mr.  Henderson,  then  about  eighteen  years  of 
age,  came  to  Chicago.  His  first  position  in  his 
uncle's  establishment  was  that  of  general  clerk 
and  salesman,  but  he.  in  fact,  did  all  kinds  of 
work,  both  in  the  office  and  store,  thereby  secur- 
ing a  general  knowledge  of  the  business  in  all  its 
details— a  knowledge  that  in  later  years  contrib- 
uted much  to  his  success.    He  worked  hard,  and 


showed  such  marked  ability  that  in  less  than  four 
years  he  was  given  an  interest  in  the  concern. 
He  and  his  uncle  continued  in  partnership  until 
the  death  of  the  latter  in  1859.     Mr.   Henderson 
at  this  time  organized  a  new  firm  under  the  name 
of  C.  M.  Henderson  &  Co.,  his  first  partner  being 
Elisha  Wadsworth,  head  of  the  old  firm  of  Wads- 
worth,  Farwell  &  Co.     Mr.  Wadsworth  was  prac- 
tically  a  silent  partner,  for  Mr.  Henderson   took 
entire   charge  of   the  business,   and  about   three 
years  later  he  bought  out  Mr.  Wadsworth's  inter- 
est and  took  in  his  brother,  Wilbur  S.  Henderson, 
who  had  been  in  his  employ  several  years  as  clerk 
and  salesman.    He  also  gave  his  bookkeeper,  Mr. 
Edmund   Burke,   an  interest,   but   several   years 
later  bought  it  back.    For  several  years  the  busi- 
ness of  the  concern  was  confined  to  the  jobbing  of 
boots  and  shoes,  but  in  1865  a  factory,  on  a  small 
scale  was  started,  for  the  purpose  of  manufactur- 
ing a  heavy  grade  of  boots  and  shoes  for  the  West- 
ern trade.     That  factory  is  still  in  operation,  and 
largely  increased  in  capacity.     In  1880  they  also 
began  the  manufacture  of  ladies'  and  misses'  fine 
shoes,  this  factory  being  located  at  Dixon,   111., 
and  it  is  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  best  arranged 
and  best  conducted  shoe  factories  in  the  country. 
It  is  substantially  built,  and  is  furnished  with  all 
the  finest  machinery   and   with   all   modern    im- 
provements,  no  expense   having  been   spared   to 
make  it  complete  in  every  department.    The  firm 
has  lately  built  another  factory  at  Dixon,   where 
they  manufacture  a  superior  grade  of  men's  fine 
shoes.     When   Mr.  Henderson   came   to   Chicago 
his  uncle's  establishment  was  located  at  169  South 
Water  street,  and  was  afterwards  moved  to  40  Lake 
street.     The  new  firm  organized  by  him,  moved  to 
32  Lake  street,  about  1861,  and  afterwards  to  the 
corner  of  Lake  street  and  Michigan  avenue,  but 
was  burned  out  in  1868,  and  at  the  time  of   the 
great   fire  in  1871,  they  were  located  at  58  and  60 
Wabash   avenue.    With   others  who  suffered  in 
that  fearful   calamity,   their  building  was  swept 
away,   but   in  less  than  three  weeks'  time   they 
were  doing  business  again  in  a  one-story  frame 
shanty  on  Michigan  avenue,  and  four  months  later, 
they   were  occupying   a  new   brick   building  on 
Wabash  avenue,  moving  into  it  before  it  was  plas- 
tered.    In  the   autumn  of  1872  they  removed  to 
the  corner  of  Madison  and  Franklin  streets,  where 
they  remained  five  years,  and  then  removed  to  the 
corner  of   Monroe  and  Franklin   streets.    In  1884 
they  erected  the  fine  six  story  building  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Adams  and  Market  streets,  which  they  now 
occupy.    This  store  is  about  170x120  feet,  and  is 


UHWtRaTYTi^HOlS' 


MOOKAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


all  used  by  the  firm  for  general  offices,  and  as  a 
distributing  depot.  Mr.  Henderson  has,  by  his 
good  management  and  business  sagacity,  brought 
their  business  up  to  millions  annually.  There  are 
employed  by  the  firm  of  C.  M.  Henderson  &  Co., 
in  the  various  departments  of  the  store  and  facto- 
ries, over  1,000  men  and  girls.  In  1888  the 
business  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  C. 
M.Henderson  &  Co.,  and  at  this  time  Mr.  Hender- 
son selected  certain  employes,  who  had  been 
with  the  concern  tor  a  long  term  of  years,  and 
gave  them  an  interest  in  the  business.  Mr.  Hen 
derson  was  married  in  18">8  to  Miss  Emily  Hol- 
lingsworth,  daughter  of  James  Hollingsworth,  of 
Chicago,  and  there  has  been  born  to  them  Eour 
children,  three  daughters,  all  now  living,  and  one 
son,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Henderson  is 
rather  socially  inclined.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Union  League,  the  Chicago  Club,  the  Commer- 
cial Club,  and  several  others.  A  thorough  and 
consistent  Christian,  he  is  a  member  (if  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  with  which  he  united  about 
1868.  He  has  given  considerable  time  to  church 
and  mission  work,  and  was  for  two  or  three  years 
president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asssocia- 
tion,  and  for  ten  years  the  superintendent  of  the 
Railroad  Chapel  Mission,  but  ill  health  demanded 
that  he  should  resign  this  position.  Mr.  Hender- 
son has  always  been  a  Republican  in  principle, 
and  though  he  has  never  entered  the  field  of  poli- 
tics, he  has  been  an  active  worker  for  the  city's 
good.  He  was  a  participator  in  the  reform  move 
ment  undertaken  by  several  prominent  citizens  of 
Chicago,  in  1874,  and  did  much  to  aid  in  purifying 
the  municipal  government.  Always  liberal  where 
money  would  accomplish  good  to  single  individ- 
uals or  to  the  community  at  large,  he  contributed 
considerable  money  toward  the  reform  movement. 
The  city  was  in  a  deplorable  condition;  its  officers 
were  caught  appropriating  the  public  funds,  and 
extreme  measures  were  resorted  to.  It  required 
energy  and  firmness  on  the  part  of  the  citizens,  to 
say  nothing  of  money,  to  cleanse  the  city  of  its 
impurities.  Mr.  Henderson  was  chief  among  the 
agitators,  and  gave  wise  counsel  in  the  delibera- 
tions, as  well  as  giving  money  to  the  cause.  One 
of  the  results  of  that  reform  movement  in  1874, 
was  the  adoption  of  the  present  city  charter,  a 
very  important  result  to  the  community  to-day. 
It  was  also  instrumental  in  causing  the  reorgani- 
zation of  the  fire  department,  and  the  improve- 
ments then  started  have  resulted  in  giving  Chi- 
cago a  fire  department  excelled  by  none,  and 
hardly  equalled  by  any  city  in  the  land.     In  all 


these  movements  for  the  public  good,  Mr.  Hen- 
derson took  a  zealous  part.  Honest  and  upright 
himself,  he  could  tolerate  no  dishonesty  or  treach- 
ery on  the  part  of  the  officers  elected  to  govern 
the  city  of  which  he  was  a  citizen  and  tax  payer. 
It  required  courage  and-firmness  to  trample  the 
wrong  doing  under  foot  and  annihilate  it;  it 
required  the  presence  and  action  of  men  like  Mr. 
Henderson  to  free  the  city  from  its  bondage. 
Chicago  had  the  men  of  nerve  to  do  it,  and  C.  M. 
Henderson  was  among  that  number.  There  are 
many  wealthy  men  who  give  liberally  of  their 
means  to  the  cause  of  charity,  or  to  the  support  of 
public  institutions  who  are  never  given  due  credit. 
They  are  the  men  who  let  not  their  right  hand 
know  what  their  left  hand  doeth.  Mr.  Henderson 
has  always  been  liberal  in  his  gifts  to  charity,  and 
has  been  an  active  participant  in  the  organization 
<>f  institutions  of  a  charitable  nature.  Among 
others,  he  is  a  trustee  of  the  Home  for  Incurables. 
He  has  also  been  warmly  interested  in  all  educa- 
tional movements,  and  is  at  present  a  trustee  of 
the  Lake  Forest  University.  It  is  due  to  such 
men  as  C.  M.  Henderson  that  Chicago  is  what  she 
is,  and  what  she  is  destined  to  be.  Coming  here 
as  a  lad  he  has  grown  with  the  city,  but  has  aided 
the  city  in  its  growth.  It  is  to  such  men  she  owes 
her  prosperous  condition.  Strong  in  themselves, 
they  impart  strength  to  those  with  whom  they 
come  in  contact.  Their  influence  is  all  powerful 
and  pervades  the  whole  community.  They  make 
riches  for  themselves,  and  the  city  grows  rich 
about  them;  they  live  pure,  honest  and  industri- 
ous lives,  and  by  force  of  example  compel  afollow- 
ing  in  their  train. 


JOHN    T.  PIK1E. 

Although  not  a  Chicagoan  by  residence,  the  lo- 
cal interests  of  Mr.  John  T.  Pirie,  as  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  great  dry -goods  house  of  Carson.  Pirie, 
Scott  A:  Co.,  make  him  to  all  practical  purposes 
one  of  Chicago's  most  influential  business  men. 
Much  of  Mr.  Pirie's  early  mercantile  life  was 
passed  here,  and  it  was  not  until  1865  that  the 
growing  business  of  the  firm  necessitated  his  re- 
moval to  New  York  City.  Like  many  another 
successful  tradesman.  Mr.  Pirie  comes  of  sturdy 
Scotch  ancestry.  He  was  born  in  Errol, Scotland, 
on  August  'JO.  1827,  his  father  being  Allen  Pirie.  a 
thrifty  cabinet-maker,  joiner  and  upholsterer,  and 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


his    mother,   nee  Mary   Hawkins,   whose   family 
came  from  York,  England.     As  a  boy,  John  Pirie 
passed  his  school  days  at  the  Presbyterian  parish 
school  of  his  native  place,  but  was  only  thirteen 
when  he  began  to  earn  his  own  living  as  an  office 
boy  with  a  ship-broker,  in  Glasgow.     The  mercan- 
tile spirit  was  strong  in  him,   even   at   that   early 
age,  and  he  was  barely  fifteen  when  he  went  to  his 
uncle,  Henry  Hawkins,  at  Newry,  Ireland,  to  learn 
the   dry-goods   business.      This  branch   of   trade 
suited  young  Pirie   much    better   than   the  more 
romantic  one  of  sending  ships  on  cruises,  and  he 
was  pretty  well  versed  in  it   when  he  engaged  as 
salesman  with  John  Arnott  &  Co.,  of  Belfast.     It 
was  not  long  before  the  young  man's  employers 
found  he  was  capable  of  more  important  work,  and 
he  was  soon  installed  as  buyer  for  one  of  their  de- 
partments.   For  three  years  Mr.  Pirie  remained 
in  Belfast,  where  his  intimate  knowledge   of   the 
dry -goods  trade,  and  his  fidelity  to  the  honorable 
trusts   reposed   in   him,   brought   many   enticing 
offers,  some  of   which  he  accepted.    At  length  a 
lucky  incident  brought  him  to  the  United  States. 
In  company  with  Samuel   Carson,   then  a  fellow 
clerk,  Mr.  Pirie  had  arranged  to  open  a  retail  store 
at  Crookstown,  Ireland,  and  had   paid    their   first 
six  months'  rent  in  advance,  when  they  met  an  old 
friend,  Robert  Murray.    This  gentleman  had  gone 
to  America  some  years  before,  and  settled  at  Peru, 
Illinois,  and   was   at   that   time   visiting   his   old 
home.     It   did  not   take  long  to  convince  both  of 
the  young  merchants  that  it  would  be   profitable 
to   forfeit   their   rent   money   and  go  to  America. 
Both  John  T.  Pirie  and  Samuel   Carson    were   at 
this  time  unmarried,  full  of  energy  and  anxious  for 
an  opportunity  to  get  a  start  in  the  world.  On  the 
26th  of  August,  1S54,  they  left  Belfast  together  and 
sailed  for  New  York,  in   which  city   they   landed 
safely   and   secured  positions  with  James  Beck  & 
Co.  Up  to  this  time  their  lives  had  been  busy  and 
to   a   measure   successful,   but    not  to  the  degree 
which  the  desires  of  John  T.  Pirie  demanded.     A 
born  leader  of  men,  a  general  of  trade,  he  was  not 
content    to  always   serve   others  whose  plans,  al- 
though good,  were  not  hisown.    The  fear  of  losing 
a  profitable  place  before    he    had    gotten    another 
was  not  in  John  T.  Piric's   make-up.      He   struck 
out  for  success  and  attained  it  by  resolute  courage, 
fair  dealing  and   unassailable   integrity.     It    was. 
therefore,  no  surprise  to  those  who  knew  him,  to 
be  told,  a  few    months   after  his   arrival    in   New 
York,  that  he  had  decided  to  emigrate  to  the  then 
far  west  to  do  some  prospecting.     Samuel  Carson 
was  his  inseparable  companion,  and  together  the 


young   men   went   to   Peru,    Illinois,  where  their 
good  friend,  Mr.  Murray,  gave  them   a  hospitable 
welcome.     They  remained  in  Peru  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  when  by  Mr.  Murray's  good  offices 
they   were   helped  to  a  small  credit  and  started  a 
store  at  La  Salle,  Illinois.  They  worked  diligently, 
but  three  months'  experience  was  enough  to  con- 
vince Mr.  Pirie  that  there  was  a  better  opening  in 
Aniboy,  Illinois.     They  accordingly   moved   there 
and  the  firm  of   Carson   &   Pirie  did  a  thriving 
business  for  ten  years.     For  miles  around  they  be- 
came known  as   progressive,   reliable   merchants, 
and.  in  1864.  when  they  struck  a  balance   of  their 
books,  they  found  themselves  free  from  debt  and 
with  a  stock  of  goods  worth   $50,000   to   show  for 
their  ten  years  work.     Chicago  was  at  that  time 
just   growing   into    commercial  importance   as  a 
great    business   city,   and   Mr.   Pirie   saw  again  a 
chance  to  better  himself.  His  counsels  had  always 
been   good,   and   when  he  proposed  to  remove  to 
Chicago,  Mr.  Carson  readily  consented.  Here  they 
came  and  opened,  what  was  for  that  time,  an  ex- 
tensive  store  at  No.   20   Lake  street.     From  this 
place  Mr.  Pirie  and  his  partners  did  a  large   job- 
bing   trade,    and    at    the   same    time    maintained 
branch  retail  stores  at  Amboy,  Polo  and  Mendota, 
Illinois.     These   branch   establishments  were  for 
some  time  under  the  charge  of  Messrs.  George  and 
Robert  Scott,  young  men   who   had   learned   the 
business   in    Newry,   Ireland,   and  who  had  been 
firm  friends  of  Mr.   Pirie   and   Mr.   Carson  from 
early  boyhood.   Their  ability  had  been  recognized 
by  their  admission  to  the  firm  in  1859.    The  same 
energies   which   brought   success  to  all  the  retail 
ventures  of  the  firm,  assisted  them   to  prosperity 
in  their  more  hazardous  jobbing  venture,  and  be- 
fore  long   the   business  of  Carson  it  Pirie  had  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  as  to  demand  the  servi- 
ces of  other  able  men  in  the  direction  of  the  firm's 
affairs  in  Chicago.     It  was  then  that  George  and 
Robert  Scott  removed  to   that    city,   and   shortly 
after  the  name  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  Carson, 
Pirie,    Scott   &   Co..   which    has    been    retained, 
through  the  sentiment  of  Mr.  Pirie,   to  this   day, 
although  Mr.  Carson  died  in  1869.   Since  then  Mr. 
Pirie,  always  the  most  active  man  in  the  firm,  has 
been  its  undisputed  head  and  has  directed  it  stead- 
ily on  to  ever-increasing  popularity  and  good  for- 
tune.    The  only  reverses  the  house  has  ever  had 
were  in  1868,  when  the  entire  establishment  was 
destroyed  by  tire,  and  again  in  the  great  conflagra- 
tion of  1871,  when  everything  was  swept  away  for 
the  second  time.    The  resistless  energies  of  the  di- 
recting   head    were   well   displayed  on   the   first 


■ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UWVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


233 


occasion  when,  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  he  had 
opened  a  new  store  ;it  the  corner  of  Randolph 
street  and  Wabash  avenue.  The  firm  was  doing 
a  fine  trade  there  when  the  great  fire  of  1871  came 
and  destroyed  everything  but  about  $50,000  worth 
of  goods,  which,  after  two  removals  to  different 
parts  of  the  city,  were  finally  saved  in  a  barn  on 
Wabash  avenue,  near  lGth  street.  In  this  disaster 
over  half  of  the  total  capital  of  Mr.  Pirie  and  his 
partners  was  destroyed,  but  the  only  sign  they  gave 
of  their  great  loss  was  the  asking  of  a  few  months 
extension  on  their  credits.  This  was  granted 
them  without  question,  and  the  deferred  obliga- 
tions wTere  all  taken  up  when  they  matured.  After 
the  tire  the  firm  started  a  wholesale  and  retail 
store  on  West  Madison  street,  and  another,  ex- 
clusively retail,  on  Twenty-second  street.  Both 
of  these  enterprises,  like  all  the  rest  of  their 
ventures,  prospered,  but  the  firm  lost  considera- 
ble valuable  time  in  the  search  of  a  suitable  loca- 
tion for  the  down-town  wholesale  house.  Finally, 
in  the  spring  of  1872.  the  buildings  of  200  •-'"'J 
East  Madison  street  were  rented,  but  the;  were 
found  inadequate  and.  in  lS7:i.  the  firm  moved  to 
the  large  building  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Franklin  and  Madison  streets,  and  which,  by 
eighteen  years  of  uninterrupted  business  success, 
was  made  a  notable  landmark  of  Chicago.  In  the 
same  year  the  two  retail  stoivs  were,  consolidated 
and  under  the  able  management  of  Mr.  Andrew 
McLeish  did  a  profitable  business  at  West  Madi- 
son and  Peoria  streets,  until  1S88,  when  it  was  re- 
moved to  the  elegant  building  at  Adams  street 
and  Wabash  avenue.  This  was  made  necessary 
by  the  magnitude  of  the  trade  which  required  not 
only  more  commodious  quarters,  but  a  down  town 
location.  Another  highly  successful  retail  branch 
of  this  noted  firm  is  the  store  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  State  and  Washington  streets.  This 
business  was  bought  from  Chas.  Gossage  &  Co. 
Ii\  Carson,  Pirie,  Scott  &  Co.  in  1883.  and  con- 
tinued under  the  old  name  up  to  the  present  time. 
In  1890  the  building  was  found  to  be  too  small 
and  was  reconstructed  into  one  of  the  handsomest 
and  best  appointed  stores  in  this  country,  and  here 
(in  1891)  the  firm  is  doing  a  retail  trade  on  the 
same  grand  scale  that  marks  its  immense  whole- 
sale trade.  Some  men  in  commenting  upon  the  uni- 
form success  and  prosperity  which  have  attended 
all  of  Mr.  Pirie"s  plans,  will  ascribe  it  to  luck,  but 
they  are  wrong.  Advancement  has  been  gained 
by  earnest  work,  by  a  thorough  business  tact  anil 
skill,  and  an  unflinching  honesty  of  purpose 
coupled  with  good,  sound  sense.     From  the  start. 


Mr.  Pirie  has  insisted  that  the  entire  resources  of 
the  firm,  as  well  as  all  the  energies  of  its  members, 
should  be  used  solely  in  the  business  of  buying 
and  selling  dry-goods.  There  has  been  no  specu- 
lation of  any  kind,  not  even  in  real  estate.  The 
result  is  that  the  firm  has  always  had  funds  at  its 
disposal,  and  its  credit  is,  to-day,  second  to  none 
in  the  country.  From  a  total  business  of  8500,0(10 
in  1864,  the  first  year'  of  their  Chicago  trade, 
Carson,  Pirie,  Scott  &  Co.'s  trade  had  grown  in 
1890  to  about  S15,000,000,  and  branch  offices  are 
maintained  in  New  York.  Manchester.  Eng., 
Chemnitz,  Germany,  and  Paris,  France,  for  the 
purchase  of  the  many  fabrics  they  handle  in  their 
trade.  When  Mr.  Pirie  removed  to  New  YV>rk,  he 
at  first  devoted  all  his  time  to  buying  of 
merchandise  for  the  different  departments  of  the 
concern.  As  trade  increased  he  relinquished  one 
department  after  another  into  the  hands  of  com- 
petent buyers,  and  now  he  finds  ample  occupation 
in  looking  after  the  financial  interests  of  the  great 
concern  of  which  he  is  the  head.  He  lives  there 
still,  because  his  business  interests  are  best  served 
by  it,  but  he  is  in  heart  a  thorough  Chicagoan, 
alive  to  all  that  is  vital  to  the  good  of  the  city. 
When  he  seeks  rest  from  business  cares,  Mr.  Pirie 
has  a  beautiful  country  home,  at  Sea  Cliff,  Long 
Island,  on  the  shores  of  the  Sound,  to  which  he 
repairs  with  his  family.  In  his  domestic  relations 
Mr.  Pirie  is  a  most  happy  man.  He  was  married 
in  1857  tn  Miss  Sarah  Carson,  at  Amboy,  111.,  and 
now  has  an  interesting  family  of  four  sons  and 
three  daughters.  Mr.  Pirie  has  always  been 
domestic  in  his  tastes,  taking  greater  delight  in  his 
home  circle  than  in  club  life  or  society  in  general. 
He  has  a  great  liking  for  instructive  travel  and 
has  made  several  trips  to  Europe  with  his  family. 
Without  the  society  of  his  wife  and  children  Mr. 
Pirie  finds  no  pleasure  in  travel.  In  religion  he 
was  reared  a  Presbyterian,  but  with  his  wife 
joined  the  Baptist  church  soon  after  marriage. 
Politics  have  but  little  charm  for  him;  he  has 
never  held  nor  sought  office,  though  he  has  always 
been  a  consistent  Republican.  In  his  choice  of 
partners  and  trusted  employees  Mr.  Pirie  has  been 
most  supremely  happy.  His  co-partnership  with 
Mr.  Carson  was  productive  of  uniformly  satisfac- 
tory results,  and  when  on  the  death  of  the  latter, 
the  Scott  brothers.  George  and  Robert,  became 
Mr.  Pirie's  more  intimate  co-laborers,  the  same 
rules  of  good  sense  and  business  integrity  pre- 
vailed. It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  the  firm. 
to  recognize  the  services  of  able  and  faithful 
employes  by  merited  promotions,  and  in  this  way 


234 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


a  force  of  1500  trusty  and  intellectual  people, 
many  of  whom  have  been  with  the  house  twenty- 
five  years,  has  been  secured.  While  Mr.  Pirie 
confines  his  personal  attention  entirely  to  the 
financial  interests  of  the  firm,  Messrs.  George  and 
Robert  Scott,  both  of  them  able  merchants,  look 
after  the  mercantile  part.  The  elder  of  the 
brothers,  George  Scott,  has  the  confidence  of  the 
whole  staff  of  the  employees  under  him.  Under 
his  advice  and  fostering  care  their  best  energies 
are  developed.  Mr.  Robert  Scott  is  a  thorough 
man  of  business,  of  keen  perception  and  great 
executive  ability,  and  with  a  knowledge  of  human 
nature  which  does  him  good  service  in  dealing 
with  men.  Mr.  Andrew  McLeish,  who  has  been  a 
member  of  the  firm  since  1870,  has  charge  of  its 
retail  trade  which  he  has  developed  to  a  most 
remarkable  degree. 


GEORGE  M.   MOULTON. 

GEORGE  MAYHEW  MOULTON,  is  the  son 
of  Joseph  T.  and  Maria  J.  Moulton,  and  was  born 
in  Readsboro,  Vermont,  March,  15,  1851.  His 
father,  who  came  to  Chicago  with  his  family  in 
1853,  still  resides  in  this  city,  he  and  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  doing  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  J.  T.  Moulton  &  Son.  The  family  is  of  old  New- 
England  stock,  Mr.  Moulton,  Sr.  having  been  born 
in  Chichester,  near  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  in 
which  vicinity  the  Moultons  had  resided  for  many 
years.  Gen.  Jonathan  Moulton  of  Revolutionary 
fame  was  the  great -great  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  As  soon  as  he  was  of  suffi- 
cient age  George  entered  the  public  schools  of 
Chicago,  and  it  was  in  them  and  by  diligent  study 
outside  that  he  secured  an  excellent  education. 
He  was  seventeen  years  of  age  when  he  graduated 
from  the  Chicago  high  school  with  the  class  of 
1868.  He  stood  well  in  his  class,  and  at  the  com- 
mencement exercises,  held  in  the  Crosby  Opera 
House,  he  was  selected  to  deliver  an  original  Ger- 
man oration.  After  attending  school  continuously 
for  nearly  thirteeen  years,  he  at  once  engaged  in 
active  business  pursuits.  He  was  first  employed 
in  various  capacities  under  his  father,  who  for 
many  years  has  been  engaged  in  designing  and 
building  grain  elevators  on  an  extensive  scale  in 
all  parts  of  tin-  United  States.  While  thus  em- 
ployed young  Moulton  also  learned  the  carpenter"s 
trade.     In  January,  1870.  he  went  with  his  father 


to  Duluth— then  just  starting  on  its  miraculous 
career    of   development    and   promise — where   he 
was  engaged  in  building  the  first   grain   elevator 
ever  constructed  in  that  section  of  the  country. 
His   duties   were   those   of   secretary  to  the  vice- 
president  and  general  manager   of   the   company 
and   as  genera)   clerk  of  the  work.     Mr.  Moulton 
recalls  with  a  great  deal  of  interest,  the  absence 
of  railroads  running  into  Duluth  at  this  time,  and 
the   fact   that    the  last  seventy-five  miles  of  his 
journey  from   St.  Paul   was  made  by  sled  stage 
and  the  development  which  has  since  taken  place 
at  that  point  has  been  so  great  as  to  seem  almost 
like  a  dream   in   the   life  of  a  man  of  forty.     The 
first  train  of  cars  arrived  at  Duluth  in  August,  1870, 
and   now   the   young  prosperous  city  is  a  noted 
railroad  center.     Mr.  Moulton  assisted  in  unload- 
ing the  first  car  load  of  bulk  grain  which  arrived 
in   Duluth,    which  town    has  since  rivalled  Chi- 
cago as  a  grain  center,  and  even  outstripped  that 
wonderful  city  in  amount  of  wheat  handled  per 
annum.     After  the  completion  of  the  elevator,  in 
the  fall  of  1870,  Mr.  Moulton  engaged  for  a  year 
with  the  company   owning   it,   to   operate  it   for 
them.     But  before  the  close  of  the  year  he  was 
transferred  to  Stillwater,  Minnesota,  to   supervise 
the  erection  of  an  elevator  which  the  same  com- 
pany had  projected   at   that  point.     When  the 
Stillwater  elevator  was  finished,  he  remained  in 
charge  of  it  until  the  close  of  navigation  in  the 
fall  of  1871.      Returning  to  Duluth  for  a  short 
time,  he  left  there  in  November  for  Chicago,  ar- 
riving   on    Thanksgiving    day  1871,   amidst   the 
blackened  ruins  which  the  great  fire  had  made  of 
so  large  a  part  of  that  city.    Re-building,  however, 
had  already  begun,  and  his  father  being  engaged 
to  erect  a  large  number  of  grain  elevators,  the  son 
was  employed  by  him  as  foreman  on  the  Galena 
elevator.     He  was  thus  employed  until  the  spring 
of  1872.  when  the  contract  to  erect  the  Advance 
elevator  at  East  St  Louis  was  taken  by  father  and 
son,  who  then  entered  into  partnership  under  the 
present    firm   name.      He    arrived   in   St   Louis, 
March  18.  18V2,  and  remained  thereabout  eighteen 
months,  designing  and  erecting  in  the  meantime, 
in  adddition  to  the  Advance  elevator,  which  was 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  bushels  capac- 
ity, the  Central  elevator  in  St.  Louis,  with  a  ca- 
pacity of  five  hundred  thousand  bushels:  the  East 
St.  Li  mis  elevator,  of  one  million  bushels  capacity; 
also  elevators  at  Bethalto.  Illinois,  and  St.  Gene- 
vieve,  Missouri,  each   of   fifty    thousand   bushels 
capacity;  besides    designing    elevators  at   Venice. 
Illinois,   and  Indianapolis,  Indiana.      Since  that 


STse^j.  j 


's^J^c^a 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


235 


time  his  home  and  headquarters  have  been  at 
Chicago,  though  in  the  prosecution  of  his  busi- 
ness as  architect  and  builder  ot  grain  elevators  he 
has  visited,  as  representative  of  his  firm,  all  the 
large  cities  and  grain  centers  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  where  the  work  of  this  firm  may  be  seen. 
It  has  erected  elevators  in  Portland,  New  York. 
Weehawken,  Baltimore,  Norfolk,  Buffalo,  Cleve- 
land, Toledo,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Duluth,  Washburn, 
Winona,  Minneapolis,  St.  Louis,  East  St.  Louis, 
Kansas  City,  Tacoma,  and  at  numerous  other 
places.  In  1877  Mr.  Moulton  formed  a  co-partner- 
ship with  George  H.  Johnson  for  the  manufacture 
and  application  of  fire  proof  materials  for  build- 
ings. The  design  of  the  new  company  was  to  use 
hollow-ware  tile  for  floor,  partition,  and  roof  con- 
struction, wall  girder  and  column  covering.  This 
partnership  and  enterprise  resulted  in  18S0  in  the 
organization  of  the  Ottawa  Tile  Company,  and 
the  establishment  of  works  fur  the  manufacture 
of  hollow  tile  at  Ottawa,  Illinois.  The  business 
of  the  company  increasing  rapidly,  a  large  acre- 
age of  clay  land  was  purchased,  and  the  plant  en- 
larged, until  it  has  become  one  of  the  largest  clay 
manufacturing  establishments  in  the  world.  The 
name  of  the  company  was  finally  changed  to  the 
one  it  now  bears,  the  Pioneer  Fire  Proof  Con- 
struction Company.  This  corporation  has  a  paid 
up  capital  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  which  has  since  been  added  and  invested 
in  the  business  a  large  surplus  of  earnings.  The 
company  is  a  leader  in  its  line,  and  Mr.  George  H. 
Johnson,  having  been  the  inventor  of  the  forms 
of  hollow  tile  construction,  now  so  generally  in  use 
in  large  buildings,  and  having  first  introduced  this 
form  of  building,  the  Pioneer  Fire  Proof  Construc- 
tion Company  is  unquestionably  entitled  to  be  re- 
garded as  precisely  what  its  corporate  name  im- 
plies. Mr.  Moulton  has  occupied  the  position  of 
president  of,  and  principal  stock  holder  in,  the 
company  from  its  organization  until  the  present 
time.  In  1885  this  company  purchased  a  half 
interest  in  the  River  Bank  Coal  Company,  of 
Streator,  Illinois,  in  which  Mr.  Moulton  has 
since  become  the  largest  stock  holder  and  presi- 
dent. The  company  is  actively  engaged  in  the 
business  of  mining  and  shipping  coal  to  the 
West  and  Northwest.  Mr.  Moulton  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Commerce  Vault  Company,  director  in 
the  Chicago  Deposit  Vault  Company,  and  also  a 
member  of  the  directory  of  the  Chicago  Cold  Stor- 
age Exchange.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the 
Masonic  Fraternity  Temple  Association,  of  Chi- 
cago, and  the  Masonic  Temple  Association  of  Joliet. 


In  1884  he  became  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Knights  Templars  and  Masons  Life  Indemnity 
Company,  a  fraternal  co-operative  insurance 
company,  of  which  he  was  vice-president  until 
August,  1890,  when  he  succeeded  the  late  Dr.  J. 
Adams  Allen  as  president.  Managed  with  ability, 
this  company  has  now  twenty-two  million  dollars 
insurance  in  force,  and  has  enjoyed  a  steady 
growth  that  is  a  source  of  pride  to  Mr.  Moulton. 
In  1885  he  became  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Illinois  Masonic  Orphans'  Home,  and  was  elected 
president  of  the  association,  filling  that  office  until 
1890,  when  he  retired  voluntarily,  remaining,  how- 
ever, in  the  board  of  trustees.  During  the  presi- 
dency of  Mr.  Moulton,  the  association  acquired  a 
property  which  is  valued  at  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
and  practically  free  from  debt.  The  home  is  in 
practical  operation,  and  is  a  delightful  protection 
to  a  considerable  number  of  dependent  Masonic 
orphans.  Mr.  Moulton  is  an  enthusiastic  Mason, 
and  has  taken  the  following  degrees  in  Masonry  : 
Raised  Master  Mason  in  Covenant  Lodge  No.  526 
A.  F.  A  A.  M.,  February  12,  1875;  exalted  Royal 
Arch  Mason  in  Corinthian  Chapter  No.  69  R.  A. 
M.,  May  17,  1875;  greeted  Select  Master  in 
Siloam  Council  No.  53  R.  and  S.  M.,  August  7, 
1875;  created  Knight  Templar  in  St.  Bernard 
Commandery  No.  35  K.  T.  September  1,  1875; 
created  S.  P.  R.  S.  32  degree  in  Oriental  Consis- 
tory. A.  A.  S.  R.,  June  4,  1880.  He  was  crowned 
as  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector  General,  33d  degree, 
A.  A.  S.  R.,  for  Northern  Jurisdiction  U.  S.  A., 
September  20,  1887.  He  was  created  Knight  of 
the  Red  Cross  of  Rome  and  Constantine,  Knight  of 
St.  John  of  Palestine,  and  Guardian  Knight  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  in  the  Grand  Council  of  the  state 
of  Illinois,  October  25,  1875.  He  also  holds 
membership  in  Queen  Esther  Chapter,  O.  E.  S., 
and  Medinah  Temple  A.  A.  O.,  Nobles  of  the  Mys- 
tic Shrine.  Nor  has  he  been  an  idle  member  of 
these  various  bodies.  On  the  contrary  he  has  been 
an  almost  constant,  faithful  and  efficient  office- 
bearer, serving  with  fidelity  in  many  of  the  hum- 
bler official  positions,  and  with  distinction  in 
many  of  the  most  important  in  the  gift  of  Masonry. 
Among  the  positions  which  he  has  tilled  are  the  fol- 
lowing: In  Lodge.  Senior  Deacon,  1877,  and  Junior 
Warden  1878  and  1S90.  and  Senior  Warden  in  1891; 
in  Chapter,  King,  1884  and  1885,  and  High  Priest 
1886,  receiving  Order  of  High  Priesthood  October, 
1886;  in  Council,  Thrice  Illustrious  Master  1884; 
in  Commandery.  Captain  General,  1878;  General- 
issimo, 1879,  and  Eminent  Commander,  1883;  in 
Chicago   Council   Princes  of  Jerusalem.  16th  de- 


236 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


gree,  A.  A.  S.  R.,  Soverign  Prince  Grand  Master, 
1884-85;  in  Consistory  S.  P.  R.  S.,  32nd  degree,  A. 
A.  S.  R.,  2nd  Lieutenant  Commander,  1885-6-7, 
and  1st  Lieutenant  Commander  until  January, 
1890,  when  he  became  the  Illustrious  Commander- 
in-Chief;  in  Illinois  Grand  Council  of  Delibera- 
tion, A.  A.  S.  R„  Grand  Standard  Bearer  for  three 
years  from  1885;  and  was  elected  Minister  of  State 
and  Grand  Orator  for  1890-92;  in  Grand  Chapter, 
R.  A.  M.,  Grand  Master  1st  Veil  1888;  Grand 
Master  3rd  Veil  1889;  Grand  Royal  Arch  Captain 
1890;  and  now  occupies  the  position  of  Grand 
Principal  Sojourner;  in  Grand  Council,  R.  and  S. 
M.,  Grand  Conductor,  188G;  Deputy  Grand  Master, 
1887-8;  Grand  Master,  1889;  in  Grand  Command- 
er}- K.  T.,  Grand  Sword  Bearer,  1885;  Grand 
Standard  Bearer,  1886;  Grand  Captain  General, 
1887;  Grand  Generalissimo,  1888;  Deputy  Grand 
Commander  1889;  Grand  Commander,  1890.  At 
Washington  in  1889,  he  was  appointed  Grand 
Standard  Bearer  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of 
K.  T.,  U.  S.  A.,  for  the  term  ending  August  1892. 
In  1886  Mr.  Moulton  was  commissioned  as  Major 
in  the  Second  Regiment  Illinois  National  Guards. 
He  resigned  his  commission  in  January,  1890, 
retiring  when  Col.  H.  A.  Wheeler  —  at  whose 
solicitation  he  entered  the  service — retired  from 
the  command  of  the  regiment.  While  in  commis- 
sion he  served  in  the  two  weeks'  campaign  at  the 
Union  Stock  Yards,  during  the  noted  labor  riots 
in  the  Fall  of  1887,  and  was  with  his  regiment  at 
all  its  encampments  and  whenever  it  was  called 
upon  for  any  duty.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Union 
League  Club,  Miltona  Club,  Acacia  Club,  Sons  of 
Vermont,  Chicago  Art  Institute,  and  the  Illinois 
Association  of  Architects.  Among  Mr.  Moulton's 
marked  characteristics  are  great  executive  ability, 
excellent  judgment  and  an  intense  power  of  appli- 
catory  which  enable  him  to  grasp  and  master  in- 
tricate business  problems  with  comparative  ease. 
These  combined  with  great  physical  vigor  have 
enabled  him  to  accomplish  what  few  men  at  his 
age  have  done.  Mr.  Moulton  was  married  March 
12th,  1873,  in  Burlington,  Iowa,  to  Anna  Flor- 
ence Garland.  They  have  two  children  Edith 
May,  who  was  born  at  Winona,  Minn.,  and 
Arthur  Garland,  who  was  born  in  Chicago.  The 
family  reside  on  Calumet  avenue,  in  the  home- 
stead of  the  late  General  John  A.  Logan,  which, 
after  General  Logan's  death  Mr.  Moulton  pur- 
chased, remodeled  and  enlarged  into  a  very  hand- 
some and  commodious  residence.  With  his  suc- 
cessful career  and  pleasant  home,  Mr.  Moulton 
has  much  reason  to  be  satisfied. 


SAMUEL   W.   ALLERTON. 

SAMUEL  WATERS  ALLERTON  is  the  son 

of  Samuel  Waters  and  Hannah  (Hurd)  Allerton, 
and  was  born  May  26,  1829.  Both  of  his  parents 
were  natives  of  Armenia,  Dutchess  county,  New 
York.  Mr.  Allerton  is  a  direct  descendant  of 
Isaac  Allerton,  one  of  the  Pilgrims  who  came  over 
in  the  Mayflower,  and  who  was  commissioned  on 
several  occasions  to  return  to  England  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  Pilgrim  colony.  The  middle  name, 
Waters,  was  that  of  an  ancestor  who  took  an 
active  part  in  throwing  the  tea  overboard  in 
Boston  harbor.  His  grandfather,  Reuben  Aller- 
ton, was  a  surgeon  in  the  continental  army.  Mr. 
Allerton,  therefore,  comes  from  an  ancestry  of 
sterling  character  and  brilliant  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  patriotism,  liberty  and  right;  and  he  is 
bountifully  endowed  with  the  elements  of  charac- 
ter that  made  his  ancestors  brave  and  true. 
Samuel's  father  was  a  merchant  in  his  native- town. 
In  1830  he  erected  a  comb  factory  and  a  woolen 
factory  in  Armenia,  and  these  were  operated  by 
himself  and  a  younger  brother.  But  in  1833, 
owing  to  the  reduction  in  the  tariff,  the  manufac- 
turing business  was  generally  prostrated,  and 
within  three  years  nearly  every  business  was 
crippled,  and  bankruptcy  was  almost  universal. 
The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  did  not 
escape  the  fury  of  the  financial  storm,  ami  soon 
found  his  own  enterprises  wholly  wrecked.  In 
1837  he  went  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged 
in  mining  lead.  But  reverses  of  a  very  serious 
character  came,  and  finding  himself  utterly  bank- 
rupt, he  returned  to  Armenia  and  accepted  a  clerk  - 
ship  in  a  store.  When  Samuel  was  thirteen  years 
old,  his  mother  and  he  succeeded  in  raising  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  removing  to  Yates  county. 
New  York,  they  rented  a  farm  on  the  banks  of 
Seneca  Lake.  Here  young  Allerton  worked  with 
his  father  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  nine- 
teen. A  considerable  degree  of  financial  success 
had  resulted  from  the  industry  and  good  manage- 
ment displayed  upon  this  farm,  and  when  Samuel 
was  nineteen  they  found  themselves  possessed  of 
sufficient  means  to  purchase  a  farm  of  eighty 
acres  in  Wayne  county,  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
Samuel  at  this  time,  with  the  energy  of  character 
that  he  has  so  conspicuously  shown  all  through 
his  life,  retained  about  six  hundred  dollars'  worth 
of  live  stock  and  farming  implements  and  rented  a 
farm  in  Yates  county.  He  remained  on  this  farm 
until  he  was  twenty  three  years  old,  at  which 
time  he  was  worth  $3,300,   which  represented   his 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


237 


accumulations  for  the  rive  years.  The  substantial 
character  of  the  young  man  was  clearly  demon- 
strated at  this  time  by  the  fact  that  upon  his  own 
individual  note,  he  was  enabled  to  borrow  five 
thousand  dollors  from  the  banks  in  Wayne  county. 
With  his  savings  and  this  borrowed  capital  he 
commenced  the  business  of  dealing  in  live  stock 
in  central  and  western  New  York,  with  head- 
quarters at  Newark.  Wayne  county.  Extending 
his  operations  a  little  further  west  every  year,  he 
finally  went  to  Chicago.  Arriving  there  in  1856, 
he  continued  the  purchase  of  live  stock  in  Illinois. 
shipping  to  New  York  City.  At  the  expiration  of 
two  years,  however,  a  severe  illness  suggested  to 
him  that  perhaps  lie  would  not  be  able  to  stand 
the  climate  of  the  West,  and  returning  to  Newark, 
he  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business.  But  in  a 
year"s  time,  having  in  the  meantime  regained  his 
health,  he  concluded  that  the  occupation  of  a  dry 
goods  merchant  was  not  broad  nor  active  enough 
for  one  of  his  disposition  and  ambition.  The  fine 
opportunities  offered  in  the  great  west  for  the  in- 
auguration of  business  enterprises  and  the  accu- 
mulation of  wealth,  decided  this  young  man  of 
restless  energy  to  risk  the  rigors  of  the  climate 
and  to  subordinate  every  other  consideration  to 
his  desire  to  again  come  where  there  were  plenty 
of  room  and  boundless  opportunities.  Without 
waiting  even  to  sell  his  store,  he  gathered  ti  igether 
what  capital  he  could,  and  once  more  started  for 
Illinois.  For  a  year  he  bought  live  stock  in  Fulton 
county  and  in  other  parts  of  that  section  of  the 
state.  He  then  married  and  removed  to  Chicago, 
where  there  was  but  one  man  at  that  time  with 
whom  he  had  a  personal  acquaintance.  He  located 
at  what  was  then  called  the  Orient  House,  which 
was  situated  at  the  corner  of  State  and  Van 
Buren  streets.  Here  he  met  B.  P.  Hutchinson. 
J.  M.  Richards.  John  Black,  Ezra  Wheeler  and 
Chas.  Tobey,  young  men  who  were  then  compara- 
tively poor  and  unknown,  yet  all  of  whom  achieved 
a  brilliant  success  in  life,  accumulating  large 
fortunes  and  becoming  prominent  and  honored 
citizens  of  their  adopted  city;  and  in  each  of  this 
notable  company  of  men,  from  Mr.  Allerton 
through  the  list,  the  secret  of  success  will  be  found 
to  have  been  unswerving  integrity,  perseverance, 
industry  and  economy.  Other  young  men.  poor 
and  perhaps  friendless,  may  look  upon  this  list  of 
young  men  who  met  at  that  humble  hotel,  and. 
following  the  brilliant  career  of  each  to  fortune 
and  prominence,  feel  encouraged  to  make  what 
may  sometimes  seem  to  them  a  hopeless  effort. 
But  they  must  possess  the  same  sterling  qualities 


that  Mr.  Allerton  and  his  companions  possessed, 
if  they  would  succeed.  Mr.  Allerton  began  busi- 
ness in  Chicago,  in  a  small  way,  by  buying  live 
stock  at  the  old  Merrick  yards  on  Cottage  Grove 
avenue,  making  shipments  to  the  east.  The 
courage  of  the  man  and  his  entire  confidence  in 
his  own  judgment,  as  well  as  his  proper  recogni- 
tion of  the  value  of  his  own  integrity,  were  demon- 
strated very  soon  after  beginning  his  business 
career  in  Chicago.  For  a  time  he  had  no  bank 
connection  in  Chicago,  and  was  compelled  to  do 
business  largely  upon  remittances  which  came  by 
express  from  New  York.  In  the  month  of  May. 
1860,  the  market  on  hogs  declined  a  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  per  hundred.  Mr.  Allerton  secured  an 
introduction  toMr.  Willard,  cashier  of  the  banking 
house  of  George  S.  Smith,  and  put  to  him  this 
question:  "If  I  pay  for  three  telegrams,  one  to 
my  commission  house  in  New  York,  another  to 
your  own  New  York  correspondent  who  shall  be 
directed  to  inquire  if  my  commission  house  is 
good,  and  a  third  to  my  banker  in  Newark,  N.  Y., 
inquiring  as  to  my  personal  integrity,  will  you,  if 
the  answers  are  satisfactory,  cash  a  sight-draft 
for  me  to-morrow?"  Mr.  Willard  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  and  Mr.  Allerton.  returning  to  the 
Stock  Yards,  bought  all  the  hogs  in  Chicago.  The 
next  day  he  presented  at  the  Chicago  bank  a  sight- 
draft  for  eighty  thousand  dollars.  The  cashier 
was  staggered,  saying  that  he  did  not  suppose, 
when  he  agreed  to  cash  the  draft,  that  more  than 
five  thousand  dollars  would  be  called  for,  and 
he  promptly  declined  to  fulfill  his  promise,  a  fact 
that  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  It  was  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  pay  out  in  such  a  manner,  and  yet 
the  man  who  asked  it  perhaps  scarcely  thought  of 
the  unreasonableness  of  the  request,  judge, 1  by 
the  rules  of  banking  methods.  His  staunch  integ- 
rity he  believed  was  good  for  any  amount  of 
money  that  he  might  ask,  and  it  was.  Nor  was  he 
long  in  finding  a  banking  establishment  that  be- 
lieved his  character  and  judicious  enterprise  were 
good  enough  security  for  eighty  thousand  dollars. 
Of  course  Mr.  Willard's  refusal  to  cash  the  draft 
presented,  was,  under  all  the  circumstances,  a  stag- 
gering blow  to  Mr.  Allerton;  but  almost  immedi- 
ately meeting  a  friend,  he  inquired  of  him  if  he 
knew  any  Chicago  bankers.  His  friend  replied 
that  he  did,  and  upon  the  request  of  Mr. 
Allerton.  introduced  him  to  the  banking  estab- 
lishment of  Aiken  &  Morton,  who,  after  ex- 
amining the  telegrams  which  had  been  sent, 
and  also  the  answers  to  the  same,  which  were 
very  favorable,  agreed  to  let  him  have  the  sum  he 


'38 


iuooraphy  of  Illinois. 


wanted,  at  one  per  cent  exchange.  The  deal 
which  this  loan  enabled  him  to  consummate,  was 
the  real  beginning  of  the  splendid  success  he  has 
achieved  in  the  business  world.  He  and  Mr. 
Aiken,  of  the  banking  firm  referred  to,  were  inti- 
mate in  business  relations  for  a  number  of  years. 
When  the  National  banking  law  was  enacted,  the 
bankers  of  Chicago  were  slow  to  take  advantage 
of  its  provisions,  a  fact  that  is  not  much  to  be 
wondered  at.  when  the  conservatism  of  bankers 
is  considered,  and  it  is  remembered  that  the  Na- 
tional banking  system  was  a  great  innovation  up- 
on established  methods.  But  Mr.  Allerton  was 
quick  to  see  the  excellence  of  the  proposed  system, 
and  aside  from  that,  his  patriotism  prompted  him 
frequently  to  urge  Mr.  Aiken  to  start  a  national 
bank.  His  agitation  of  the  subject  was  largely 
instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Chicago,  of  which  Mr.  Allerton 
was  one  of  the  first  board  of  directors.  The  Union 
Stock  Yards  of  Chicago,  with  their  vast  interests 
and  throbbing  business  life,  are  also  largely  a 
result  of  Mr.  Allerton's  keen  foresight  of  the  ulti- 
mate necessities  of  the  live  stock  business,  and  of 
his  personal  activity  and  energy.  When  he  came 
to  Chicago  there  was  no  stock  market  of  import- 
ance except  in  the  winter  season.  Every  shipper 
bringing  stock  to  Chicago,  intended  taking  it 
through  to  New  York,  and  it  was  difficult  for  Mr. 
Allerton  to  buy  stock,  for  the  reason  that  there 
was  no  competition  to  encourage  selling.  Finally, 
Mr.  Nelson  Morris  began  to  buy  cattle  for  eastern 
shipments,  and  these  two  gentlemen  soon  educated 
the  stockmen  of  the  West  to  see  that  Chicago  was 
a  first-class  live  stock  market.  But  there  were  at 
that  time  in  Chicago  three  yards  for  receiving 
stock.  In  1865  Mr.  Allerton  and  John  B.  Sherman, 
conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  union  stock 
yards.  Mr.  Allerton  wrote  the  first  letters  to  the 
Chicago  Tribune,  setting  forth  the  great  advan- 
tages that  wyould  result  to  the  farmers  of  the  West 
from  having  one  central  live  stock  market,  where 
all  buyers  would  be  brought  together.  This  was 
established  in  1866,  largely  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Mr.  Allerton.  This  has  now  become 
the  largest  live  stock  market  in  the  world,  and, 
with  its  daily  disbursement  of  about  one  million 
dollars — which  largely  filters  through  all  the  ave- 
nues of  Chicago  trade  makes  the  city  the  great 
money  center  of  the  West.  Mr.  Allerton  has  been 
a  shipper  of  stock  over  the  Inns  of  the  Pennsylva- 
nia railroad  since  1861.  Previous  to  that  date  the 
Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern,  the  New- 
York  Central  and  New  York  and  Erie   railroads 


did  nearly  all  the  traffic  between  Chicago  and 
New  York.  After  a  time  Mr.  Allerton  secured  the 
controlling  interest  in  the  Pittsburgh  stock  yards 
and  became  interested  in  the  yards  at  Philadel- 
phia and  Baltimore.  In  connection  with  John  R. 
McPherson,  now  United  States  Senator  from  New 
Jersey,  he  also  established  stock  yards  at  Jersey 
City,  and  there  to-day  is  the  principal  cattle  mar- 
ket of  New  York.  For  twenty  years  Mr.  Allerton 
has  been  a  director  of  the  Chicago  City  Railway, 
whose  cable  system  was  first  recommended  by 
him.  In  1880  he  witnessed  the  working  of  the 
cable  in  San  Francisco,  and  upon  his  return  home 
he  suggested  its  adoption  in  Chicago  to  Mr.  C.  B. 
Holmes,  then  superintendent  of  the  Chicago  City 
Railway.  Mr.  Holmes  at  once  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco to  investigate  the  system.  Upon  his  return, 
a  month  later,  the  work  of  constructing  the  pres- 
ent South  Side  cable  system  in  Chicago,  was  com- 
menced, and  every  one  who  is  at  all  conversant 
with  the  elements  which  have  entered  into  the 
prosperity  of  the  city,  is  free  to  acknowledge  that 
the  introduction  of  this  motive  power  in  the  opera- 
tion of  street  railways  has  been  among  the  most 
prominent  agencies  of  the  city's  progress.  Mr. 
Allerton  says  there  are  two  things  that  he  never 
offers  for  sale.  They  are  the  stock  of  the  First 
National  Bank — and  he  is  one  of  the  largest  stock- 
holders in  that  institution — and  the  land  he  owns 
in  Piatt  county.  111.  He  owns  about  forty  thous- 
and acres  of  land  in  this  state,  Nebraska  and  Wy- 
oming. Nineteen  thousand  acres  of  his  landed  pos- 
sessions are  located  in  Piatt  and  Vermillion  coun- 
ties, 111.,  and  this  land  is  in  the  very  highest  state 
of  cultivation.  Upon  the  farms  into  which  this 
land  is  divided,  there  is  grown  a  variety  of  crops, 
and  special  attention  is  given  to  Raising  horses  and 
fattening  cattle  and  hogs.  The  farms  are  worked 
upon  the  co-operative  plan,  by  which  each  farmer 
shares  the  profits  on  his  work.  The  same  system 
is  adopted  on  the  Nebraska  farms.  There  are 
three  railroad  stations  on  the  Illinois  farms,  viz: 
Galesville,  on  the  Wabash;  Allerton,  on  the  East- 
ern Illinois,  and  Allerton  Switch,  on  the  Illinois 
Central;  and  at  these  stations  the  products  of  the 
farms  are  loaded  on  the  cars  and  shipped  East. 
Among  his  other  business  enterprises  are  inter- 
ests in  the  stock  yards  at  Omaha,  and  in  the  Oma- 
ha Land  Syndicate,  which  controls  a  large  amount 
of  property  in  that  city.  He  owns  a  packing 
house  in  Chicago  and  one  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  both 
being  conducted  under  the  name  of  the  Allerton 
Packing  Company,  and  from  which  large  ship- 
ments are  made  to  the  East  and  to  Europe.     In 


OH   THE 

umviftsiTYonuJNOis. 


i;i()i;i;.\i'HV  of  Illinois. 


239 


politics  Mr.  Allerton  is  a  Republican,  and  if  his 
tastes  were  in  that  direction,  the  honors  of  official 
position  could  unquestionably  have  been  his.  But 
he  has  always  taken  a  greater  interest  in  matters 
of  business  than  in  active  politics.  He  has  always 
manifested  a  deep  and  judicious  interest  in  the 
young  men  in  his  employ,  and  he  makes  it  a  rule 
never  to  retain  a  young  man  in  his  service  who 
does  not  save  something  from  his  earnings.  This 
must  be  regarded  as  a  very  practical  method  of 
encouraging  young  men  to  form  economical  habits 
as  the  chief  basis  of  success  in  life.  In  1860  Mr. 
Allerton  was  married  to  Miss  Pamilla  W.  Thomp- 
son, daughter  of  A.  C.  Thompson,  of  Canton.  Illi- 
nois. Two  children,  Robert  H.  and  Kate  R.,  the 
widow  of  the  late  Dr.  F.  S.  Papin,  of  Keokuk, 
Iowa,  were  born  of  this  union.  His  first  wife  died 
and  in  1880  he  married  Agnes  C.  Thompson.  Mr. 
Allerton  takes  great  delight  in  the  charms  of 
home  life,  and  although  a  member  of  the  Union 
League,  Chicago  and  Calumet  clubs,  he  enjoys 
the  comforts  of  home  and  the  companionship  of 
his  family  to  a  much  higher  degree  than  club 
life. 


SAMUEL  H.   McCREi. 

SAMUEL  HARKNESS  McCREA  was  for  many 
years  prominently  identified  with  the  commercial 
and  municipal  interests  of  Chicago.  He  was  born 
in  Goshen,  Orange  county,  New  York,  August  16, 
1826,  of  Scotch-Irish  parents.  His  father,  William 
McCrea,  was  born  in  Londonderry  in  171)6.  and  his 
mother.  Abigail  (Harkness)  McCrea.  in  county 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  in  1799.  They  came  to  America 
in  1821.  Of  their  ten  children,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  fourth  in  tin-  order  of  birth. 
While  Samuel  was  still  quite  young  his  father's 
family  moved  to  Brighton,  near  Rochester,  where 
he  lived  until  he  attained  his  majority.  In  boy- 
hood he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  subjects 
taught  at  the  common  schools  of  the  vicinity,  and 
a  large  fund  of  practical  information,  that  aided 
him  in  after  years.  As  he  grew  older,  he  seized 
upon  whatever  work  promised  to  advance  him, 
and  had  many  occupations  in  quick  succession. 
In  1849  he  went  to  California  and  mined  with 
moderate  success  until  1852.  Then  he  engaged  in 
the  construction  of  a  railroad  through  the  sugar 
region  of  Louisiana.  There  Mr.  McCrea's  indom- 
itable spirit  was  shown  in  the  fact  that  he  with- 
stood the  perils  of  the  miasmatic  swamps  for  two 


years.  He  came  to  Illinois  during  the  summer  of 
1855  and  settled  at  Morrison,  where  he  entered 
the  grain  and  lumber  business,  ami  took  an  active 
interest  in  the  development  of  Whiteside  county 
until  he  moved  to  Chicago.  Here  shortly  after 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  found 
a  wider  held  for  the  exercise  of  his  ability.  As  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  he  soon  became 
prominent  and  his  power  was  felt  in  the  reform  of 
old  abuses.  He  served  in  the  directory  from  1867 
to,  and  including  1869.  In  the  latter  year  he  be- 
came first  vice-president  of  the  organization,  and 
in  April,1870,  waselected  to  the  presidency.  Dur- 
ing his  administration  the  manner  of  handling 
grain  underwent  a  thorough  change,  by  which  the 
whole  business  of  inspection,  storage  and  ship- 
ment was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  placed  under  control  of  the  state.  By 
his  influence  President  McCrea  contributed  hugely 
to  this  beneficent  reform.  In  business.  Mr.  McCrea 
was  a  man  of  large  experience,  keen  intellect  and 
unimpeachable  integrity.  His  conservative  and 
practical  methods  secured  his  customers  against 
loss  during  the  great  fire  and  the  panics  of  suc- 
ceeding years,  and  his  broad-minded  appreciation 
of  the  needs  of  both  producers  and  consumers 
made  him  a  valuable  adviser  in  the  management  of 
the  Board  of  Trade.  Mr.  McCrea  was  elected  to 
the  City  Council  as  a  representative  of  the  Twelfth 
Ward  in  1S76.  He  immediately  became  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  finance,  upon  which  devolv- 
ed the  task  of  managing  the  monetary  affairs  of 
a  city,  then  considered  little  better  than  bankrupt. 
The  depleted  treasury,  however,  was  soon  filled, 
the  police,  fire  and  school  departments  paid,  and 
the  credit  of  the  city  restored.  A  year  later  he 
became  treasurer  of  Cook  county,  and  served  two 
years  with  high  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satis 
faction  of  the  people.  Governor  Cullom  appointed 
him  a  park  commissioner  for  West  Chicago,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  six  years.  He  was  twice 
elected  to  the  presidency  of  ttie  board,  and  took  a 
leading  part  in  organizing  and  promoting  the 
growth  of  the  West  Side  syste f  parks.  He  re- 
signed in  1883  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  to 
devote  more  time  to  travels  and  his  business  inter- 
ests. He  died  March  12.  1891.  Judge  John  E. 
Bennett,  of  South  Dakota,  an  intimate  friend  of 
Mr.  McCrea,  wrote  the  following  tribute  to  his 
memory:  "As  a  friend  I  have  found  him  one  of 
the  gentlest,  kindest,  truest.  His  heart  was  full 
of  quick  and  warm  responses  to  generous  nature 
*  *  *  The  old  sought  him  to  renew  their 
youth,  the  children  sought  him  as  a  companion 


240 


KIOOUAI'IIY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


*  *  *  He  made  a  great  success  of  life.  He 
lived  nobly,  achieved  grandly,  died  bravely,"  Mr. 
McCrea  was  married  cm  June  28,  185G,  to  Miss 
Coralinn  I.  Johnson,  of  Cook  county.  They  have 
had  four  sons — Willey  S.,  Daniel  Q.  (deceased  in 
infancy),  Charles  M.  and  Samuel  H.,  Jr. 


DANIEL  K.  PEARSONS. 

In  Daniel  Kimball  Pearsons  Chicago  has  a 
citizen  entitled  to  three-fold  prominence — an  able 
physician,  a  successful  business  man,  and  a 
noted  philanthropist.  In  all  of  these  worthy 
lines  he  is  justly  distinguished  and  yet  wears  his 
honors  with  becoming  modesty.  Pew  are  the  men 
who  have  done  as  much  for  mankind  as  has  Mr, 
Pearsons,  but  it  would  never  be  known  were  it  left 
for  him  to  tell.  In  many  ways  Mr.  Pearsons  is  a 
remarkable  man.  He  is  seventy-two  years  old,  but 
looks  to  be  about  fifty-five.  He  is  of  robust  build. 
thoroughly  active  in  every  detail  of  his  large  busi- 
ness; always  on  the  move,  and  yet  brimful  of 
kindly  magnetism  which  gives  him  a  power  of 
mastery  both  in  bending  others  to  his  ways  and 
in  securing  from  them  faithful  and  well-directed 
aid.  Daniel  Kimball  Pearsons  was  born  in  Brad- 
ford, Vermont,  April  14,  1820.  His  mother  was 
Hannah  Putnam,  a  connection  of  General  Israel 
Putnam,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  her  father  being 
also  a  soldier  in  the  same  war.  These  Green 
Mountain  families  are  of  sturdy  stock,  and  Mrs. 
Pearsons  lived  until  1888,  in  which  year  she  died  at 
the  advanced  age  of  ninety-three,  full  of  mental 
vigor  and  physical  health  almost  to  the  last  day.  Mr. 
Pearsons'  father  was  John  Pearsons,  a  farmer,  who 
settled  in  Vermont  over  one  hundred  years  ago- 
There  were  nine  children  in  the  family  and  it  was 
a  matter  of  pride  to  Mrs.  Pearsons  in  her  old  age 
that  she  had  set  for  them  an  example  of  the  use- 
fulness of  work,  by  herself  spinning  the  yarn  and 
weaving  the  cloth  for  the  clothing  of  the  entire 
family.  When  sixteen  yearsold  Daniel  K.  Pearsons, 
following  the  lead  of  many  other  New  England 
men  who  have  also  became  famous,  began  teach- 
ing in  a  country  school.  Five  years  of  this  service 
gave  him  the  means  to  enter"  Dartmouth  College, 
where  he  took  a  two  years'  course,  and  afterward 
studied  medicine  at  Woodstock.  He  graduated 
and  began  practice  in  his  native  state,  but  in  1843 
removed  to  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  then,  as  now, 
a  thriving  manufacturing  town.     There  he  made 


for  himself  a  good  practice,  but  the  desire  to  come 
west  was  too  strong,  and  in  1857  he  removed  to 
Ogle  county,  Illinois,  to  the  great  regret  of  his 
many  Eastern  friends.  In  these  four  years  of 
practice  Mr.  Pearsons  earned  the  title  of  "doctor," 
by  which  he  has  ever  since  been  known  to  his 
family  and  most  intimate  acquaintances,  although 
he  has  not  practiced  his  profession  since  leaving 
Chicopee.  Mr.  Pearsons'  chief  object  in  moving 
to  Ogle  county  was  to  engage  in  farming—  a  call- 
ing which  had  many  charms  for  him — but  the 
quiet  country  life  was  too  contracted  for  a  man  of 
his  restless  activity  and  he  soon  established  him- 
self in  Chicago  in  the  real  estate  business.  His  first 
operations  were  as  the  agent  for  the  sale  of  farm 
property,  but  lie  was  quickly  put  in  charge  of  the 
Sturgis,  and  other  large  outside  estates,  and 
handled  them  so  well  that  a  very  profitable  busi- 
ness was  secured  to  him.  He  sold  lands  for  the 
Illinois  Central  Railway,  for  Michael  Sullivan,  the 
farmer  king,  and  others,  his  sales  in  Illinois  alone 
aggregating  over  one  million  acres.  In  1860  Mr. 
Pearsons  began  loaning  money  as  the  agent  of 
eastern  companies,  mostly  on  farming  lands  and 
did  an  extensive  business,  the  average  annual 
loans  for  twelve  years  being  over  81,000,000.  In 
placing  these,  loans  Mr.  Pearsons  always  acted  as 
the  agent  of  both  borrower  and  lender,  securing 
for  the  former  equitable  and  easy  terms,  and  for 
the  latter  unquestionable  security.  During  the 
panic  of  1873,  when  the  auditor  of  an  eastern 
state  was  critically  examining  the  assets  of  an  in- 
surance company  for  which  Mr.  Pearsons  had 
been  placing  western  loans,  he  paid  high  compli- 
ment to  the  soundness  and  ample  margin  of  values 
of  the  mortgages.  In  1877  Mr.  Pearsons  found 
his  own  business  interests  so  great  as  to  require 
all  his  time  and  he  severed  his  connection  with 
other  capitalists.  Since  then,  although  he  has 
given  away  $700,000  in  charities,  his  fortune  has 
been  constantly  growing  and  is  now  very  large. 
He  owns  extensive  timber  tracts  in  Michigan, 
several  fine  farms  in  Illinois,  and  much  valuable 
improved  property  in  the  northern  division  of 
Chicago.  Mr.  Pearsons  has  also  been  very  promi- 
nent in  many  large  local  enterprises,  and  is  now 
a  director  in  the  Chicago  City  Railway  and  in  the 
American  Exchange  National  Bank.  He  retains 
large  monetary  interests  in  other  financial  institu- 
tions, but  has  withdrawn  from  their  active  man- 
agement in  order  that  lie  may  be  less  hampered 
by  business  cares  and  have  more  time  for  the  en 
joyinent  of  life.  Mr.  Pearsons  had  a  bright  and 
powerful  political  future  before  him,  but  after  two 


)F  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


24r 


terms  in  the  City  Council  he  withdrew  from  poli- 
tics entirely  and  has  since  refused  to  allow  his 
name  to  be  used  in  thai  direction.  Before  bis  re 
tirement.  however,  Mr.  Pearsons  performed  an  acl 
for  the  benefit  of  Chicago  which  was  of  the  mosl 
vital  importance  to  the  future  prosperity  of  the 
city.  It  was  in  L875  that  tin-  city  was  in  debt 
beyond  the  constitutional  limit  and  needed  more 
money.  Capitalists  refused  to  advance  any  more 
because  the  validity  of  certain  certificates  winch 
had  been  issued  by  the  city  was  being  questioned 
in  the  courts  and  they  were  likeh  to  be  declared 
invalid.  In  this  dilemma  .Mr.  Pearsons,  then  a 
member  of  the  City  Council,  went  to  New  fork 
and  quieted  the  creditors  there  by  promising  them 
that  no  matter  what  decision  the  courts  made  on 
the  certificates,  they  should  !»■  paid,  and  to  this 
end  he  pledged  his  entire  fortune.  He  afterwards 
raise. 1  in  Chicago  the  $500,000  required  to  save 
flic  city  from  bankruptcy.  When  Mr.  Pearsons  re- 
tired from  the  Council,  a  committee  of  citizens 
waited  upon  him  and  in  a  series  of  handsomely 
engrossed  resolutions  testified  their  appreciation, 
and  that  of  the  city,  for  his  effective  work- 
in  this  and  in  other  important  public  matters. 
It  is.  however,  as  a  philanthropist  that  Mr.  Pear- 
sons is  entitled  to  more  open   credit  than   lie   has 

yet  vi ived.    His  charities  have  always  bi  i 

quiet,  unostentatious  sort,  and  within  a  few  years 
he  has  given  away  $700,000  with  scarcely  a  com- 
ment outside  of  those  from  the  people  directly 
interested.  Nor  is  this  all.  Mr.  Pearsons'  be- 
quests are  always  so  framed  as  to  lead   other  rich 

men  to  follow  his  g 1  example,  and    in   this   way 

his  generous  gifts  have  been  increased  many  fold. 
If  he  gives  $100,000  to  a  college  it  is  generally  con- 
ditional upon  $100,000  being  raised  from  others 
able  to  give.  This  acts  as  an  incentive  and  the 
required  conditions  are  always  fulfilled.  I J  •  ^ — 
■  —  always  given  for  some  specific  object  and 
is  BO  secured  by  judicious  investment  that  it  can- 
not be  squandered  should  the  institution  to  which 
it  is  given  ever  come  under  unwise  management. 
To  one  worthy  college  he  will  give  $50,000  to  sus 
tain  a   certain   professorship;  to  another   he   will 

give  $100,000  to  be  loaned  oul  to  ] r  students  at 

3  per  cent  interest,  etc.  It  is  impossible  in  a  short 
article  to  give  a  list  of  Mr.  Pearsons'  many  acts  of 
benevolence,  but  the  following  are  among  the  more 
prominent:  To  Beloit  College,  $100,000;  Lake 
forest  University, $100,000;  Knox  College.  $50,000; 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary.  $50,000;  Presbj 
terian  Seminary.  $50,000;  Presbyterian  Hospital. 
$60,000;    SToung    Men'-     Christian      Association. 


$30,000;  Women's  Hoard  of  Foreign  Missions. 
$20,000.  All  these  sums  are  so  invested  that 
the  beneficiaries  are  sure  of  a  large  and 
regular  income.     Besides  all  this  Mr.  Pearsons  is 

a  constant  tributor  to  most  of   the   charitable 

institutions  in  Chicago:  assists  generously  in  the 
founding  of  public  libraries  in  country  towns,  and 
d is] icnses  annually  large  sums  of  money  in  private 
acts  of  benevolence  known  only  to  himself  and  the 
receivers.  M  r.  Pearsons,  however,  has  never  yet 
donated  a  dollar  to  any  individual  or  institution 
that  has  made  a  request  of  him.  He  prefers  to 
search  out  for  himself  theobjectsof  his  generosity 
and  his  gifts  ari  therefore  always  a  surprise,  lb' 
is  constantly  besieged  by  applicants   for  financial 

:e,  but  none  of  them  get  anything.     Mr. 

-'  wife,  formerly  Miss  Marietta  Chapin  of 
the  widely  known  western  Massachusetts  family. 
is  in  active  sympathy  with  him  in  his  well-laid 
plans  for  doing  good  to  mankind  by  apportioning 
out  his  money  while  he  i-  yet  alive,  to  see  that  it 

is  well  used.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pearsons  are  both 
great  travelers  and  have  seen  nearly  all  of  this 
country,  and  have  three  times  visited  Europe.  He 
spent  the  winter  of  1890  in  Egypt.  They  have  a 
beautiful  suburban  home  at  Hinsdale,  where  they 

find] :h domestic  comfort.     Mr.  Pearsons,  while 

not  a  regular  communicant  at  any  church,  has  a 
deep  reverence  for  the  good  that  religious  influ- 
ences accomplish,  and  is  a  strong  supporter  of 
church  societies.  Hi-  is  a  regular  attendant  at  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  and  is  also  well  known 
in  other  church  circles.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Sons  of  Vermonl  Society,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  presidents  of  the  organization. 
Beyond  this  he  has  had  no  desire  for  prominence 
in  chili  or  public  life. 


CHARLES  COUNSELMAN. 

CHARLES  COUNSELMAN  is  the  son  of  Jacob 
and  Mary  (Wigart)  Counselman  and  was  b..rn  in 
Baltimore,  Md..  December  25,  1849.  The  family 
traces  back  four  generations  in  the  state  of  Marj 
land.  Both  of  his  grandfathers  were  soldiers  in 
the  war  of  lspj.  Mr.  Counselman  is  one  of  the 
bright  products  of  the  American  common  school 
system  which  has  always  furnished  the  great  ma- 
jority of  children  with  all  the  education  they  ever 
re, -live.  Having  acquired  such  education  as  the 
schools    of    his    native    city    imparted,   he  entered 


242 


BIOGR  \l'in    OF    [LLINOIS. 


upon  the  study  of  law  at  Elliott  City,  Maryland, 
in  the  office  of  Judge  Edward  Hammond;  but  at 
the  end  of  three  years,  his  health  failing,  he  con 
eluded  to  abandon  tin- law.  and  accepted  a  position 
in  the  office  of  George  R.  Blanchard,  the  General 
Freight  Agenl  of  the  Baltimore  ami  Ohio  railroad, 
where  he  remained  for  about  a  year.  Coming  to 
Chicago  in  1869,  he  secured  employmenl  with  Eli 
Johnson  &  Co.  The  salary  was  small  and  the 
position  he  occupied  was  insignificant,  but  like 
many   other   brainy,   energetic   young    men    who 

,•; to  that  city  in  the  days  of  small  things,  and 

have  since  left  their  impress  upon  the  magnificent 
development  of  the  western  metropolis,  he  did  not 
wail  for  a  specially  brilliant  opening.     Indeed,  he 
could  not  wait,  and   his   natural    industry   would 
not  have  permitted  him  to  do  so.  even  if  his  finan- 
cial circumstances  had  been  such    as   to  make  it 
possible.     His  mental  and  physical  activity     the 
only   capital   that   he   brought  with  him  into  the 
new  west  -combined   with    his  poverty,    to   make 
immediate  employment  a  necessity.     At  that  time 
he  showed  conspicuously  the   traits  ot   character 
that  have  made  his  life  brilliantly  successful.     He 
performed  all  the  duties  that  devolved   upon  him. 
however   humble   and   however  small  the  recom- 
pense might  he.  conscientiously  and  industriously . 
Utei    a   short   term  of  service  with  Mr.  Johnson, 
wi   find  him  engaged  in  the  business  of  selling  ^il 
on  commission,  for   Chase,   Han  ford   &    Co.     His 
next  move  was  to  start  in  the  commission  business 
for  himself.    This  was  in  1871.     About    this   time 
he   became   a   member   of  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Trade  and  from  then  until  now,  a  splendid   pros- 
perity has  steadily  been  his.      It  is  true,  that  like 
other  business  men.  he  may    not    have   found   all 
the  days  equally  bright.     Indeed,    in  his  commer- 
cial experience  he  has  seen  the  gathering  of  clouds 
that    threaten    disastrous  storms,  but  his  rich  in- 
heritance of  energy  and  pluck  lias  enabled  him  to 
turn  defeats  into   victory   and    promised   failures 
into    brilliant    successes.      His     strict     integrity, 
business  conservatism  and  judgment  have  always 
been  so  universally  recognized,  that  Mr.  Counsel- 
man  has  enjoyed  public'  confidence  to  an  enviable 
degree,  and  naturally  this  has  brought   him   such 
a  lucrative  patronage  that,  through  times  of  gen- 
eral prosperity  ami  general  adversity  alike,  he  has 
witnessed  a  steady  increase  in  his  business,  until 
t.j  da\     il    is  one  of  the  most  nourishing  in  its  line 
in  the  city  of  Chicago.     It  has  been  his  bright  for- 
tune,  therefore,   in   consequence  of  possessing  a 

well  balan i  mind  and  a   sterling  character,  I" 

see    silvery    linings    to  clouds  that  to  main  other 


men  would  be  totally   dark,   and    to    overcome    ob 

stacles  which  to  others  might   have   been   insur- 
mountable.    Mr.  Counselman  is  a  dealer  in  stocks 
and    grain    and   has    a   branch  office  in  New  York 
City.    To  facilitate  his  enormous  transactions  he 
has  in  bis  offices  private  telegraph  wires  connect- 
ing with  New  York.  Cleveland,  Boston,  Rochester, 
Buffalo,  Providence  and  other  large  eastern  cities, 
as  well  as  with  Baltimore,  Washington.  Richmond 
and  Norfolk.  Virginia.     In  1879  he  erected  a  large 
warehouse  at  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  in  Chicago, 
and    in  addition   to  his  other  interests  does  an  ex- 
tensive business  in  warehousing  provisions.     Asa 
member  of    the    board  of  directors  of  the  Hoard  of 
Trade    and   of    its    board     of    managers   of    real 
estaie.  he    was    influential    and    efficient   in   the 
erection    of    the    new   Board   of  Trade  building  in 
Chicago.     Mr.  Counselman    is    a    large    owner   of 
Chicago    real    estate.      In    L883    the   Counselman 
building    was  commenced  and  completed  in  May, 
1884.     It  is  owned  wholly  by  Mr.  Counselman  and 
is  a  monument,  not  alone  to  the   business  archi 
tccture  of  Chicago,  but  to  the  enterprise  and  ener- 
gy .  .1'  t  he  proprietor.  One  of  the  largest  of  Mr.  Coun- 
sehnan's  interests  is  that  of  the  Rock  Island  Elevat- 
ors, of  Chicago,  which  have  acapacityof  about  two 
million  bushels.  He  has  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
stations  throughout    Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 
for    buying   grain    to  supply   his  markets.     For  a 
man  who  has  achieved  such  great  successes  in  life 
and  won  such  honors  in  the    business    world,    Mr. 
Counselman  is  exceedingly  modest   and   retiring, 
disliking   ostentation  and  shrinking  from  all  pub 
licity.     Instead  of  cherishing  that  feeling  of  pride 
and  exultation  which  often  leads  men    who    have 
been  successful,  to  boast  of  their  achievements,  he 
seems  to  be  utterly  devoid    of    even    a    reasonable 
appreciation  of  himself  and  of  the  splendid  results 
of  his  abilities  and  of  their  judicious   application. 
His  retiring  disposition  can  be  described  no  more 
graphically   than   by  quoting  his  own  words.     He 
has  said  "the  longer  I  live  the  more  fully  I  realize 
of    what    little   importance   we    are    in   the  world. 
however  great  our  achievements  in  this  life  may 
be.     Though    a    man    may   be  on   the  crest  of  the 
wave  to-day, financially  and  socially,  to  morrow  he 
may  be  submerged  by  some  unforeseen  misfortune. 
and  the  day  after,  forgotten.    The  life  of  an  indi- 
vidual is  like  the  casting  of  a  stone  into  the  water. 
It  causes  a  few  successions  of  waves  to  ripple  the 
surface,  and  then  all  is  still     the  force  that  caused 
the   disturbance   is  at    rest,  and  forgotten."     But 
Mr.  Counselman  is  by  no  means  a  pessimist.     Ib- 
is simply   thoughtful   and   modest,   meeting  the 


OF   THE 

UWVtRSlTYoflLUHOlS. 


BIOGRAPHY   OP    ILLINOIS. 


-45 


duties  <  it  life  cheerfully  and  if  needs  be  heroically, 
laboring  to  achieve  the  best  possible  results,  but 
yet  in  the  midst  of  the  splendor  of  his  suceess, 
commendably  recognizing  the  fact  that  men  come 

and  men  go,  but  that  like  the  stream,  the  world's 
does  not  stop.  No  doubt  his  graver,  sterner 
and  more  conservative  views  of  life  may  lie  at- 
tributed to  his  rally  experiences  in  Chicago,  a  hi  D 
he  found  it  a  tierce  battle  to  sustain  himself  and 
support  his  father  and  mother.  But  all  through 
this  struggle  for  existence,  he  never  compromised 
his  honor  and  integrity.  In  truth  it  was  Ids  posi- 
tive refusal  to  aid  others  in  a  dishonest  transaction 
that  deprived  him  of  employment  in  Ins  early  ex- 
periences in  Chicago,  and  made  three  years  of  his 
lite  ;i  bitter  contest  with  poverty.  The  remem- 
brance of  those  dark  daysisalways  vivid, and  while 
prompting  him  to  appreciate  the  blessings  of  pros- 
perity, seems  to  have  taught  him  an  imperishable 
lesson  of  humility.  He  is  a  friend  to  young  men 
who  are  struggling  to  achieve  position,  not  only 
because  he  is  a  broad-minded  and  generous  hearted 
gentleman,  but  doubtless  also  for  the  reason  that 
he  remembers  the  obstacles  which  he  himself, 
when  a  young  man,  was  compelled  to  surmount. 
The  demands  of  an  active  business  life  and  the 
accumulating  of  a  large  fortune  have  not  in  the 
slightest  degree — as  is  too  often  the  ease  —blunted 
his  sympathies  or  dwarfed  the  best  part  of  his 
manhood.  He  is  devoted  to  his  home  ami  his 
family;  he  is  keenly  alive  to  the  claims  of  hu- 
manity upon  him,  and  in  all  the  relations  of  lite 
is  an  exemplary  and  a  manly  man.  He  wisel}  ac 
knowledges  social  claims  upon  his  busy  life,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Union  League,  the  Chicago 
Club,  Washington  Park  Club  and  the  New  York 
Club.  Mr.  Counselman  was  married  in  1^7.">  to 
Miss  Jennie  E.  Otis,  daughter  of  Judge  Otis  of 
Chicago.  They  have  two  children,  one  son  and 
one  daughter. 


NORMAN  P..  REAM. 

NORMAN  BRUCE  REAM  was  born  in  Som- 
erset county.  Penn.,  November  5, 18II,and  inherits 
the  sturdy  qualities  of  character  for  which  the 
old  families  of  Pennsylvania  have  been  si  >  long  and 
so  widely  famous.  He  is  the  son  of  Levi  and 
Highly  (King)  Ream,  and  the  family  traces  back 
a  number  of  generations  in  the  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  Ream  family  originally  came  from 
Germany.     On  his  mother's  side   Mr.  Ream  is  of 


Scotch    and  German  descent,  making  altogether 

an  ancestry  that  was  rich  in  those  characteristics 
which  make  strong  character  and  splendid  intel- 
lectual development.  Until  recently,  when  he 
went  to  California  and  settled  in  Sacramento,  his 
father  was  a  farmer  in  Somerset  county.  Penn. 
Norman  I!.  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  county,  and  in  the  local  normal 
schools.  When  he  was  only  fourteen  years  of  age 
he  taught  one  term  in  a  district  school,  where,  as 
was  of  ten  the  case  in  those  days,  tie-  "big  boys". 
were  inclined  to  run  the  sc1m.i1  and  the  teacher. 
But  young  Ream  was  not  only  master  of  his 
school  in  name,  but  in  fact,  and  the  obstreperous 
boys  were  not  long  in  rinding  it  out.  The  salary 
was  only  seventeen  dollars  a  month,  and  many 
boys  and  young  men  of  to-day  would  doubtless 
think  that  he  more  than  earned  that  in  a  single 
week's  physical  conflict  with  the  '-young  gentle- 
men" under  his  charge.  After  a  term  at  teach- 
ing, he  acquired  the  art  of  taking  pictures  by  the 
ambrotype  process,  which  at  that  time  was  just 
coming  into  popular  favor.  He  followed  this  busi- 
ness and  worked  on  the  farm  until  he  arrived  at 
the  age  of  seventeen,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  8~>th 
Regiment.  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  went  to 
the  front  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  His  regi- 
ment was  a  part  of  Key's  corps,  ami  young  Ream 
was  with  it  all  through  Genera]  McClellan's  pen- 
insular campaign  of  1862,  and  was  in  North  ( !aro- 
lina  during  December,  18G2.  and  January,  1865, 
under  General  foster,  in  his  campaign  against 
Goldsboro.  Soon  after  his  enlistment  he  was 
made  sergeant.  For  meritorious  service  at  the 
battle  of  Kingston.  North  Carolina,  he  was  com- 
missioned second  lieutenant.  About  this  time 
his  command  joined  that  of  General  Gilmore  in 
South  Carolina,  and  he  was  in  the  siege  of  Charles- 
ton, during  which  he  was  promoted  to  be  first 
lieutenant.  While  acting  adjutant  of  his  regi- 
ment he  was  severely  wounded  in  an  enga 
near  Savannah.  Georgia,  Feb.  -i'.  I864,and  was  in- 
capacitated for  service  until  the  following  June, 
when  he  rejoined  his  command,  which  in  the 
meantime  had  been  transferred  to  the  army  of 
Virginia,  under  Gen.  Butler.  Immediately  upon 
his  return  to  the  service,  his  regiment  was  attacked 
by  the  enemy,  and  Mr.  Ream  was  again  badly 
wounded.  In  the  month  i  if  August  following,  he 
pluckily  rejoined  his  regiment,  but  found  he  was 
unable  to  longer  bear  the  strain  of  active  service, 
having  neverfully  recovered  from  his  first  wound. 
Receiving  an  honorable  discharge,  and  with  the 
evidences  of   his  courage  and  patriotism  indelibly 


244 


HIOCKAI'HY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


stamped  upon  aim,  he  returned  I"  his  h e,  and 

after  a  course  in  a  commercial  college  at  Pitts 
burgh,  Penn.,  tie  served  Eor  a  short  time  as  clerk 
in  a  general  Btore.  In  l*t>'i  In-  came  west,  locating 
at  Princeton,  111..  w  here  Eor  a  time  he  was  clerk  in 

a  drj  g Is  store.    Hi-  then  entered  into  business 

with  Mr.  Charles  Mosshart,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Mosshart  &  Ream,  [n  aboul  a  year,  however, 
he  withdrew,  selling  his  interest  to  his  partner, 
aial  went  to  Osceola,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  grain,  live-stock  ami  agricultural  implement 
business,  and  in  farming.  For  three  years  he 
was  highly  successful  in  his  business,  but  a  fail 
ure  nf  crops  in  that  state  compelled  him  to  close 
out  his  entire  business  with  a  heavy  loss. 
However,  in  the  settlement  of  his  affairs  his 
course  was  so  straightforward  ami  honorable,  that 
his  credii  was  not  impaired  in  the  least.  Mr. 
Ream  now  came  In  Chicago,  arriving  herein  1871, 
just  before  the  great  fire.  He  located  at  the  Union 
Stock  Yards,  engaging  in  the  live-stock  commis 
sion  business,  after  which  he  became  a  dealer  on 
his  own  account.  From  this  time  on  he  enjoyed 
greal  prosperity,  and  made  money  rapidly,  oper- 
ating in  conjunction  with  his  other  business,  in 
railroad  stocks.  For  a  time  he  was  a  member  of 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange.     In  18S8,  however. 

Ii asid  to  operate  upon  the  exchanges,  though 

retaining  his  membership  in  the  Board  of  Trade, 
lie  lias  been  a  large  investor  in  real  estate,  ami 
his  investments  in  that  direction  have  resulted  in 
the  erection  of  such  structures  as  the  famous 
Rookery  building  in  Chicago  and  the  Midland 
Hotel  in  Kansas  City.  He  is  a  heavy  stockholder 
in  city  railways,  and  has  large  interests  in  cattle 
ranches  in  the  west,  also  tine  farms  and  timber 
lands.  His  ability  has  been  recognized  by  his  fel- 
low citizens  in  his  election  as  a  director  of  the 
first  National  Bank  of  Chicago,  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad,  and  in  several  other  important  cor 
porations  in  this  city  and  elsewhere.  Mr.  Ream 
is  a  valuable  citizen,  realizing  to  the  fullest  degree 
thai  citizenship  under  a  popular  government, 
means  individual  responsibility.  He  belongs  to 
that  class  of  typical  western  business  men  who 
think    for   themselves,    and  cannot    be   led   by  the 

i|e gogue,  and  will  not  submit  to  the  party  lash. 

He  is  an  independent  republican  in  polities,  tak- 
ing deep  interest  in  all  public  questions,  but 
despising  politics  as  a  profession.  The  best  can 
didate  is  sure  to  receive  his  support,  on  whatever 
ticket  the  name  of  such  candidate  may  be  found. 
Mr.  beam  is  a  member  of  the  following  clubs: 
Chicago,  Calumet.  Washington  Park.  Athletic  and 


Commercial  of  Chicago;  the  Union  and  New  York 
of  New  York  City.  In  lSTli  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Carrie  Putnam,  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Put 
nam.  of  Madison,  New  York,  and  the)  have  seven 
children  two  daughters  and  live  sons.  Mr. 
Ream's  life  has  been  a  successful  one,  as  a  result 
of  a  strong  character  and  a  high  degree  of  honesty 
and  integrity.  Whatever  of  adverses  he  has  met 
with,  seem  only  to  have  brought  out  more  strong 
Iv  his  inflexible  determination  to  succeed. 


ORSON  SMITH. 

ORSON  SMITH,  vice], resident  of  the  Mer- 
chants Loan  &  Trust  Company,  has  been,  from  his 
early  boyhood  to  the  present  time,  closely  identi- 
fied with  the  financial  interests  of  Chicago.  He 
is  a  native  Chicagoan  andhas  been  conspicuous  in 
all  the  great  movements,  changes  and  evolutions 
that  have  tended  to  make  Chicago  a  financial 
center.  He  entered  a  bank  when  but  a  small  lad 
and  he  has  been  connected  with  banks  and  bank- 
ing ever  since.  He  was  prominently  connected 
with  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade  for  many  years, 
in  a  responsible  financial  position.  He  began  his 
association  with  the  different  banks  with  which  he 
has  been  connected  while  those  institutions  them 
selves  were  but  incipient  organizations,  and  grew 
and  prospered  with  their  expansion  and  success. 
Orson  Smith  was  born  in  the  city  of  Chicago. 
December  14.  1811.  His  father's  name  was  also 
Orson,  and  his  mother  was  Mary  Ann  Paul. 
Both  parents  were  natives  of  New  York  state. 
(  h'si.n  Smith,  the  lather,  came  west  and  settled  in 
Chicago  in  the  year  1S:?8.  He  became  a  man  of 
much  prominence  in  the  early  days  of  the  city's 
struggles,  and  was  identified  with  all  the  move- 
ments which  have  in  their  way  contributed  to- 
ward the  present  high  position  the  city  has 
attained.  Ee  was  for  a  number  of  years  city 
marshal,  and  later  was  elected  sheriff  of  Cook 
county.  He  lived  an  active  ami  useful  life,  during 
the  twenty-three  years  he  spent  as  a  citizen  of 
Chicago.  He  died  in  1861,  leaving  a  name  the 
historians  of  the  city  are  proud  to  mention.  Ib- 
left  his  son  as  an  heritage  the  example  of  a  long 
and  busy  life  which  that  son  has  emulated  and 
followed,  though  in  a  different  field  of  labor. 
Young  Smith  received  his  education  at  the  public 
and  private  schools  in  his  native  city,  but  his 
ambition  to  begin  to   battle    for   himself   induced 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


245 


him  to  leave  his  studies  a1  .-in  early  age.  When 
but  thirteen  years  old  he  entered  the  retail  store 
of  Potter  Palmer  as  "bundle  boy."  He  remained 
there  only  one  year  when  he  secured  a  position  as 
clerk  in  the  private  banking  house  of  P.  Granger 
Adams,  then  doing  business  at  II  Clark  street. 
Had  young  Smith,  even  at  that  early  day,  deter- 
mined to  become  a  banker  he  could  hardly  have 
found  a  better  instructor  in  the minutia and  intri- 
cacies of  the  business  than  the  gentleman  into 
whose  employ  he  entered  at  this  time.  Mr.  Adams 
was  a  successful  banker  and  had  organized  his 
house  in  1S.7J.  Here  Orson  Smith  labor,, I  for 
eleven  years,  rising  from  one  clerkship  to  the  next 
one  in  importance  until,  in  1m',:;.  when  a  change 
was  made  in  the  name  and  character  of  the  bank. 
Mr.  Adams  had  concluded  to  go  to  New  York  city 
and  ;i  charter  was  then  taken  out  for  the  Trader's 
Hank,  and  Mr.  Adams'  private  institution  became 
merged  into  a  stab'  bank  of  that  name.  Later  on. 
the  name  was  again  changed  to  the  Trader's 
National  Bank.  Mr.  Smith  remained  through  all 
these  changes  until  the  year  1870,  reaching  the  posi 
tion  of  ehief  clerk  and  assistant  cashier.  He  had 
been  growing  more  and  more  interested  in  Board 
of  Trade  affairs,  and  as  about  this  time  there  was 
organized  The  Corn  Exchange  National  Bank, 
the  intention  ofits  promoters beh  g 
to  the  Board  of  Trade  business,  he  resigned  from 
the  Trader's  National  Bank  and  took  a  position 
in  the  nrw  concern.  The  former  institution  eon 
tinued  in  business  until  the  year  1889,  when 
during  the  serious  illness  of  its  president.  .1.  O. 
Rutter,  who  soon  after  died,  it    collapsed    making 

a  bad  failure.     T.  P.  Tallman,  who  hail   been  i 

neeted  with  the  institution  from  an  early  day. 
was  at  the  time  of  the  failure  its  cashier.  The 
Corn  Exchange  National  Bank  was  organized  with 
Julian  S.  Rumsey,  as  president,  S.  A.  Kent  ;i-, 
vice-president  anil  Orson  Smith  as  cashier.  This 
bank  has  had  something  of  a  history.  After  the 
great  Hie.  business  was  ;it  once  opened  up  in  the 
basement  of  B.  P.  Hutchinson's  residence.  Mr. 
Hutchinson  was  then  one  of  the  directors  in  the 
bank.  In  the  December  following  the  fire  it  was 
removed  to  No.  1.  Land's  block,  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Randolph  and  Market  streets.  In 
October,  1872,  the  bank  took  up  quarters  in  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  building,  remaining  there 
until  it  went  out  of  existence  March.  1881.  Upon 
its  old  foundation,  however,  another  institution 
was  started.  This  was  a  state  organization  and 
was  called  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank.  Its  promo- 
tors  were  B.  P.  Hutchinson.  Charles  L.  Hutchin- 


son, and  S.  A.  Kent.  Orson  Smith  was  retained 
as  < -a shier.  The  concern  moved  into  the  Insurance 
Exchange  building  and  has  ever  since  been  a  grow- 
ing and  successful  institution.  At  the  last  state- 
ment its  capita]  stock  was  $1,000,000,  and  its  sur- 
plus $600,000.  Orson  Smith  remained  in  the  position 
of  cashier  until  the  spring  of  1884,  when  he  resigned 
to  accept  the  vice- presidency  of  the  Merchants 
Loan  &  Trust  Company.  As  stated  above,  Mr. 
Smith  had  become  interested  in  Board  of  Trade 
matters,  and  he  became  a  permanent  and  active 
member  of  that  Exchange.  In  1872he  waselected 
its  treasurer,  a  highly  responsible  position  and  one 
requiring  much  executive  financial  ability.  It 
was  evident,  however,  that  Mr.  Smith  was  tic 
right  man  in  the  right  place.  He  was  successively 
elected  for  seven  years  from  1872to  1878.  During 
his  tenure  of  office,  the  city  passed  through  the 
exhausted  and  depressed  condition  resulting  from 
the  great  tire.  He  was  in  office  during  the  re- 
building and  re  establishment  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce.     It  was  in  1S77  when  the   question  of 

more  r n  began  to  be  discussed   ami    Mr.  Smith 

was  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  energetic  sup- 
porters of  the  idea.  It  was  of  course  recognized 
that  if  such  a  move  was  made  it  would  be  with  a 
view  tii  the  grand  future  of  the  citj  and  itsgrowth 
as  a  produce  center.  It  was.  therefore,  a  gigantic 
undertaking,  and  took  time  tor  consideration 
before  the  best  course  could  be  agreed  upon. 
The  result  of  all  the  deliberations  is  to  be  seen  at 
the  foot  of  La  Salle  street,  where  stands  the  new- 
Board  of  Trade  building  which  was  formally 
dedieated  April  29,  1885,  the  pride  of  the  city  and 
the  pride  of  the  organization  which  executed  it. 
Though  Orson  Smith  was  not  the  treasurer  of  the 
Board  at  the  time  this  notable  structure  was  built, 
he  can  reflect  with  pleasure  that  his  voice  aided  in 
bringing  about  so  important  and  desirable  a  result. 
The  Board  of  Trade  went  through  many  important 
changes  during  Mr.Smi  tli's  treasurership and  many 
additions  were  made  to  its  field  of  operations, 
the  Produce  Exchange  being  not  among  the 
least  of  them.  Mr.  Smith  is  also  a  member  of 
the  governing  committee  of  the  Stock  Exchange, 
an  institution  in  which  he  has  taken  as  active  an 
interest  ;is  he  lias  in  the  Board  of  Trade.  His 
present  position  as  vice-president  of  the  Merchants' 
Loan  A:  Trust  Company  is  most  satisfactory  to 
himself  while  he  is  eminently  suited  to  the  posi 
tion.  It  is  one  of  the  chief  and  foremost  financial 
institutions  of  the  city  of  Chicago.  Its  capital  by 
the  showing  of  the  last  statement  is  e_M x K u K ki 
with  a  surplus  of  $1,000,000,  and   with  undivided 


246 


moiiKAI'llY  OF    ILLINOIS. 


profits  amounting  to  $350,987.74.  In  social  circles 
Mr.  Smith  is  a  well-known  man.  lb-  is  a  liberal 
contributor  to  the  various  public  institutions  of 
the  city,  and  aids  and  sanctions  by  active  mem- 
bership several  of  the  prominent  chilis  and  Bocial 
organizations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Washing- 
ton Park,  the  Chicago,  the  Union  ami  the  Ath- 
letic Chilis.  Mr.  Smith  married  into  one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  respectable  families  of  Chicago. 
On  December  14,  1871,  he  was  wedded  to  Miss 
Anna,  youngest  daughter  of  Hon.  John  B.  Rice. 
.Mi-.  Rice  was  one  of  the  most  estimable  and  prom- 
inent citizens  of  the  city.  In  the  September  issue 
of  the  Centura  Magazine  is  the  autobiography  of 
Joseph  Jefferson,  the  comedian.  Among  other 
personages  he  speaks  of  Mr.  Rice,  who  was  re- 
lated to  him  by  marriage.  The  manner  in  which 
Mr.  Jefferson  writes  of  him  indicates  tin'  warm 
affection  in  which  he  was  held,  and  this  feeling 
was  but  a  reflex  of  the  opinion  of  all  wdio  were 
ever  fortunate  enough  to  form  the  acquaintance 
of  this  good  citizen,  this  admirable  gentleman. 
Mr.  Jefferson  begins  by  saying: 

•'John  B.  Rice  was  a  connection  by  marriage, 
having  been  united  to  a  cousin  of  mine,  Miss  Mary 
Anne  Warren,  sister  of  William  Warren,  the  come- 
dian, and  of  Harry  Warren,  the  theatrical  mana- 
ger of  Buffalo.  Mr  Rice  was  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Chicago,  having  been  at  one  time  its  theatrical 
manager,  its  mayor,  and  afterwards  its  Representa- 
tive  in  Congress.  Those  who  remember  this  wise 
and  honorable  man,  whose  life  was  devoted  to 
usefulness,  will  recall  the  valuable  services  he 
rendered  to  his  adopted  state  and  city,  and  to 
those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded.  The  conduct 
of  his  life  was  simple  and  dignified,  and  he  re- 
veived  the  smiles  and  favors  of  fortune  with  an 
equable  bearing,  and  was  ever  ready  to  assist  the 
needy  with  either  his  purse  or  counsel.  Contented 
and  cheerful,  I  scarcely  ever  saw  him  look  grave 
except  when  contemplating  the  prospect  of 
another  one's  misfortune.  He  was  liberal  but 
wisely  prudent  and  often  berated  me  for  my  ex- 
travagance." 

Mr.  Jefferson  spoke  of  the  intimacy  that  for 
years  existeil  between  Mr.  Rice  and  Edwin  For- 
rest and  related  the  circumstances  of  the  rupture 
which  enstranged  them,  showing  it  to  be  the 
hardy,  rugged,  lirutus  like  honesty  of  Mr.  Rice 
that  made  him  decide  a  matter  according  to  his 
honest  belief  regardless  of  the  opinion  of  friend 
or  foe.  lie  also  related  some  amusing  incidents 
proving  M  r.  Rice  to  have  had  a  thorough  and  keen 
appreciation  of  a  joke.  Mr.  Smith  has  no  children 
living,  but  he  finds  solace  for  their  loss  in  the  com- 
panionship of  his  wife.  Hi'  enjoys  home  life  and 
even  the  attractions  of  the  various  clubs  to  which 
he  belongs  fail  to  draw  him  from  that  retreat.  Mr. 


Smith  has  never  had  any  inclination  to  enter 
public  life.  His  early  education  and  his  training 
when  he  first  began  to  battle  for  his  own  liveli 
ho, id  fitted  him  peculiarly  for  a  financier. 


JOHN.   W.   DOANE. 

JOHN  WESLEY  DOANE,  president  of  the 
Merchants'  Loan  and  Trust  Company  of  Chicago, 
and  for  nearly  forty  years  a  leading  merchant  of 
that  city,  was  bom  at  Thomson,  Windham  county. 
Connecticut,  on  the  23d  of  March,  1803,  and  is  tin- 
son  of  Joel  and  Olivia  Primrose  Doane.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  common  schools  of  the 
Nutmeg  state,  and  early  acquired  those  habits  of 
industry,  temperance  and  economy  which  have 
enabled  him  to  ascend  the  ladder  of  fortune  step 
by  step,  until  at  an  early  age  when  men  are  gen 
erally  considered  to  have  only  reached  the  prime 
of  life,  he  ranks  among  the  prominent  merchants 
and  leading  financiers  of  Chicago.  While  still  a 
boy  he  had  formed  ambitious  projects  for  his 
future,  ami  saw  in  the  growing  west  the  natural 
field  for  their  realization.  He  decided  when  he  was 
twenty-two  years  of  age  to  immigrate  to  Illinois, 
which  was  then  a  new  and  comparatively  undevel- 
oped state,  and  toward  which  a  continuous  move- 
ment of  enterprising  and  hardy  sons  of  New- 
England  was  going  on.  Arriving  in  Chicago  with 
a  very  small  capital  he  rented  a  store  and  began 
business  as  a  grocer.  Patient,  persevering  and  dili- 
gent in  his  calling,  never  carried  away  by  the  fever- 
ish haste  to  be  rich — so  characteristic  of  the  pioneer 
population — but  adopting  the  wise  commercial  rule 
of  small  profits  and  quick  sales,  he  gradually  in- 
creased his  business  year  by  year,  until  1S70,  when 
his  firm's  sales  were  the  largest  in  that  line  in  the 
Northwest.  Mr.  Doane  married,  on  the  10th  of 
November,  1857,  Miss  Julia  A.  Moulton,  daughter 
of  Josis  Moulton,  of  Laconia,  New  Hampshire. 
As  the  city  grew  in  population  and  importance, 
Mr.  Doane's  business  participated  in  the  advantages 
of  a  larger  market,  and  he  worked  hard  and  unceas- 
ingly toextend  anddevelopit.  So  well  did  he  pros- 
per that  the  business,  which  in  1855  had  been  insig- 
nificant had  been  increased  to  three  millions  per 
annum,  which,  as  stated  before,  was  the  largest  in 
the  city.  Then  came  the  disastrous  fire  of  1871, 
in  which  the  fortunes  of  so  many  Chicago  citizens 
perished  and  were  seen  no  more.  The  firm  of  J. 
W.   Doane  A  Co..  was  involved  in  the  common 


2^>g>, 


UBWW 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


247 


ruin.  But  Mr.  Doane  was  not  a  man  to  sit  down 
with  folded  hands  and  lament  over  hismisfori  une. 
( )n  the  contrary,  he  devoted  to  the  task  of  recon 
structing  the  business  of  his  house,  an  em 
courage  surpassing  that  with  which  he  had  orig- 
inally built  it  ii]):  the  credit  which  so  many  years 
of  strict  integrity  and  honorable  dealing 
him  to  command  was  as  good  as  capital  to  trim  at 
this  crisis,  and  with  the  assistance  of  an 
friend  the  firm  was  very  soon  established  again. 
In  a  short  time  all  their  losses  were  retrieved, and 
the  house  iif  J.  W.  Doane  &  Co.  was  once  more  in 
its  wonted  financially  prosperous  condition.  In 
1872  Mr.  Doane  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  firm 
to  Messrs.  Towle  A  Roper,  and  entered  into  a 
new  field  of  enterprise.  The  Chicago  merchants 
in  in:-  line  had  previously  been  accustomed  to 
replenish  their  stocks  in  the  eastern  market;  but 
Mr.  Doane  determined  to  import  goods  direct 
from  the  various  producing  countries  of  tin-  w  irld, 
and  his  firm  were  the  first  Chicago  importers  of 
teas  and  coffees,  to  which  were  afterwards  added 
fruits  and  spices.  The  lirst  cargo  of  c 
ported  was  from  Bio  de  Janeiro,  in  1S,7'_I.  by  the 
steamship  " Dauntless,"  via  Mobile.  The  firm  has 
now  a  branch  house  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  through 
which  all  its  importations  from  that  poi 
ceived.  To  this  new  branch  of  business  Mr.  Doane 
has  devoted  a  large  share  of  his  attention,  and 
has  cultivated  it  so  assiduously  that  his  warehouse 
is  now  at  the  head  of  Western  importing  houses 
Since  his  election  to  the  presidency  ..I'  the  Mer 
chants'  Loan  and  Trust  Company  some  years  ago, 
Mr.  Doane  has  taken  an  active  and  prominent 
part  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  that  in- 
stitution. On  monetary  and  financial  questions 
he  is  considered  a  sound  authority,  and  his  opin 
■hi  such  questions  have  been  frequently 
quoted  by  the  press  of  this  city.  He  is  a  director 
in  several  of  our  largest  commercial  corporations, 
among  them  being  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Compa- 
ny. During  the  preliminary  discussions  in  refer- 
ence to  the  World's  Pair  and  the  efforts  to  have  it 
located  at  Chicago.  Mr.  Doane  lent  valuable  assist 
ance  to  the  Committee  appointed  to  represent  our 
city,  and  although  taking  no  active  or  prominent 
part  before  the  public,  was  instrumental  in  pro- 
curing the  wished  for  legislation  by  Congress. 
When  the  committee  of  the  Senate  at  Washington 
w  en-  debating  the  proposed  World's  Fair  hill  after 
its  passage  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  there 
was  considerable  opposition  to  Chicago  developed, 
which  was  led  by  Sen  ah  irs  Disc,  ick  1  if  New  Yi  irk  and 
Ingalls,  of  Kansas.     Senator  Kenna,  of  West  Vir 


ginia,  insisted  upon  some  written  proof  of  Chica 
u'o's  ability  and  intention  to  make  good  the  prom 
ised  guarantee  of  ten  million  dollars,  and  finally 
Senator  Parwell  telegraphed  to  Chicago  for  the 
document.  A  written  statement, signed 
by  Lyman  .1.  1  iage,  John  W.  Doane.  J.  J.  1',  1  .  I,  i  . 
and  Wirt  Dexter,  was  forwarded  to  Washington. 
!  tlie  assurance  of  the  signers  that  the 
subscription    fund   would   be  collected,   and   this 

Was  laid  before  thee,  mill  lit  tee.  t  lie   |,|',  ifessed  doubts 

were  removed,  and  the  bill  favorably  reported  for 
the  approval  of  the  Senate.  Mr.  Doane  was  one 
of  the  founde,.  of  1  he  ( !hic:  :ial  Club, 
and  has  taken   an  influential  part     in  its    proc I 

iljes.       He     leis     twice    been    elected     its      president. 

and   held  that  office  H              -  I  iranl   w  as   en 

tertained  by  various  social  organizations  in  this 
city  on  his  return  from  his  trip  around  the  world 
in  1879.  \1noi1u  the  foremosl  of  the  public  bodies 
ended  their  hospitality  to  General  Grant 
on  that  occasion,  was  the  Commercial  Club,  who 
him  a  banquet  at  the  Grand  Pacific 
Hotel,  at  which  Mr.  Doane  officially  presided.  It 
was  a  great  and  memorable  assemblage  of  the  rep- 
resentative men  of  both  the  East  and  West,  for  the 
Boston  Commercial  Club  were  al  the  same  time 
the  guests  of  their  Chicago  brethren,  and  among 
the  speakers  were  men  wdio  had  gained  national 
celebrity  in  mercantile  and  professional  walks  of 
life.  In  proposing  the  toast  of  the  evening,  Mr 
Doane  paid  a  neat  compliment  to  tie 
der."  and  at  the  sane-  time  g 1  h  uuioivdly  indi- 
cated what  he,  asa  Democrat,  thought  of  the  out- 
look of  the  presidential  campaign,  in  which  Gen- 
eral Grant's  name  had  been  put  forward  a 
didate  lor  a  third  term.  He  suggested  a  more 
attractive  future  for  the  General  than  either  the 
presidency  of  a  railroad  or  of  the  United  states. 
■■  Just  come  and  settle  amot 
business  man,"  he  said  "and  we  will  pledge  you 
oiu-  mil's  as  the  president  of  the  Commercial 
Club."  Mi'.  Doane  has  also  In -en  a  member  of  the 
Calumet  Club  since  its  organization,  and  in  lSSo 
succeeded  Edson  Keith  as  president  of  that  insti- 
tution. He  is  a  member  of  several  other  social 
clubs  of  Chicago.  In  politics  Mr.  Doane  is  an  un- 
swerving Democrat,  and  somi  -  the  Dem- 
ocratic clubs  of  the  city  used  all  their  influence 
to  induce  him  to  accept  the  nomination  for  Con 
gressman  from  the  first  district,  but  Mr.  Doane 
did  not  consent  until  a  few  days  before  election 
day.  Nevertheless,  he  reduced  the  usual  Repub- 
lican majority  by  6,500,  coining  within  500  votes  of 
an  election.     His  opinions  have  always  had  great 


>48 


BIOGRAPHY   OP   ILLINOIS. 


weight  with  his  party,  and  in  an  unobl  rasive  waj 
tedoes  much  to  strengthen  the  party  organiza- 
tion.   Mr.  Doane  is  a   member  of  the   Protestant 

Episcopal  communion,  and  has  I n  for  a  number 

of  terms  chosen  as  a  vestryman  of  Trinity  Episco 
pal  church.  Anion-  the  many  merchants  of  the 
metropolis  of  tin-  Northwest,  who  have  carved  oul 
their  splendid  fortunes  by  their  own  praiseworthj 
endeavors,  and  who  have  contributed  so  much  to  its 
present  greatness,  no  one  has  more  deserved  his  sue 
cess, and  none  can  present  a  more  honorable  record, 
than  John  W.  Doane.  Much  of  interesl  in  the  life 
of  Mr.  Doane,  not  given  in  this  brief  summary  of 
his  career,  could  have  been  added  hut  for  the 
writer's  inability  to  obtain  such  farts  as  were  not 
matters  of  current  knowledge,  and  known  only  to 
those  from  whom  repeated  efforts  failed  to  elicit 
them. 


WALTER  Q.  GRESHAM. 

JUDGE  WALTER  QUINTIN  GRESHAM  was 
born  March  17,  1832,  on  a  farm  near  the  hamlet  of 
Lanesville.  Harrison  county  Indiana.  Amongthe 
pioneer  farmers  who  settled  in  Harrison  county 
were  George  Gresham  and  Dennis  Pennington,  the 
grand-father  and  grand-uncle  of  WalterQ.Gresham. 
They  were  both  of  English  descent  and  natives  of 
Virginia.  George  Gresham  was  born  near  Peters- 
burg, Virginia,  October 9,  L776.  Whenayoungman 
be  emigrated  with  the  Penningtons  to  Mercer  coun 
ty,  Kentucky,  ami  in  L801  was  married  to  Mary  Pen- 
nington. He  lived  in  Mercer  county,  until  1809, 
when  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Harrison 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  took  up  a  large  quan- 
tity of  land  on  Little  Indiana  Creek,  where  Lanes 
ville  now  stands,  and  became  a  prosperous  farmer. 
Judge  Gresham's  father,  William  Gresham,  was 
the  eldest  son  of  George  Gresham  and  was  born 
in  Kentucky,  September  17.  180'J.  He  was  a 
farmer,  but  learned  the  trad.'  of  cabinet-making 
which  he  pursued  industriously  together  with 
farming.  There  is  a  tradition  that  he  was  one  of 
tin-  handsomest  men  in  Harrison  county.  "Six 
feet  two  inches  in  height,  well  formed,  muscular 
and  lithe,  with  black  hair,  hazel  eyes  and  finely 
i  mi  Eeatures,  his  pleasing  address,  genial  manners, 
straight  Eorward  honesty  and  great  personal  cour- 
age made  him  a  popular  idol."  He  look  a  -real  in- 
terest in  in i lit ;i i-\  affairs  and  in  those  peaceful 
days  lose  to  be  colonel  of  the  militia.     In  Novem- 


ber, 1825,  he  married  Sarah  Davis,  a   daughter  of 

John  Davis,  who  also  came  to  Indiana  from  Vii 
ginia  by  way  of  Kentucky,  bid  was  of  Scot  eh  Irish 
descent.  Sarah  Davis  was  but  eighteen  years  of 
age  when  William  Gresham  brought  her.  a  youth 
fill  bride,  to  his  home.  More  than  three  score 
years  have  passed  since  then,  and  she  still  resides 
at  the  old  homestead  with  an  unmarried  daughter. 
She  i-s  a  hale  and  active  woman,  giving   heed   to 

her  daily  household  duties,  ami.  though  sin-  has 
been  tried  by  adversity  and  by  sorrow,  is  still 
cheerful  and  kindly,  happj  in  her  declining  years 
in  the  abiding  affection  of  her  children.  In  1833, 
Colonel  William  Gresham  was  elected  sheriff  of 
Harrison  county  by  an  almost  unanimous  vole. 
He  was  a  candidate  on  the  Whig  ticket,  but  his 
popularity  swept  everything  before  it.  In  the  fob 
lowing  year  he  was  fatally  shot  by  a  desperado 
whom  he  was  attempting  to  arrest.  Walter  or 
-  Watt  "  Gresham,  as  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in   Harrison   county   calls   him.   grew  up   on   his 

ther's    farm   with    but    two    or    three    winters' 

schooling,  such  as  the  country  districts  then 
afforded,  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  a  tall 
and  slender  youth  with  remarkably  tine  hazel  eyes. 
well  formed  features  and  a  complexion  of  health- 
ful color  "the  very  image  of  his  father "  his 
mother  was  wont  to  say.  A  thoughtful  boy  desir 
ing  to  study,  but  without  opportunity  and  with 
little  in  the  way  of  books  to  read,  but  his  tine  eyes 
took  in  a  horizon  that  extended  far  beyond  his 
mother's  farm,  and  he  lived  in  the  hope  that  one 
day  it  might  fall  to  his  lot  to  attend  an  institution 
of  learning  called  the  Oorydon  Seminary.  While 
he  was  thus  dreaming-  and  hoping  his  brother  Ben 
returned  from  the  Mexican  war.  and  about  the 
same  time  Mr.  Samuel  Wright,  a  friend  of  the 
family  who  was  auditor  of  the  county,  offered 
Watt  a  small  position  in  his  office  where  he  might 
earn  enough  money  to  pay  for  his  board.  He 
seized  the  opportunity  with  alacrity  and  assisted 
by  his  brother  Ben.  he  entered  the  seminary  at 
Corydon.  Two  years  at  the  Corydqn  seminary 
and  one  year  at  the  Bloomington  university  com 
pleted  his  education  so  fa r  as  sell. >ol ing  was  con 
cerned,  and  he  returned  to  Corydon,  obtained  a 
deputy  clerkship  in  the  county  clerk's  office,  and 

passed  his  leisure  hours  in  the  study  of  law  under 
the  guidance  of  Judge  William  Porter,  one  of  the 
noted  characters  of  southern  Indiana.  It  is  doubt 
fill  if  any  young  man  ever  had  a  better  instructor. 
He  took  a  decided  interesl  in  Watt,  as  almost 
everybody  did.  and  as  almost  everybody  dm-:-  in  a 
courageous  young  man  commencing  the  battle  of 


LIBRAE 

OF  THE 

UHtVtHSlTYaflWNOlS. 


BIOGB  \\'\\\  OF   ILLINOIS, 


240 


life  in  a  sturdy  way.    Judge  Porter  gave   him  the 

books   i"   read,  i ncing  with  Blackstone,  as 

signing  lessons,  and  on  appointed  evenings  heard 
him  recite.  And  the  preceptor  was  martinet 
enough  and  thorough  enough  to  insist  on  recita- 
tions, letter  perfect,  or  the  pupil  would  have  to  go 
bach  and  study  the  matter  over.  Judge  Gresham 
has  often  said  in  later  life  that  it  was  that  train- 
ing that  made  him.  After  nearly  three  years' 
work  by  day  and  study  by  night,  in  the  year  1854 
Walter  ( iresham  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  en 
tered  into  partnership  with  Thomas  C.  Slaughter, 
an  eminent  lawyer  of  that  time,  afterwards  judge 
of  the  circuit  court.  To  combine  law  and  politics 
is  the  prevailing  custom  with  young  lawyers  111 
the  United  States,  and  young  Gresham  proved  do 
exception  to  the  rule.  His  admission  to  the  bar 
and  the  Nebraska  question  were  coincident.  The 
great  Wing  party  with  which  all  his  political  tra 
ditions  were  associated  was  dissolved.  It  was  a 
hot  and  seething  time  and  men  began  to  range 
themselves  on  the  slavery  question.     In   1835   the 

Republican  party  was  formed,  and  with  it  t  iresham 

at e  allied  himself.     In  1856  his  partner,  Judge 

Slaughter,  was  a  delegate  from  Indiana  to  the 
Philadelphia  convention  that  nominated  Fremont. 
In    the   canvass   that   followed,  the  young  lawyer 

stumped  Harrison  count}  in  behalf  of  tl Path 

tinder"  and  scored  many  successes.  Wherever  he 
wi'nt  he  obtained  subscribers  for  the  New  York 
Tribune,  and  argued  the  questions  at  issue  in  a 
straight  forward,  reasonable  way  that  carried  his 
hearers  with  him.  When  the  votes  were  counted 
in  November.it  was  found  that  more   Republican 

votes  had  been  east  in   Harrison    c it}    than    in 

all  the  rest  of  the  district  together  between  New 
Albany  and  Evansville.  Engaging  now  earnestly 
in  the  study  and  practice  of  law.  he  soon  gained  a 
reputation  at  the  bar  as  a  careful  and  pains-taking 
lawyer,  successful    with   both   courts  and  juries. 

His  style  of  oratory  was  almost  entirely  argumen- 
tative, addressei I  to  the  reason  and no1  to  the  feel- 
ings. While  In-  could  always  interest  his  hearers. 
both  in  the  court  and  on  the  stump,  he  did  SO 
more  by  the  clearness  of  his  statements  and  tin-  ex 
aetnessof  his  language  than  by  any  indulgence  in 
anecdotes  or  figures  of  speech.    If  he  can  be  said 

to  have  hail  a  model  at  all  it  will  lie  found  in  tin- 
decisions  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  whose    I u 

ous  reasoning  has  always  been  > mended  to  tin- 
study  of  lawyers,  young  and  old.  In  1858,  Mr. 
Gresham  married  .Miss  .Matilda  McGrain,  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  McGrain,  a  man  of  Scotch 
Irish  descent,  long  a  resident  of  Harrison  county. 


A  son  and  a  daughter  have  been  horn  to  them.  In 
1860  Mr.  (iresham  was  selected  as  the  Republican 
legislative  candidate  for  Harrison  county,  with  a 
steady,  reliable  working  democratic  major- 
ity of  over  live  hundred  against  him.  But 
he  entered  upon  the  campaign  with  spirit, 
challenging  his  opponent.  Hancock,  to  a  .joint  dis- 
cussion, and  drove  him  in  discomfiture  from  the 
platform  before  the  appointments  were  half  rilled. 
Following  up  his  advantage,  he  canvassed  every 
school  district  in  the  county,  with  the  result  that 
he  scored  a  complete  victorj  ami  was  elected  with 
a  good  majority.  As  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
he  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on  mili- 
tary affairs,  ami  as  such  brought  forward  ami  hail 
passed  a  militia  hill  which  placed  Indiana  almost 
on  a  war  footing.  He  was  a  valuable  coadjutor 
of  Governor  Morton,  and  was  recognized  as  such 
by  the  great  war  governor,  who  gave  him  his  con 
fidence.  Mr.  Gresham  was  thoroughly  convinced 
that  war  with  the  South  was  inevitable,  and  felt 
tin-  importance  of  making  every  preparation  for 
it.  Then  came  the  inauguration  of  Lincoln  and 
tin-  outbreak  of  civil  war.  For  some  tins-  before 
tin-  war  young  (iresham  hail  been  captain  of 
a  militar}  company  in  Corydon  called  "TheSpen 
cer  Rifles."  He  was  well  versed  in  military  affairs 
and  in  the  tactics,  besides,  In-  had  natural  mili- 
tary instincts.  He  inherited  all  his  father's  liar 
lessness,  ami.  indeed,  seemed  a  horn  soldier,  and 
so  when  his  legislative  duties  were  over.  Governor 
Morton  appointed  him  lieutenant  colonel  of  the 
38th  Indiana  Regiment,  bu1  before  it  entered  active 
service  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  53d  Reg- 
iment in  December,  1861.  The  regiment  was  first 
ordered  to  St.  Louis. Imt  when  Grant,  after  Don 
elson,  advanced  up  the  Tennessee,  Gresham's  reg 
iment  wasordered  to  join  him  at  Savannah.  Here 
he  was  assigned  to  Veatch's brigade  in  Hurlbut's 
division,  ami  wasstaliom-d  at  Savannah  to  guard 
the  coast,  (iresham  being  placed  in  command. 
During  the  brief  period  of  this  command  Col. 
Gresham's  hearing  and  ability  were  such  as  to 
commend  him  strongly  to  tin-  Eavor  of  General 
Grant  ami  his  chief  of  stall'.  Col.  John  A.  Rawlins. 
The  53d  participated  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and 
after  the  evacuation  of  that  place  moved  to  La 
Grange,  and  from  that  point  made  expeditions 
south  of  the  Memphis  A  Chariest ailroad.  Af- 
ter this  the  regiment  joi I  I  [rant's  arm}  and  took 

part  in  the  North  Mississippi  campaign,  after 
which  it  was  stationed  at  Memphis  until  1v,''o 
Later  il  joined  Urn  army  besieging  Vicksburg, 
after  Grant's  famous  strategic  movement,  but  wa6 


250 


BIOGRAPHY  <  »P    fLLlNOIS. 


of  the  battles  that  preceded  the  Biege. 
On  the  Hth  of  August,  1863,  ( !ol.  Gresham,  on  the 
recommendation  of  Generals  ( Irani  and  Sherman, 
was  appointed  Brigadier-General,  and  placed  in 
command  of  the  post  at  Natchez,  and  afterwards 
of  the  district  of  Natchez,  succeeding  ■ 
Crocker.     His  government  of  that  turbulent  city 

■  ii  ius  i  hat  it  is  spi 
this  day,  and  General  Gresham  hasscoresof  warm 
fi  iends  there  among  thi  i  ilder  citizens,  i  renei  al 
Gresham  remained  in  command  at  Natchez  until 
the  following  spring,  when  he  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  a  division  in  the  17th  corps  in  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee,  to  take  part  in  the  campaign 
against  Atlanta.  ( ieneral  McPhersi  in  c<  immanded 
the  army  and  General  Frank  Blair  the  corps,  and 
with  both  of  these  officers,  but  particularly  with 
McPherson,  i  iresham  became  on  specially  friendly 
terms.  Mis  activity  and  zeal  as  a  soldier  \vi-n-  his 
chief  recommendations  to  them.  He  was  in  the 
battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain,  and  in  thi 
ments  that  followed  all  the  way  up  to  and  around 
Atlanta,  until  the  20th  of  July.  That  day  in  the 
battle  of  Leggett's  Hill,  while  at  the  front  exam- 
ining the  ei  emy's  p  isition  with  a  view  to  pressing 
forward,  the  firing  being  very  heavy,  a  ball  struck 
him  just  below  the  knee*  inflicting  a 
wound.  He  was  at  once  carried  to  the  rear  and 
the  next  daj  General  McPherson  himself  gave 
personal  attention  to  having  General  (iresham 
conveyed  in  an  ambulance,  with  great  care,  to  the 
railroad  station.  The  trip  was  a  slow  one  and  oc- 
cupied several  .lays.  When  General  (iresham 
arrived  at  the  station  he  there  found  the  remains 
of  his  beloved  general,  who  had  been  killed  the 
next  day  after  thej  parted.  Tears  come  into  the 
General's  eyes  when  he  relates  this  incident. 
Hack  to  New  Albany  the  General  was  taken,  and 
for  more  than  a  year  he  lay  prone  upon  his  hack, 
nursed  by  his  faithful   wife.     His  leg  was  saved. 

but  he  was  compelled  tog i  crutches  for  several 

years.  The  war  over,  General  Gresham  returned 
to  his  profession,  forming  a  law  partnership  at 
Xew  Albany,  Indiana,  with  Judge  Butler,  and 
Noble  ('.  Butler,  his  son.  But  his  party  still 
made  claims  upon  him.  and  in  1866  he  w: 

the  Republican  ticket  for  Congress  against 
M.  C.  Kerr,  who  was  afterwards  speaker  of  the 
house.     The  district    was  heavily  democratic,  and 

h<-  was.  I  i  asa  matten  if ci  <v  rse,  though 

he   win:  nocrats  to  his  support.    The 

same  year  he  was  appointed  financial  agent  of  the 

state,  which  position  he  held  until  L869.  When 
(ieneral    (Irant    became    President    in     1869,    he 


seemed  determined  to  bring  (ieneral  Gresham  into 
the  public  service.  He  tirst  offered  him  the  col 
lectorship  of  the  port  of  New  Orleans,  the 
1  .est  of  the  kind  in  the  Unite, I  States.  This  he 
declined.  He  then  offered  him  the  district  attor- 
neyship of  Indiana,  and  this  he  peremptorily  re- 
fused. The  circumstances  attending  this  action 
show  Judge  <  Iresham's  warm-hearted  fealty  to  his 
friends.  H  went  to  Washington  i  i  -"licit  this 
appointment  for  a  friend,  and  brought  all  his  in- 
bear  upon  President  Grant  tothat  end. 
He  himself  was  an  applicant  for  no  office.  In  an 
interview  Grant  told  him  he  had  already  made 
hissi  lection  for  the  district  attorneyship  for  Indi- 
ana, (iresham  inquired  who  it  was.  and  Grant 
replied  "  yourself."  (iresham  replied  that  under 
no  circumstances  could  he  take  that  office,  and  he 
did  not.  In  December.  1869,  the  President  again 
tendered  him  a  high  office.  It  was  the  appoint 
ment  of  United  States  district  judge  for  Indiana. 
This  he  accepted  and  thus  commenced  his  judicial 
career.  Until  April.  1SS-2.  he  held  this  position 
with  honor  to  himself  and  with  satisfaction  t"  lit 
igants.  During  his  service  United  States  courts 
were  crowded  with  litigation.  The  Bankrupt  law- 
was  in  force,  and  was  administered  in  the  district 
courts.  It  consequently  required  immense  admin 
istrative,  as  well  as  legal  ability  to  keep  the  dock- 
forward  state.  In  all  this  Judge*  iresham 
gave  satisfaction  on  every  hand.  While  on  the 
district  bene!  Ju  Ige  (iresham  took  no  active  part 
in  politics,  but  his  character  and  reputation  were 
known  t<>  the  leading  men  of  the  country.  It  con 
sequently  so  happened  when  President  Garfield 
was  forming  his  cabinet  that  Judge  Gresham's 
name  was  among  those  originally  agreed  upon. 
Mr.  Blaine  particularly  urged  his  appointment. 
The  situation  became  such,  however,  that  Garfield 
found  himself  obliged  to  modify  his  original 
intei  tion  and  Judge  Gresham  was  not  tendered  a 
seat  in  that  cabinet.  Garfield  died  and  Arthur 
succeeded  him.  In  April,  1882,  Mr.  Howe,  the 
post  master  general  did.  Judge  <  fresham  was  at 
that  time  helding  court  in  Evansville.  One  even 
ing  he  received  a  dispatch  inviting  him  i 
the  position  of  post-master  general.  This  lie  did 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  Washington.  Judge 
Gresham's  career  as  posl  mast'  r  general  presents 
no  specially  remarkable  features,  for  the  office  is 
largely  one  of  routine  and  of  well-establish(  '1  pn  c 
edent.     One  of    the   most    notable    incidents    was 

his  exclusion  of   the  Louisana  lottery  from   tin- 
mails,   ami    this   In-  sue, led    in   accomplishing 

in    spite    of    the    most   powerful    pressure    ever 


Mil  ii  ih'Al'HY  OF    ILLIM  IIS. 


brought  1c  bear  upon  a  public  officer.  He 
looked  thoroughly  into  the  mattei'  of  the  mail 
contracts,  ami  there  were  no  star  route  jobi 
during  his  incumbency.  Briefly,  the  office  was 
well  and  honestly  administered.  Near  the  close 
of  President  Arthur's  term,  on  the  death  of 
Secretary  Fblger,  Judge. Gresham  was  a] 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  a  position  which  he 
held  for  a  short  period.  In  October,  1884,  he 
withdrew  from  the  cabinet  altogether.  During 
his  cabinet  service,  although  one  of  the  y 
he  was  one  of  President  Arthur's  most  trusted 
advisers.  His  judicial  quality  of  mind,  his  sense 
of  fairness  and  his  even  temper  made  him  a  valua- 

lil tadjutor  in  such  a    position.     In  December, 

1884,  Judge  Drummond  having  retired  from  the 
office  of  United  Slates  Circuit  Judge,  President 
Arthur  spontaneously  tendered  that  position  to 
Judge  Gresham.  Having  taken  him  from  the 
bench  to  make  him  a  cabinet  officer,  it  was  a 
pleasing  duty  to  the  President  to  restore  him 
tci  the  bench  at  the  close  of  his  service.  Since 
then  Judge  Gresham's  time  has  been  zealously 
given  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  During  hii  carei  i 
on  the  bench  Judge  Gresham  has  heard  and  de- 
cided many  note-worthj  eases,  many  of  his  decis- 
ions illustrating  in  a  remarkable  degree  his  fear- 
.  impartiality  and  judicial  firmness.  It 
ought,  perhaps,  to  be  no  commendation  h>  one  in 
-Indian  exalted  position,  that  he  possesses  the 
attributes  of  a  just  judge,  but  there  are  dailj  bo 
man}  exhibitions  of  moral  cowardice  and  par- 
tiality, and  even  worse  on  the  bench,  tha 
than  ordinary  degree  of  courage  and  integrity 
necessarily  attracts  attention.  As  a  jurist  Judge 
Gresham  is  distinguished  for  the  directness  and 
accuracy  of  his  perceptions,  the  absolute  fairness 
of  his  rulings  and  his  utter  unconsciousness  of  the 
standing, character  or  wealth  of  parties  or  counsel. 
The  young  lawyer  gains  his  attention  as  readily  as 
the  oldest  or  most  learned,  and  none,  either  old  or 
young,  learned  or  unlearned,  will  escape  rebuke  if 
he  thinks  an  attempt  to  impose  on  the  court  is 
being  made.  In  the  classification  of  great  judge's, 
made  by  Mr.  Walter  Bagehot  in  his  essay  on  Lord 
Brougham,  into  judges  for  the  lawyers  and  judges 
for  the.  parties,  Judge  Gresham  would  be  ranked 
among  the  latter.  He  is  more  intent  on  doing 
exact  justice  betwei  d  litigants  than  in  delivering 

learned  opinions.  He  never  loses  sight  of  the 
object  of  the  law,  which  is  to  administer  justice 
in  the  present  control  ersj  then  and  there  in  hear- 
ing. It  is  the  tendency  of  law  to  get  bound  in 
forms  and  precedents  which  finally  work  harsh  in- 


justice.    It  is  i hi  i      ol    the  great    judge   to 

overleap  these  harriers  ami  reach  the  heart  of  the 
controversy.  This  is  one  . if  Judge  i  Iresham's  dis- 
tinct qualities  which  ranks  him  a ig   the   fore 

most  jurists  of  his  time.  The  celebrated  Wabash 
Railroad  i -a se  illustrates  his  various charactei  istici 
more  fully,  perhaps,  than  any  other.  It  was  a 
case  involving  \  a  si  interests.  I  he  parties  were  men 
of  immense  wealth  and  influence,  and  the  counsel 
were  among  the  mo  t  learned  and  able  on  the  con 
tinent.     Some  popular  interests  also    attached    to 

,  not  in  any  pecuniary  setise,  but  onlj  from 
curiosity  to  know  whether  great  railroad  magnates 
and  their  astute  counsel  could  hear  down  every 
thing  before  them  in  Judge  Gresham's  court  as 
easily  as  elsewhere.  To  give  a  brief  epitome  of 
that  case  so  that  the  non-professional  reader  could 

derstand  all  the  points  in  the  controversy 
is  simply  impossible,  but  the  salient  features  may 
be  outlined  as  follows:  The  Wabash,  St.  Louis  & 
Pacific  Railway  Company  was  formed  by  the  eon 
solidation  of  several  corporations,  owning  or  con- 
trolling, in  May,  1884,  upwards  of  five  thousand 
miles  of  railroad,  lying  in  several  states  cast  and 
west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Upon  every  part  of 
M  there  existed  not  less  than   three  morf 

nd  on  the  entire  road  these  mortgages 
amounted  to  seventy  five  in  all.  In  that  month 
the  railway  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  re- 
ceivers appointed  by  the  United  States  Circuit 
Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Missouri,  upon 
the  voluntary  application  of  the  conpany.  This 
appointment  was  entirelj  without  precedent,  it 
being  always  the  prerogative  of  the  creditors  to 
make  such  application;  but  the  holders  of  the 
bonds  secured  by  the  numerous  mortgages,  at  first 
took  no  alarm.  Similar  bills  were  tiled  in  other 
districts,  including  the  two  districts  in  Illinois, 
and  the  same  receivers  were  appointed  to  manage 
the  portions  of  the  railway  there.  In  pursuance 
of  a  plan  for  the  reorganization  of  the  company, 
the  two  junior  mortgages  covering  the  entire 
system    were    foreclosed    in    the    United    States 

Circuit  Court  at  St.  Louis,  and  a    linal   deer if 

red  in  January.  1886,  the  property  being 
sold  in  April,  and  bid  in  by  a  committee  known  as 
the  "purchasing  committee,"  appointed  to  carry 
out  the  re-organization  plan.  The  bond-holders  of 
the  oldei   mortgages    on    various    sections   of   the 

road  had   1 n    led    to    believe    thai    their    rights 

would  be  unaffected  by  the  foreclosure  proceed- 
ings, bin  liny  were  now  told  that  the  debt  of  the 
road  was  so  great  that  they  must  accept  for  the 
future  a   reduced   rate   of  interest,    and    that  the 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    ILLINOIS 


interest  must  be  funded  tor  a  limited  time.  A 
najority  of  them  had  already  assented  to  the  re 
organization  plan,  represented  by  the  "purchasing 
committee.*'  but  a  strong  minority,  interested  in 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  between  Toledo. 
Quincy,  Hannibal  and  Keokuk,  and  between 
Chicago  and  St.  L>uis.  refused  to  do  so.  Tn  the 
agitation  which  necessarily  ensued,  they  were  met 
with  the  throat  that  a  large  amount  of  the  receiv- 
ership debt  of  upwards  of  four  millions  of  dollars. 
created  in  the  foreclosure  proceedings,  could  be 
enforced  in  priority  1"  their  liens.  More  than 
half  of  the  receivership  debt  had  been  created  for 
the  purpose  "f  taking  up  certain  notes  issued  by 
the  corporation  prior  to  the  receivership,  and  en- 
dorsed  by  four  directors,  Jay  Gould,  Russi  -  9 
Sidney  Dillon,  and  Solon  Humphreys.  The  certifi- 
cates issued  to  take  up  these  notes  were  issued 
upon  petition  of  the  receivers,  one  of  whom  was 
Mr.  Humphreys,  the  other  being  Thomas  E.  Tutt, 
"f  St.  Louis.  The  decree  of  foreclosure  and  sale, 
and  the  decree  confirming  the  sale  in  June.  1886, 
had  been  construed  as  requiring  the  "purchasing 
committee"  to  assume  and  pay,  as  part  of  the 
purchase  price,  all  indebtedness  created  by  the 
receivership.  But  on  the  "21st  ofSeptember,  1886, 
the  counsel  for  the  "purchasing  committee" 
obtained  from  the  court  at  St.  Louis,  two  orders, 
one  authorizing  the  receivers  to  pay  "such  interest 
coupons  or  bonds  secured  by  mortgages  superior 
in  right  to  the  mortgages  foreclosed,"'  as  they 
might  be  -  requested  to  pay  by  the  purchasers  at 
the  sale."  and  the  other  ordering  that  in  case  the 
purchasers  should  become  possessed  by  purchase 
or  otherwise  of  any  claims  against  the  property, 
they  should  be  subrogated  to  the  rights  of  the 
original  holders  of  their  claims.  The  dissenting 
bond-holders  looked  upon  these  orders  as  a  declar- 
ation of  war  by  the  "purchasing  committee," since 
the  orders  provided  for  the  payment  of  interest 
such  bond  holders  as  they  might  desig- 
nate, and  for  keeping  alive  in  their  hands  claims 
which  it  had  been  understood  they  were  to  pay 
off  and  extinguish.  In  consequence  of  these 
orders,  an  application  was  made  to  Judge  Gresham 
for  the  appointment  of  a  different  receiver  for  the 
lines  within  his  jurisdiction,  and  for  foreclosure  of 
certain  of  the  senior  mortgages  covering  these 
lines.  Upon  this  application  evidence  was  taken, 
and  it  appeared  that  the  interests  and  sympathies 
of  receivers  Humphreys  and  Tutt  were  so  related 
to  those  of  the  "purchasing  committee"  as  to 
render  their  removal  indispensable.  It  was  argued 
side  that  the  dissenting  bond-holders  were 


entitled  to  a, fair  ami  disinterested  management 

of  the  property,  and  could  not  be  forced  to  waive 
or  scale  down  their  interest:  on  the  other  hand  it 
was  urged  that  the  granting  of  the  application 
would  be  ruinous  to  the  Wabash  Railroad 
and  would  compel  the  majority  to  surrender  to 
the  demands  of  a  minority.  Judge  Gresham  took 
the  former  view,  and  appointed  a  separate  receiver. 
It  was  a  courageous  act  bravely  done,  and  those 
who  know  most  of  the  circumstances  praise  it 
most.  It  showed  the  people,  moreover,  that  no 
matter  what  the  power,  wealth  or  standing 
maybe,  with  Judge  Gresham  justice  rules  over 
all.  Judge  Gresham  has  been  a  man  of  action 
more  than  of  study,  and  yet  he  has  found  time 
for  wide  reading.  He  possesses  a  thorough  and 
minute  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  govern 
ment  and  of  the  country,  of  the  measures  of  the 
various  administrations,  of  the  great  del. 
the  men  who  shaped  and  influenced  legislation  in 
their  day.  many  of  whom  are  now  forgotten.  He 
understands  the  relations  of  this  country  to  for- 
eign nations,  the  nature  of  the  treaties  in  force, 
and  the  government's  diplomatic  history.  He  has 
been  a  careful  and  thorough  student  of  the  de- 
cisions of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and  understands 
the  just  relations  of  Federal  and  State  sovereignty. 
In  other  fields  of  literature  he  may  be  classed  as 
a  well  informed  man.  What  he  reads  he  makes 
his  own,  not  by  a  mere  effort  of  memory,  but  by 
philosophizing  upon  it.  analyzing  it  and  getting 
at  the  heart  of  the  matter.  Like  mat 
lawyers  and  judges  his  favorite  relaxation  is  with 
a  novel.  Absorbed  in  the  creations  of  the  novel 
ist's  genius,  he  has  been  known  to  read  a  novel 
through  at  a  single  sitting,  even  if  it  took  him  all 
night.  More  than  once  he  has  seen  the  daylight 
creep  through  his  window's  ere  he  laid  down  the 
fascinating  novel.  In  apppearance  Judge  Gres 
ham  is  somewhat  slender — in  youth  he  was  re- 
markably so  -  six  feet  in  height,  his  black  hair 
and  full  beard  now-  turned  to  iron  gray.  His  eyes 
are  hazel,  full  and  large  with  the  power  to 
••threaten  and  command,"  but  soft  and  amiable  in 
familiar  converse.  His  features  are  clearly  cut 
and  regular  and  abundantly  justify  the  reputa 
tion  he  had  in  youth  of  being  a  handsome  fellow. 
His  voice  is  pleasing  and  consorts  well  with  his 
habitual  demeanor,  which  is  quiet  and  modest. 
Indeed,  one  would  say  that  for  a  man  he  i-  ex- 
cessively modest.  In  Harrison  county,  and 
throughout  all  that  section  he  is  still  "Watt 
liresham"  and  in  his  intercourse  with  all  the  peo- 
ple  he   shows   them  he  is   indeed    the   same   old 


U*,V£*Sn>  of  ILLINOIS. 


-^6?, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    ILLINOIS 


2  53 


Watl  kind,  generous,  frank  and  manly.  His 
admirable  qualil  iei  1  if  heai  1  and  mind  ha 
for  him  their  love  and  respecl  just  as  in  a  larger 
and  broader  field  they  have  endeared  him  wher- 
ever he  is  known.  In  c  mversation  recently  a  ven- 
erable old-time  Democrat  proudly  exclaimed: 
"Man  and  boy,  I  hav  ■  known  the  family  for  three 

generations   and    n le   c ver   saj    a    word 

against  any  Gresham." 


VOLUNTINE  C.   TURNER. 

VOLUNTINE  C  TURNER  was  born  in  Malta, 
Saratoga  county,  New  York,  on  i  i i'-  25th  of  Feb 
ruary.  1823.  His  father,  John  B.  Turner,  wa  ■  • 
tensively  engaged  in  railroad  building,  having 
acts  for  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
railroad,  tin-  Galena  division  of  the  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  railroad,  and  other  important  works. 
While  preparing  for  college,  Voluntine  was  em- 
ployed in  his  father's  office  at  the  time  the  latter 
was  engaged  upon  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
railroad  and  the  Genesee  valley  canal.  Having 
completed  his  course  of  si  inly  at  Troy  and  ( (xford 
Academies,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  he  went  to 
Williams  College,  Williamstown,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  graduated  in  l^ir,.  In  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  renin  veil  to  Chicago,  and  soon  afterwards 
commenped  the  practice  of  law,  which  he  contin 
ned  for  a  period  1  if  twelve  years.  Prom  1  s  18  to 
L858  he  was  in  partnership  with  II.  A.  Clarke,  and 
from  1858  until  1860,  with  theexception 

ti ,  only  a  few  months  in  all.  during  which  he 

was  in  partnership  with  Benjamin  F.  A\ 
gaged  alone  in  the  general  practice  of  hi 
sion.  In  February.  1859  In-  joined  with  his  father 
and  William  B.  Ogden,  Charles  V.  Dyer,  and 
.lames  II.  Rees,  in  procuring  Hie  charter  for  the 
horse  railway  mi  the  north  side,  designated  in 
the  act  of  incorporation  as  the  North!  hicago 
City  Railway  Company.  lie  was  appointed 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  company  at  the 
time  of  its  organization,  and  continued  to  act  in 
that  capacity  until  duly.  1865.  From  that 
date  until  January.  1867,  he  u  as  the  vice-president 
of  the  company.  He  was  then  chosen  as  its  pres- 
ident, and  held  that  office  until  the  sale  of  the 
road  a  few  years  ago  tn  a  syndicate  of  eastern 
capitalists,  of  which  Mr.  Charles  T.  Yerkes  is 
president  and  general  manager.  The  horse  rail 
mad  was  an  indispensable  accommodation  to  the 


citizens  of  the  north  6ide,  and  played  an  imporl 
ant  part  111  furthering  tie-  development  ol  thai 
division  of  the  city.  During  Mr.  Turner's  man 
agemenl  il  served  the  needs  of  the  community 
with  very  little  cause  for  complaint.    The  people 

mi  idatiuii 
it  afforded,  and  in  the  course  of  years  it  became  a 
valuable  propertj  for  the  stockholders,  much  of 
its  financial  prosperity  being  due  to  Mr.  Tin  tier'-: 
prudent  management.  With  the  ii 
illation  in  the  northern  suburbs  of  the  city,  the 
problem  of  providing  more  rapid  transit  to  and 
from  the  business  centre  assumed  greater  im- 
portance, and  more  ample  accommodations  were 

ly  required.    The  success  of  tl 
system  in  thesouthern  division,  and  in  othi     ci1 1 
led  to  its  adoption   by  Mr.  Yerkes   and    hi 
ciates  in  inb  resl      So  rapid  has  been  the  exteh 
sion  of  the  city  northward  by  tin-  building  of  new 

suburbs  thai  alread)  it    has  bei te  a  matter  of 

pressing  necessity  that  still  greater  transportation 
facilities  he  afforded.  With  the  difficulties  at 
tending    these    new   experit  ever,    Mr. 

Turner  has  happily  had  nothing  to  do.  He  turned 
over  a  well  equipped  and  handsomely  paying  prop 
- .  and  since  his  retirement 
from  the  presidency  of  the  North  Chicago  City 
Railway  Company  he  has  not    been  actively  en 

gaged  in  any  business,  but  has  spent  his  well 
earned  leisure  iii  the  societj    of   his   Looks   in   his 

charming residen 1  the  Like  Shore  Drive,  and 

icasional  travel.     Mr.  Turner  married  on  the 

20th  of  May  L851,  Miss  Eliza  Smith,  daughter  of 
Colonel  Henry  Smith,  a  former  partner  of  William 
1!.  Ogden.  She  died  about  six  years  ago,  and  Mr. 
Turner  again  married,  a  widow  lady,  Mrs.  Green. 
By  education  and  natural  disposition  Mr.  Turner 
ys  been  a  studious  man.  and  prefers  to 
spend  his  leisure  in  his  own  home  among  his  In  loks 
and  friends  rather  than  to  take  any  prominent 
part  in  society  doings.     His  residence  on  the  Lake 

Shore  Drive  is  a   model  of  elegance  and  c fort, 

and  there  he  delights  to  dispense  a  liberal  hospi 
tality.     Among  Chicago  busii  one  stand 

higher  for  ability  and  honor  than  Mr.  Turner. 
and  those  who  knew  him  in  his  early  days,  both 
in  business  relations  and  socially,  have  remained 
his  friends  for  a  lifetime.  He  has  been  for  sonic 
years  a  member  of  the  Union  Club,  and  is  always 
an  honored  visitor  there,  lb'  has  always  been 
and  shooting,  and  during  his  busi- 
ness life  often  availed  himself  of  opportunities  to 
go  out  into  the  country  for  a  while  with  his  rod  and 
gun,  and  enjo}  these  recreal He  is  now   the 


254 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   [LLINOIS. 


president   of  the  Pelee  Club,  whose mbership 

embraces  a  select  company  of  the  best  people  in 
Chicago,  Cleveland,  and  New  York,  who  are  en- 
thusiastic amateur  sportsmen.  The  late  General 
Sheridan  was  a  member,  and  it  now  includes 
Judge  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  George  M.  Pullman, 
Esq.,  J.  Russell  Jones,  Esq.,  and  other  well  known 
gentlemen.  Their  magnificent  club  house  is  situ- 
ated on  a  Canadian  island  in  Lake  Erie,  off  San 
dusky.  The  real  estate  of  the  islandis  their  prop- 
erty, and  the  club  house  was  erected  at  a  cost  Of 
$100,000  The  members  of  the  Pelee  Club  visit 
the  island  twice  a  year,  in  May  ami  October,  and 
spend  some  pleasant  weeks  in  congenial  society 
ami  amusement.  Mr.  Turner  has  never  held  any 
public  cHice.  and  never  aspired  to  one.  In  polities 
lie  is  a  Democrat,  and  lias  always  held  a  respected 
ami  influential  place  in  tie-  councils. of  his  party. 
In  1876  lie  took  an  active  part  in  the  Tilden  cam- 
paign, ami  his  exertions  were  largely  instrumental 
in  bringing  out  the  unusually  large  vote  which 
the  Democrats  of  Chicago  polled  that  year.  The 
result  of  the  electoral  commission  was  a  great 
disappointment  to  him.  as  it  was  to  zealous  Dem 
ocrats  everywhere  throughout  the  country.  He 
has  since  seen  his  party  victorious  in  a  presiden- 
tial struggle,  and  no  doubt  hopes  to  see  it  again. 
Mr.  Turner  and  his  first  wife  were  for  twenty- 
live  years  prominent  members  of  St.  James' 
Episcopal  church.  Since  the  organization  of 
Professor  Swing's  church,  he  has  been  an  attend- 
ant upon  the  ministrations  of  that  popular 
preacher. 


JOHN    J.   P.   ODELL. 

JOHN  J.  P.  ODELL,  president  of  the  Union 
National  Bank  of  Chicago,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Eastport,  Maine.  August  19,  1S17.  The  first 
eighteen  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  home 
in  Hie  town  where  he  was  bom.  His  parents  were 
both    New    Hampshire   people,  but    removed  to 

Maine  when  both  were    still   young.      His    mother 

was  .Miss  H.  E.  Peavey,  ami   belonged    I i    old 

New  Hampshire  family.  His  father.  I).  [.  Odell, 
established  himself  as  a  merchant  in  Eastport  ami 

continued  so  for  half  a  century.  Both  parentsare 
still  living  mar  Boston,  Mass.  Young  Odell's 
facilities  for  He-  acquirement  of  an  education  were 
nol  exceptionally  good.  He  attended  thecommon 
schools  a1  Eastport  and  was  given  one  year  at   a 


private  school  in  Providence,  B.  I.  When  about 
sixteen  years  <>ld  he  became  infatuated  with  the 
idea  of  becoming  a  civil  engineer.  Per  two 
summers  previous  to  his  leaving  home  he  accom 
panied  coasl  surveying  expeditions  engaged  in 
surveying  the  coast  of  Maine,  ami  he  had  then  a 
very  serious  aotion  of  making  a  study  of  the 
science  "f  surveying.  Circumstances,  however. 
conspired  to  change   these   plans.    Young  Odell 

bee '  imbued  .with  the  -Western  fever  "a  ml  he 

felt  that  if  one  half  of  the  stories  told  of  the  grand 

opportunities  "out  west"  for  brain  or  muscle  to 
accomplish  great  things  were  true,  it  was  the 
place  for  him.  In  1865,  Chicago  had  gone  far  be 
yond  the  experimental  period;  she  had  alreadj 
begun  to  feel  her  power  ami  the  reputation  of  the 
western  metropolis  hail  become  known  through- 
out all  the  land—even  reaching  beyond  the  seas. 
The  grand  chances  offered  by  this  phenomenal 
city  became  known  in  the  little  town  upon  the 
cast  of  Maine,  and  young  Odell,  then  eighteen 
years  old,  decided  to  go  there    and    judge  for  him 

self  if  it  was  indeed  the  El  Dorado  it  had  been  de- 
scribed. Mr.  Odell  arrived  in  Chicago  in  the  fall 
of  1865,  and  began  to  look  for  employment.  Thus 
far  he  had  not  determined  upon  his  future.  He 
hardly  knew  in  what  direction  he  had  better  turn 
his  talents  and  his  energies.  Believing,  however, 
that  sooner  or   later   lie    would    find   his   proper 

sphere,  he  took  the  first  situation   that   hi uld 

find.  This  was  employment  of  some  kind  on  the 
Chicago,  Burlington  A  Quincy  Railroad.  He  had 
been  thus  engaged  for  only  a  month  when  he 
secured  a  situation  as  bookkeeper  in  the  North- 
western National  Bank.  He  entered  this  institu- 
tion on  November  1st,  1865  and  remained  there 
until  July  of  the  following  year  when  he  resigned 
to  accept  a  position,  similar  to  the  one  he  was 
holding,  in  the  Union  National  Bank.  With  Hie 
latter  bank  he  has  ever  since  been  connected,  pass 
ing  through  all  the  grades  it  offered  to  employes, 
reaching  finally  the  top  round  of  the  ladder,  be- 
coming president  of  the  concern,  one  of  the  princi- 
pal banking  houses  in  thegreat  Northwest.  This 
bank  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  private  concern  estab- 
lished only  a  year  or  two  previously  by  Mr.  W.  V. 

Coolbaugh,  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  P.  Cool- 
bauglnv  Co.    Mr.  Coolbaugh  had  been  a  successful 

banker  in  Burlington,  Iowa.  He  was  considered 
a  financial  power  in  that  state,  and  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  he  telegraphed  the  governor  to  draw 

on  him  for  money,  if  he  needed  any  financial 
;,:;:  i-  lanee,  in  fitting  cut  the  state  with  her  quota 
of  men.     The  banking  house   thus   established    in 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS 


*55 


baugb  did  a  fairly  su 
.  and  in  February  1865,  was  merged   into 

i1  i    I      ion  National  Bank  of  Chicago.     Mr.  Cool- 
baugh  was  made  president  of  the  new  organization 
and  remained  at    its   head    until  Noven 
when    his    life  was   cut    short    in    a    ino£ 
manner.     He  had  alwa;     bi  staunch  Demo- 

crat of  the  Douglas  school,  and  wasagreat  admirer 
of  that  eminent  statesman.     But  his  mind  became 
I  and  during  a  period  of  mental  aberration 
nitted    suicide    upon    thi 
monument,  on  the  night  of  November  11. 
1877.     After   the  fire    of    1871,  the   ban! 
■nee    of    C.    T.    Wl 
Wabash    avenue.    Mr.    Wheeler    was  then   vice- 
president   and   the    bank   continued   to 

there   for   several    months,    when    they 
moved  into  the  Central   Unioi  m  Madison 

street,  near  the  river,    whicl  built   by 

Cool  Laugh    &    Wheeler.      A  373,     thej 

moved  into  the  Union  Building  on  the 
Washington  and  La  Salle  streets.  In  July.  1872, 
the  capital  stock  was  increased  from  a  half,  to  a 
million  dollars,  but  was  reduced  agaii 
original  amount  in  1878.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
Coolbaugh,  Mr.  Wheeler  was  elected  president, 
but  resigned  in  1882  and    bi  •  onnection 

with  the  bank.  In  January.  1880,  Charles  A. 
Munn  resigned  the  vice-presidency,  and  W.  C.  I). 
Grannis  was  elected  to  till  the  vacancy,  and  at  the 
same  time  Mr.  Odell  was  made  cashier.  He  had 
d  in  the  concern  during  all  these  i 
66.  He  had  found  a  field  in  which  he 
could  use  his  talents  to  the  besl  advantagi  He 
filled  all  the  positions  in  the  hank  up  to  this  last 
responsible  one  to  which  he  was  appointed  in  lss-o. 
In  1885  he  was  elected  vice-president,  and  at  the 
annual    meeting  in    1890,    he    was    elected    to    the 

cy.    The  Union  National  Bank  of  i 
to-day  as  a  great    power    in    the   financial 
of   tlie  city,  and  has.  within  the   last  few 
years,  grown  rapidly    in    importance.     Mr.   Odell 
paid  to  his  own 
interests  found  time  to  devote  to  matters  of  public 
interest  and    public   welfare.     He    was   an   active 
worker  in  tic  preliminary    movement    which    re- 
sulted in  the  organization  of  the    V.  M.  C.  U..  now 
know  ii  as  tie-  Chicago  Atheneum.  This  institution 
was  the  outcome  of  the  fire  and  was  started   at   a 
public  meeting  called  by  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Wen, lie. 
and  of  which  Rev.   Laird   Collier   was   c 
On  .Max  8,  1874,  the  name  was  chat  . 

Men's  Christian   I  Inion,   to    tie     I 
Atheneum.    The  plan  was  nearl)  the  same  as  thai 


of  the  Boston  Union.     The  institution  to-daj  is  a 
great  success,  and  one  Chicago  can   well 
of.     Mr.  Odell  has  been   one   of   its   directors   for 
many  yei  I  b  irn  in  Maine  and   proud   of 

it.  it  was  but  natural  he  should  be  active  in  a 
movement  to  organize  a  society  called  the  "Sons 
of  Maine."  (in  March  12,  1880,  a  meeting  was 
held  iii  the  club  room  of  the  Gardner  House,  now 
the  Leland  Hotel,  at  which  there  were  present, 
Abner  Taylor,  C.  P.  Kimball,  J.  L.  Hathaway,  A. 
A.  Libby.  John  J.  P.  Odell.  C.  P.  Libby,  i. 
Swett  and  others.  Leonard  Swett  was  made 
chairman  and  J.  8.  Brewer,  secretary.  The  chair 
appointed  as  a  committee.  Messrs.  Kimball.  Odell 
and  Libby,  to  prepare  a  constitution  and  by-laws 
for  an  organization  to  he  known  as  the  " 
Maine."  At  an  adjourned  meeting  held  March  19, 
roved.  Officers 
follows:  President.  Hon.  Thomas 
Drunnuond:  first   vice-presi  .  .  d    Swett: 

second  vice-president.  J.  Young  Scammoi 
tary,    J.    S.    Brewer,    and    treasurer.  John  J.    P. 
Odell.     In  the  winter-      -  rganization  had 

crow  ii  so  in  numbers  and  h;  popular 

that    a    banquet    was   talked    of.     The    idea    was 
readily  taken  up  and  on  June  111.   1881,  there   was 
held  in  Chicago  the  first  banquet  of  the  organiza- 
tion.    Many  of  the  prominent  men  from  I 
of  Maine  were  invited  and  came   to  do  honor   to 

sion.     A.  special  committee  was  sent  in  a 
special    car    to   Boston,   to   convey    the 

■  <  Ihicagi i.  The  affair  was  a  great  success 
and  the  ,, rganization  lias  since  been  kept  full  of 
life  by  the  activity  of  its  members,  who  enjoy, 
not  only  the  banquets  which  have  bei 
annual  affair,  hut  the  regular  meetings  of  the 
organization.     Mr.  Odell  has  many  other  business 

than  the  Union  National  Bank.  He  is 
the  president  of  the  National  Storage  Company, 
to  which  office  he  was  elected  in  lsss:  he  j<  presi- 
dent of  the  Union  Cold  Storage  and  Warehouse 
Company,  having  been  elected  in  IS1 
is  a  Director  in  the  Union  S  :  D  posit  Com 
pany.  Chicago  Atheneum.  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  and  of  The  First  National  Dank  of 
Duluth.     B  mber  of  the  Chicago.   Union. 

on  Park  and  the  Bankers  Chilis,  and  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  the  American 
Bankers  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Trade,  of  Chicago.and  has  been  for  manj 
years  a  Fellow  of  tin-  Institute  of  Bankers  of 
London.  England.  The  most  of  the  abovi 
ations  are  of  a  business  character,  and  though 
holding  a  membership  in  several  social  clubs  he  i- 


!«?6 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    LLLINOIS. 


doI  in  any  ■  en  e  a  club  man.  lie  enjoys  his  home 
life  in  the  extreme.  Mr.  Odell  has  been  twice 
married.  He  first  wedded  MissMary  L.Brown,  of 
i  Ihica  ;o, October  II.  L868.  Shediedin  L871.  Two 
children  were  born  of  this  marriage,  one  of  whom 
is  now  living.  In  November  1ST:!.  Mr.  Odell  was 
again  married,  bis  bride  being  Miss  Emma  A. 
Palboi  of  Providence,  R.  I.  Two  children  were 
the  result  of  this  union,  both  of  them  now  living. 


JOHN   W.   KOOT. 

The  short  career  of  John  Wellborn  Root,  archi- 
tect, was  a  power  for  good  in  Chicago,  with  whose 
artistic  development  his  name  is  closely  connected. 
In  a  community  whose  interests  are  mainly  com- 
mercial, his  rare  artistic  genius  was  like  a  light  in 
dark  places,  an  inspiration  to  all  lovers  of  beauty. 
There  are  many  dreamers  in  the  historj  of  art, 
but  ii  is  nut  often  that  a  mind  as  alert,  as  active, 
as  ready  in  resourc  is  as  his,  has  also  the  sensit  ive- 
ness  of  a  musician  and  the  tine  imagination  of  a 
poet.  He  was  an  engineer  whose  inventions  and 
adapt  a  tii  uis  of  old  laws  to  new  uses  have  received 
wide  professional  sanction,  as  well  as  an  artist  to 
whom  the  recent  luxuriant  flowering  of  architec 
ture  in  the  West  is  largely  due.  The  rapidity  of 
his  thought  and  the  sure  touch  of  his  skilled 
hand  were  phenomenal  to  those  who  came  in  per- 
sonal contact  with  him;  ami  these  qualities  are 
still  apparent  in  the  extent  ami  beauty  of  the 
work  that  he  performed  during  the  last  ten  years 
of  his  lite.  Itut  there  are  other  faculties  which  he 
could  not  pei  petuate  in  stone,  certain  j 
character,  his  generosity,  his  encouraging  sym 
pathy,  his  intuitive  comprehension  of  motives  ami 
actions.  The  rare  charm  of  his  talk  cannot  be 
lightly  passed  over  nor  easily  suggested  for  his 
mind  was  as  quick  to  grasp  a  discovery  as  was  his 
memory  to  retain  it.    And  his  facility  of  speech  was 

e raensurate    with    the   readiness  and  the  alert 

ai  i  n  ii\  ol  ee  keen  intellect.    With  a  mind  open 

to  all  impressions,  he  was  responsive  to  ideas  both 
personal  and  poetic;  and  it  was  this  dual  faculty 
in  him,  which,  together  with  his  wit  and  his  ex- 
ppreoiation  of  all  humor,  brought  him  in 
touch  with  men  of  many  classes.  Mr.  Van  Brunt 
has  written  of  "his  hospitality  to  every  form  of 
intellectual  appeal;"  and  no  on.-  who  knew  him 
can  soon  Forget  Im-  helpfulness,  his  suggestive 
sympathy,  or  the  inspiring  influence  of  his  joyous 


personality.  Born  in  Georgia,  January,  M>.  L850, 
John  Wellborn   Rool  was  only  half  a  southerner, 

his  father  being  a  native  of  Ver nt.      In  spite  of 

his  New  England  training,  however.  Sidney  Root 
was  an  ardent  sympathizer  with  the  t  Jonfederacy, 
and  he  served  the  southern  government  at  one 
time  b)  undertaking  a  difficult  diplomatic  mission 
lo  several  European  courts.  His  ships  were  many 
times  successful  in  running  through  the  Union 
blockade;  ami  John,  his  oldest  son.  was  sent  on 
one  of  them  to  England.  He  was  placed  in  school 
near  Liverpool,  and  remained  there  until  prepar- 
ed to  take  the  Oxford  examinations,  which  he 
passed  with  credit.  During  these  years  he  studied 
the  organ  with  William  Best,  the  greatest  organ- 
ist in  England,  thus  cultivating  the  exquisite 
music, d  gift  which,  throughout  his  life  was  a  de- 
light to  all  who  knew  him.  After  his  examina- 
tions, the  war  being  over,  his  parents  sent  for 
him  to  join  them  in  New  York,  then  their  home. 
There  he  entered  the  University  of  New  York, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  with  honor  in  L869. 
Prom  his  earliest  youth  his  taste  for  architecture 
had  been  apparent  and  this  specific  Kent  was  care 
fully  fostered  by.  his  parents.  At  tin-  end  of  his 
college  course  he  entered  James  Renwick's  office 
in  New  Yoik,  and  later  that  of  J.  It.  Snook,  who 
was  then  designing  the  Grand  Central  Station. 
In  1S7'J  he  went  to  Chicago,  where  the  work  of 
rebuilding  the  city  after  the  fire  was  being  hur- 
riedly done,  and  for  a  year  was  a  draughtsman  in 
the  office  of  ('aider.  Drake  &  Wright.  At  that 
time  Daniel  H.  Burnhain  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  same  firm;  and  in  1873  he  and  John  Root 
Eorined  a  partnership  which  death  alone  has  sev- 
ered. Burnham  &  Wool  took  high  ground  from 
the  beginning,  preferring  long  inaction  to  any 
compromise  with  fortune  The  delay  was  gaily 
endured,  however,  for  a  close  and  lasting  friend- 
ship had  grown  up  between  the  two  men,  and  the 
final  success  was  well  worth  waiting  for.  From 
lSs'tl  until  the  end.  Knot's  life  was  a  succession  of 
triumphs;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  remember  that 
Imt  few  serious  disappointments  disturbed  its 
high  serenity.  He  was  twice  married  in  January. 
L880,  lo  Mary  Louise  Walker,  who  died  within  a 
month;  and  three  years  later  to  Dora  Louise 
Monroe,  a  union  which  was  singularly  happj  and 
joyous,  lie  attained  a  wide  reputation  as  a  writer 
upon  architecture,  and  as  a  speaker  upon  any 
subject,  and  his  inferos!  in  men  and  things  made 
his  hospitality  a  delight  to  his  friends.  He  was  at 
his  best  al  home,  u  hen  tic  brilliancy  of  his  lluenl 
talk,  and  I  he    wit     that     was    quick    to    meet    any 


UM»VtRSlTY<rf»LUNOlS- 


|;|o<;i;.\I*1IY  OF   ILLINOIS 


2  57 


in  1  [i ■in-y.  aided  his  music  to  sway  the  hearts  of 

11.     As  we  look  back  upon  Root's  professional 

career,  it  seems  to  I"-  a  gorgeous  and  resplendent 
pageant.  Such  opportunities  as  were  his,  come  to 
few  men,  and  genius  alone  could  have  met  them, 
as  he  did,  superbly.  He  was  designer  the  artist 
of  the  Arm,  and  the  lot  portanl  and  iua 

posing  structures   erected  by   Burnham    A    Root 
bears  in  itself  evidence  of  his  power  of  coneentra 
tion  and  marvelous  swiftness  of  thought 
cution.    The  Rookery,  the  Phenix,  the    Rand  Mc 
Nalh.  the  1  .  the  Masonic  Temple,  and 

the  Woman's  Temple  are  but  a  few  of  bis  offici 
buildings  in   Chicago  of  his  more  im 

portant  public  structures  in  other  cities  ate  the 
beautiful  building  for  the  Societj  oi  Savings  in 
Cleveland;  the  Board  of  Trade,  Midland  Hotel 
and  American  Hank  building,  Kansas  City;  the 
Montezuma  Hotel  in  Las  Vegas,  N.  M.;  the 
Equitable  Building  in  Atlanta:  the  Davidson 
Theatre,  Milwaukee;  and  the  Chronicle  and  l>. 
O.  Mills  buildings  in  San  Francisco.  Thi 
many  beautiful  residences,  the  First  I; 
Armory,  with  its  material  simplicity,  the  grace  of 
line  in  the  Chicago  Herald  building,  and  the  Art 
Institute,  which  "Binge  over  the  water"  these 
are  some  of  the  children  of  that  great  brain  which 
has  lost  the  power  of  action.  His  must  vital  archi 
tectural  work  was  done  in  Romanesque,  although 
tie  made  several  notable  excursions  into  other 
fields.  But  he  was  an  originator  and  used  the 
style  with  no  imitative  hand.  Realizing  that  all 
good  architecture  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  civiliza- 
tion that  engenders  it,  he  adapted  the  Romanesque 
forms    with    scholarly  ey,  and  yet    with 

daring  and  consummate  skill,  to  the  needs  of 
the  time.  Root  knew  the  mathematics  of 
his  profession ae  well  as  its  poetry;  and  many 
of  his  discoveries  in  construction,  sue!  as  the  con 
undation,     are    now    widely 

aployed.  Interesting  himself  intensely  in  the 
welfare  of  his  profession,  he  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  organizing  thi  Western  Association  of 
\  rchitects,  which  bestowed  its  highest  offices  upon 
him.  When  that  body  became  a  part  ot  the  Vmeri 
can  Institute  of  Architects,  Root  was  elected  sec 
retary  of  the  older  society,  a  position  which  he 
held  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  Sept  em  her.  1890, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  Supervising  Archi 
tect  of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  his 
partner  Mr.  Burnham.  being  same  the 

positii 1  Chief  of  Canstruction.     Throwing  him 

self  into  this  great  work  with  characteristic  en 
thusiasm,  Hoot  drew  innumerable  plans  for  diffi  c 


bag  arrangements  of  the  grounds  and  buildings. 
Even  the  location  of  the  Fair  was  not  definitely 
decided  upon  until  November,  and  during  the 
autumn  months  plans  were  pr<  pared  for  everj  p  is 
sibie  contingency.  No  one  who  was  uotin  close 
contact   with    Root    at  this  memorable  period  can 

have  an j  concepti if  the  marvellous  work  which 

he  accomplished.     His   quick  mind  gras] 
detail  of  the  enormous  enterprise,  and  no  I 
,u\  discouragement  could  rob  him  of  his  faith  in 
its  ultimate  success.      The    National    Commission 

and  the  Bi  ian  I  "I  I  > t<  irs  paid  a  1  a  re  1  ribute   to 

his  genius  by  final  1}  granting  everything  that  he 
most  desired  in  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  build 

:    the   selection   of   architects     Together 

I  'he  t  -  if  (  ''instruct ion  ami  the  landscape 
architects,  he  prepared  a  report  upon  the  location 
of  the  Fair,  which,  as  a  clear  and  concise  state 
men!  of  the  arguments  and  conclusions  upon  both 
sides,  could  not  well  have  been  surpassed.  This 
report  and  the  drawings  which  he  submitted  at 
the  same  time  won  the  day  for  Jackson  Park,  with 

parable  1  mtloi  ik  upon    1  he    lake.    Judge 

Harris,  of  Virginia,  declared    in    that    convention 

that    "the   conceptions  were  as  wonderful  as  they 

were  numerous,  and  that  the  architectural  pre  cm 

the    Exposition   was  guaranteed  in  ad 

One  of  the  directors,  who  was  also  pres- 
ent at  this  crucial  meeting  of  the  Commission, 
dei  cril  iei  i  R01  it's  ■•  herculean  labi  >rs  in 
inaugurating  this  magnificent  architectural  move- 
ment." "One  Mash  of  the  noonday  sun."  lie  said 
in  an  interview  published  111  the  Chicago  Inter 
Ocean,  "outshines  the  all-night  twinkling  of  the 
stars.  John  R  the  Columbian  Expo- 
sition more  than  it  honored  him,  and  the  high 
impress  of  his  name  and  genius  is  worth  ten  times 
the  amount  of  salary."  In  the  same  talk,  this 
described  the  way  in  which  Root  captured 
the  convention,  and  adds,  "  It  was  a  feat  to  satisfy 
any  ambition,  but  the  draft  upon  nerve  and  brain 
and  vitality  had  been  fatally  great."  Root  kept 
the  management  of  his  department  upon  the  loft- 
.iii- 1  !n-  genen ius  selection  of  the  -rent 
est  architects  in  the  country  to  design  the  build- 
ings without  1 (petition  is  unprecedented  in  our 

histor)  of  public  enterprises.     No  incident  in   his 

career  shows  more  clearly  than   this  his  get us 

admiration  of  noble  work  by  other  architects,  or 
ense  of  professional  honor.  John  Well 
born  Root  died  on  the  fifteenth  of  January,  1891, 
.just  as  he  touched  the  highest  point  of  hiscareer, 
and  endless  opportunities  for  great    achievement 

pening  before  him.     "His   work,"  writes 


!S8 


BIOGB  \PIIV  OF    ILLINOIS. 


Henry  Van  Brunt,  "is  sure  to  be  fruitful  in  the 
future  through  the  spirit  which  he  left  behind 
him  and  which  cannot  die,"  aspirit  that  impreg- 
nated his  highest  thought  and  his  most  hurried 
sketch.  ■•  In  him,"  adds  this  distinguished  fellow 
architect,  "we  Lave  lost  a  Hotspur,  whose  gallant 
example  kept  the  lamp  of  life  blazing  like  ;t  bea- 
con." It  was  a  favorite  theory  of  John  Root's  a 
theorj  which  no  one  has  exemplified  bo  well  as 
himself  that  the  true  architect  must  be  philos- 
opher and  poet,  painter  and  musician,  sculptor 
and  man  of  letters,  that  to  be  a  great  architect  is 
to  feel  the  inspiration  of  many  forms  of  beauty, 
and  to  understand  and  express  all  arts.  Of  the 
many  eloquent  tributes  which  wen  called  forth 
by  his  death,  one  written  by  Mr.  Williston  Pish 
ami  printed  in  the  Chicago  Daily  News,  may  be 
fittingly  quoted  : 

"To  be  beautiful,  to  be  strong,  to  be  skillful,  to 
be  learned,  to  be  wise  theseare  things  that  fol- 
low nature  and  where  they  rise  and  how  they 
grow  and  flourish  every  man  ran  know.  But  there 
is  a  thing  above  these  more  beautiful  than  beauty, 
stronger  than  force,  more  cunning  than  skill,  more 
learned' than  learning,  wiser  than  wisdom;  and 
whence  it  comes,  what  it  is.  whereon  it  flourishes 
no  man  knows.  There  is  a  last  touch  of  nature 
beyond  what  study  knows,  that  is  life;  and  there 
is  a  last  touch  of  humanity  which  is  genius.  Phil- 
osophers can  tell  us  truths,  scholars  can  recount 
the  world's  learning,  instructed  artists  can  de- 
light the  eye.  apt  poets  can  please  the  car.  ami  ap- 
prehension can  match  praise  to  their  work's  excel- 
lence, but  when  genius  has  wrought  there  is 
creation;  there  are  the  smiles  and  tears  of  life,  and 
the  nearest  understanding  is  only  wonder  at  the 
dear  mystery.  I  ienius  is  rare.  It  comes  but  a  few 
times  in  the  careers  of  the  oldest  and  noblest 
nations.  Vet  a  man  of  genius,  we  in  our  brief  day 
have  had  with  us.  lias  he  been  too  close  for  us  to 
perceive  altogether  what  he  was'.'  We  have  seen 
him  from  day  today  in  the  streets,  in  the  clubs, 
in  all  the  common  walks  of  common  men.  And 
seeing  him  so  he  seemed  but  as  others— the  best 
of  ethers  talking,  ]3stmg  sympathizing  with  his 
neighbors.  We  have  seen  him  in  his  work  room 
and  lie  was  but  making  lines  and  figuresand  com 
putations.  He  was  one  of  us.  yet  he  was  not. 
What  was  it?  Somewhere  behind  that  friendly, 
familar  face  lay  the  power  of  immortality.  We 
seem  all  in  a  common  crowd,  or  all  alike,  or  differ- 
ent but  ina  measurable  degree;  but  we  arc  tried 
by  adversity  and  one  remains  steadfast;  we  are 
tried  by  danger  and  one  is  undaunted  ;  we  are  tried 
by  war  and  one  rises  to  command  our  command- 
ers; and  in  the  end  we  arc  tried  by  time  and  one 
who   sat    with    us    is    immortal.       Others   were  as 

noisj  in  their  day,  but  when  their  voices aresilent, 

his  still  speaks  on,  forever  listened  to,  in  the 
assemblies  of  the  wise  We  have  not  failed  to 
honor  him  much.     Few  men  in  their  lifetime  have 

been  honored  'e,  but  his  genius  overtopped  our 

admiration.     There   will   be   amends.    The   man 


w  ho  can  have  the  admiration  of  his  own  time  onlj . 
must  have  full  measure,  but   this  man    will   add  to 

our  homage,  lacking  and  half  aroused,  the  horu 
age  of  time  to  come,  i  ireater  will  grow  the  honor 
of  having  known  him.  In  forty  years  he  of  us 
who  lives  so  long,  will  tell  of  slight   acquaintance 

and  gain  the  public  ear.       Let   him    I  hen,    when    a 

new  generation  shall  stand  before  the  structures, 
in  whose  matchless  lines  the  spirit  of   the  archi 

tect  who  created  them  still  seems  to  live,  let  him 
then,  and  his  old  tongue  will  have  respect,  tell  his 
memories,  be  thej  never  so  trivial,  of  how  he 
knew  John  Root  in  the  walks  of  common  men. 
■•John  Wellborn  Root  is  dead,  and  this  city  of 
triumphs  and  misfortunes,  which  had  its  highest 
triumph  in  his  work,  has  suffered  in  his  death  pro 
foundest  misfortune.  The  city  will  still  be  great, 
powerful,  prodigious:  but  the  hands  the  two 
hands  which  could  mould  its  ambition  into  beauty, 
iis   greatness    into  grandeur,    are  done  with    work. 

The  city,  the  world,  may  well  pause — it  does  pause 
to  consider  its  loss;  to  recur  to  the  past  and  to  the 

marvels  a  chic  veil;  to  regret,  no  matter  how  vainly. 
the  future  with  its  promise  disappointed.  There 
wire  beautiful  forms  ready  to  take  enduring  sub 
stance,  ami  others  in  glorious  procession  would 
have  followed,  like  towers  upon  towers  and  pal 
aces  upon  palaces  in  summer  skies.  What  time 
does  not  destroy  it  cherishes;  what  it  docs  not 
wear  away  it  makes  greater,  and  the  names  of  men 
great  in  art.  cherished  ami  made  vast  by  time. 
weigh  Upon  the  senses  of  the  present.  And  yet  one 
may  look  over  the  earth  and  say  that  no  architect  of 
immortal  name  in  any  age  did  more  for  his  own 
fame  or  for  the  world  of  beauty  than  he  who 
twentj   years  ago  was  a  boy  and  who  now  is  dead. 


he  will  be  remembered.  As  long  as  one  stone  re 
mains  above  another,  those  stones  shall  have  a 
tongue  to  proclaim  his  genius.  For  whatever  re 
mains  will  be  right,  just  and  beautiful  beyond 
rules.  The  ruins  will  furnish  examples  for  newer 
days.  To  constant  Time,  brooding  upon  the  mar- 
vels it  has  seen,  we  leave  the  filling  of  the  great 
measure  i  if  his  praises;  but  Time  we  charge  to  have 
this  care;  that  when  his  portraits  arc  faded;  when 
his  statues  are  worn  and  broken;  and  when  his 
generation  and  all  belonging  to  it  shall  seem  old, 
Tine  shall  not  say  that  he  was  old,  nor  think  that 
his  triumphs  were  slowly  won.  Tiny  were  won  in 
youth,  and  the  glory  of   youth  shines  upon  them." 


GEORGE  R.  DAVIS. 

Director-General  George  R.  Davis  possesses  a 
marked  and  picturesque  personality.  Among  ten 
thousand  men  lie  would  attract  attention  asa  man 

of  great  individuality  and  force  of  character.     His 

features  bear  the  stamp  of  native  power.  His 
figure  is  of  commanding  proportions,  and  his 
splendidly  developed  shoulders  are  surmounted 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILUH01S' 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS 


•59 


by  a  large,  finely  shaped  head,  covered  bj  a    mai 

of  gri fully  flowing  silver  gray  hair.     His  eyes 

are  shrewd  and  penetrating,  yet  kindly,  in  their 
expression.  His  nose,  formed  after  the  Grecian 
type,   indicates   by   it  ties    and    broad 

base,  the   aggressive,  clean    cut,   incisive    qual- 

it i     his  character.    Colonel    Davis'    manner 

agreeably  supplements  the  magnetism  of  his  per- 
sonal presence.  He  is  cordial  without  being  effu 
sive,  frank,  open  and  direct  in  his  intercourse  with 
his  associates  and  with  thegeneral  public.  There 
is  no  cant  about  the  man.  His  honesty  of  inten 
linn  and  sinceritj  of  purpose,  together  with  his 
splendid  endowment  of  good  sense,  come  to  him 
bj  inheritance.  His  ancestors  for  several  hun- 
dred years  back  are  of  Welsh-Scotch  extraction, 
and  il  is  to  this  strain  in  his  blood  thai  he  owes 
man}  of  the  sterling  traits  thai  ha  i  e  a 
character  conspicuous.  His  father,  Benjamin 
Davis,  ii  man  of  great  force,  was  born  in  Massa 
ehusetts,  where  he  died  in  1890,  admired  and  re- 
spected  by  n  large  circle  of  friends,  at  the  ripe  age 
of  79.  Mis  mother,  Cordelia  (Buffington)  Davis, 
member  of  an  old  and  honored  family  of  Connecti- 
cut Quakers,  <  1  i< ><  1  within  a  few  months,  at  Ware. 
Massachusetts.  When  George  R.  Davis  came  into 
the  world  at  Palmer,  Massachusetts,  January  :;. 
1840,  he  became  possessed  by  birth  of  distinct  ad- 
vantages. His  family  were  educated  and  refined 
people,  who  could  offer  their  children  all  the  ad- 
vantages that  the  time  afforded.  Young  Georgi 
was  placed,  at  an  early  age,  in  the  publi 
of  his  native  village,  where  he  passed  several  years. 
laying  a  thorough  foundation  for  the  classical 
training  which  it  was  intended  he  should  receive. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  Williston 
Academy,  that  famous  nursery  of  prominent 
Americans,  at  Easthampton,  where  he  gradu- 
ated in  1860.  During  the  next  two  years  the 
young  graduate  was  associated  with  his  father  in 
business  at  Springfield,  Mass..  where  he  also 
studied  law  during  his  leisure  moments.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  would  probablj  have  em 
braced  the  practice  of  law  had  not  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  disturbed  his  plans.  Like  thous 
ands  of  other  young  students  and  professional 
men  of  that  time  he  patriotically  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  the  government.  His  natural  ability  as  a 
leader  of  men  being  quickly  recognized  by  those 
in  authority,  a  captain's  commission  was  of- 
fered him  in  Company  H,  8th  Massachusetts  In- 
fantry. His  regiment  was  attached  to  the  18th 
Armj  Corps  and  served  with  distinction  in  the 
campaign  of  1862-63in  the  Carolinas.    In  August, 


1863,  Ids  term  of  service  having  expired,  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  state  and  was  mustered  out 
of  service  with  his  regiment.  Under  authority  of 
the  got  rnor  oi  the  state,  he  immediately  organ 
izeil  a  battery  of  light  artillery,  but  when  ready 
for  muster  was  informed  that   no  additional    bat 

teries  would  be  a  i       i       i  Massachusetts,  and 

that   his  command  would  be   mustered  as  one  of 

t! mpanies  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  Heavj 

Artillery.  This  service  not  promising  theactivity 
that  young  Davis  desired,  he  resigned  and  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  Captain  of  Company  C,  3d 
Rhode  Island  Cavalry,  which  had  been  tendered 
him  by  the  G  ivernor  of  Rhode  Island.  In  Decern 
ber,  1863,  he  was  promoted  to  be  major,  and  he 
ded  the  regiment  during  the  remainder  of 
its  service,  and  participated  in  rnanj  of  the  prin- 
cipal battles  of  the  war  until  its  close.  Upon  the 
muster  out  of  the  regiment  at  New  ( Orleans  he  ac 
cepted  service  in  connection  with  the  regular 
army  in  a  civil  capacity,  and  was  attached  to  the 
head  -quarterters  of  General  Sheridan  as  superin- 
tendent of  railroad,  river  and  ocean  transpor 
tation  in  the  department  of  the  Gulf.  He  re- 
mained in  this  capacity  until  General  Sheridan 
ued  to  duty  in  command  of  the  depart- 
ment of  Missouri.  He  accompanied  General  Sher 
idan  to  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and  through  the 
Indian  campaigns  of  isijs  1869,  and  participated  in 
gements  of  those  campaigns. 
When  General  Sheridan  came  to  Chicago  in  1869 
he  brought  Colonel  Davis  witli  him.  for  he  had  a 
high  opinion  of  his  subordinate's  ability  -an  opin- 
ion amply  justified  by  the  hitter's  brilliant  per 
formances  on  many  occasions.  After  two  years 
agreeably  spent  at  headquarters  in  Chica 
onei  Davis  resigned  in  1871  to  accept  the  position 
of  financial  agent  and  general  representative  of 
eastern  insurance  companies,  whose  large  inter- 
ests he  managed  for  several  years  with  success. 
After  his  resignation  from  the  service.  Colonel 
Davis  turned  his  attention  to  |  he  local  military 
companies  of  the  state  militia,  and  by  his  enthu- 
siasm and  great  aptitude  for  organization,  assisted 
in  speedilj  |  lacing  the  First  Regimi  nl  upon  a 
sphndid  financial  and  military  footing:  In  recogni- 
tion of  his  services  he  was  commissioned  Colonel  of 
the  regiment,  and  on  the  retirement  of  ( ten.  A .  C. 
McClurg,  became  senior  Colonel  in  the  state  ser 
vice.  But  for  a  man  of  Colonel  Davis'  stamp, 
possessing  popular  personal  qualities,  an  honor 
able  war  record,  and  a  genius  for  organization,  it 
was  almost    inevitable   that  he  should  gravitate 

toward    polities.      It    was    quite    a    natural    result. 


260 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


therefore,  that  having  become  a  prominenl  factor 
in  Chicago's  business  and  military  affairs,  his 
friends  should  bring  him  forward  ;is  a  candidate 
for  political  honors.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  1876 
he  was  nominated  for  Congress  by  the  Etepubli 
cans  of  the  old  West  Side  Becond  district  to  op- 
pose the  Honorable  Carter  H.  Harrison,  by  whom 
be  was  then  beaten.  The  greal  personal  popular 
ity  of  the  defeated  candidate  is.  however,  shown 
by  the  fact  that  he  ran  several  thousand  votes 
ahead  of  the  Republican  ticket.  In  is"s  be  was 
again  nominated,  and  was  this  time  successful  by 
a  large  majority.  He  was  re-elected  in  1880,  and 
again  in  1882.  During  his  Congressional  career 
Colonel  Davis  won  a  national  reputation  as  a 
statesman  and  a  politician  of  a  high  type.  Person- 
all)  incorruptible,  with  an  honorable  record  of 
military  service  for  his  country,  and  high  stand 
ing  in  his  important  business  relations,  he  at  once 
took  a  prominent  rank  among  the  leaders  of  his 
party  in  the  nation  at  large.  His  prestige  enabled 
him  to  accomplish  a  great  deal  not  only  for  his 
immediate  constituency,  bui  also  for  the  city  of 
( JhicagO  and  State  of  Illinois.     It  was  due  to  (  !ol 

I    Davis'   interest    and  intelligent    effort   that 

the  large  appropriation  was  seemed  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Chicago  harbor.  During  his 
Congressional  career  he  served  on  the  committees 
on  commerce,  military  affairs,  pensions,  educa- 
tion and  labor;  he  was  a  member  of  the  board 
tor  the  examination  of  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  and  he  also  represented  the  Republi- 
can party  of  the  state  of  Illinois  and  adjoining 
states  as  a  member  of  the  Congressional  execu- 
tive committee  during  his  entire  term  of  service 
in  Congress.  He  was  a  member  for  the  third 
district  of  Illinois  at  the  national  convention  of 
1884  and  a  member  at  large  for  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois in  the  convention  of  1888,  and  in  the  latter 
led  the  I  h-esham  forces.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Republican  National  Committee  and  of  the  Re- 
publican National  Executive  Committee,  both  of 
which  positions  he  resigned  when  he  accepted  the 
office  of  Director-General  of  the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition  in  September,  1890.  On  his  re- 
tirement from  Congress  in  1884  Colonel  Davis 
returned  to  Chicago,  prepared  to  re  enter  the 
paths    of    private    life   and    renew    his  attention  to 

his  neglected  business   interests,  from  which  his 

career  in  Washington  had  naturally  separated  him 

for  six  years.  This  was  not  to  be.  however.  The 
condition  of  local  politics  of  Cook  county  at  that 
time  was  such  thai  the  Republicans   were  com 

pel  led  to  put  forward  their  strongest  men  in  order 


to  Succeed,  and  Colonel  Davis  was  called  upon 
once  more  to  carry  the  party  to  victory  in  the 
tight  for  the  treasuryship  of  Cook  countj  to 
which  office  he  was  triumphantly  elected  after  a 
hard  fought  campaign  that  tested  his  shrew  ,|  gen 
eralship  to  the  utmost.  During  his  term  as  treas- 
urer over  til't.N  tw illion  dollars  passed  through 

Colonel  Davis'  hands,  every  cent  of  which  was 
duly  handed  over  or  accounted  for  when  he  left 
his  position  in  1890  to  accept  the  important  trust 
of  the  Director-Generalship  of  the  World's  Col- 
umbian Exposition.  His  selection  tor  this  great 
honor  is  a  fitting  tribute  to  his  character  and  at- 
tainments. It  is  a  double  honor  by  both  the  na- 
tion at  large  through  its  National  Commission, 
anil  by  the  city  of  Chicago,  which  had  long 
known  and  appreciated  his  sterling  character 
and  ability.  It  is  perhaps  not  an  injustice  to  the 
many  able  gentlemen  who  represented  Chicago  at 
Washington  in  the  light  for  the  location  of  the 
Exposition,  to  say  that  the  principal  credit  of  the 
result  is  due  to  Colonel  Davis.  At  a  critical  period 
in  the  history  of  the  crusade,  when  the  trend  of  sen- 
tin  icnt  seemed  to  lie  against  the  Lake  City.  Colonel 
Davis  wasscnt  toWashington  with  instructions  to 
secure  the  location  for  Chicago,  lie  went  quietly 
to  work  among  the  individual  Congressmen  among 

wh he    had    a    wide    personal    acquaintance, 

and  as  a  result  of  his  splendid  organizing  talent 
and  great  persona]  magnetism,  soon  won  over  a 
sufficient  constituency  to  asssure  Chicago's  com 
plete  success  on  flic  final  issue.  His  appointment 
was,  therefore,  not  only  a  general  tribute  to 
his  fitness  for  the  position,  but  it  also 
served  as  a  special  reward  for  his  splen- 
did work  for  the  World's  Fair  site. 
Since  his  acceptance  of  the  trust,  Colonel   Davis 

has  pursued  a  policy  that,  if  carried  out.  will  in- 
sure a  great  international  success  I'm  the  work  he 
has  in  hand.  Broad-minded  and  honorable  in  his 
views,  he  has  constantly  kept  aloof  from  anything 
that  resembled  clique  or  faction  in  his  attitude 
towards  the  various  conflicting  interests  that  are 
striving  for  recognition.  He  has.  from  the  first. 
firmly  declined  to  discuss  political  developments, 
replying  to  all  requests  of  that  character  that  his 
position  as  a  representative  of  all  parties  precluded 
such  discussion  on  his  part.  His  course  in  this 
respect  has  effectually  disarmed  criticism  that 
would  have  tended  to  the  injury  of  the  great  cause. 
It  is  proper  to  say  in  this  connection  that  Colonel 
haiis  first  proposed  and  cordially  advocated  the 
proposition  to  compose  the  National  Commission 
equally  from  the  leading  political  parties.    One  of 


LIERAffY 

OF  THE 

IMMttSllY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGKAPHY  OF   ILLTXols 


261 


Colonel  Davis'  first  acts  on  assuming  the  office, 
was  the  issuance  to  the  press  of  the  countrj  of  a 
letter  asking  support  and  encouragement  in 
the  undertaking.  This  letter  met  with  immediate 
and  cordial  response,  and  proved  to  be  a  most 
sagacious  move.  The  broad  line  of  policy  sug- 
gested in  that  letter  has  been  the  kej  note  of  the 
Director-General's  subsequent  action  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  various  departments  of  the  Ex- 
position. All  of  his  appointments  have  been  made 
with  a  view  to  meeting  the  just  demands  of  the 
press  and  people  of  the  entire  country.  Colonel 
Davis  in  private  life  is  a  most  genial  anil  compan 
ionable  man.  II. •  has  a  large  and  interesting  tam 
ily  tin-  occupants  of  his  beautiful  home  on 
Washington  boulevard  in  Chicago.  Hi-  first  met 
his  wife,  then  Miss  Gertrude  Schulin,  a  handsome 
ami  accomplished  girl  "f  seventeen,  in  New 
Orleans,  ami  was  married  t"  her  there  July  25, 
1867.  In  onler  to  obviate  some  legal  difficulties 
obstructive  to  the  marriage,  he" found  it  1 

t"  I" me  the  legal  guardian  as  well  as  the  hus- 

band  'if  tie-  young  woman  who  hail  won  h 
'I'le-  match  made  under  such  romantic  circum- 
stances has  prove.l  a  very  happy  one.  Mrs.  Davis 
is  a  woman  of  great  talent  ami  cultivation,  of 
marked  domestic  tastes,  ami  has  ably  supple 
mented  her  distinguished  husband  in  his  honora- 
ble career.  The  family  of  children  consists  of  two 
boys  and  four  girls.  Colonel  Davis'  personal 
tastes  are  quiet  and  domestic,  and  although  tie  is 
an  active  member  of  the  Masonic  and  Army  or- 
ganizations, and  a  member  of  many  of  the  leading 
clubs — the  Chicago.  Union  League  La  Fayette, 
Fellowship,  and  many  others  he  is  a  hone-  man 
and  fund  of  reading,  preferring  works  of  history 
and  political  economy.  His  home  contains  a  well- 
selected    library   of   over  four  thousand  volumes. 


FERDINAND  W.  PECK. 

To  erect  a  monument   to  a   man  who  has  spent 

his  life  in  great  works,  who  has  been  the  means  of 
benefiting  his  fellow  creatures,  is  without  doubt  a 
perfectly  proper  act.  The  memory  of  all  gi 
great  men  should  lie  kept  fresh  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  live  after,  and  even  a  marble  shaft 
erected  to  their  memory  is  a  token  well  deserved. 
There  are  men.  however,  win.  in  the  activity  of 
their  busy  lives,  eiect  monuments  to  themselves. 
.\o    allusion  is  made  to  any  ..ne.  who  in  the    pride 


of  wealth  and  the  power  that  money  gives,  builds 
only  in  the  hope  that  his  name  shall  lie  handed 
down  to  posterity,  realizing  that  his  claim  is  too 
threadbare  to  expect  such  honor  at  other  hands. 
Hut  men  have  erected  nutrients  in  their  life- 
time, having  11..  thought  ..t  glorifying  themselves 
but  only  of  accomplishing  some  great  work  to  ben 
etit.  if  not  mankind  generally,  to  at  least  be  a  pride 
and  a  glory  to  the  community  in  which  they  reside. 
Such  a  man  is  Ferdinand  W.  Peck,  and  the  Chi 
cago  Auditorium  Building  stands  as  a  monument 
to  his  ability  as  a  business  man.  to  his  persever- 
ance and  energy,  to  his  devotion  toChicago.  Mr. 
Peck  is  in  everj  sense  a  Chicago  man.  He  was 
born  here  .Inly  15,1848.  His  father  was  Phillip 
F.  W.  Peek,   and  his   mother's  maiden  name  was 

Mary   Kent  Wythe.     The  Peck   homestead  st 1 

on  the  gn  iow  the  Grand  Pacific  hotel 

is  built,  and  it  was  there  Mr.  Peck's  infant  eyes 
first  saw  the  light  of  day.  His  education  was  ob 
tained  entirely  in  Chicago.  He  graduated  sue 
cessively  from  the  High  Scho  ago  Uni 

versify  and  from  the  Chicago  Union  College  of 
Law.      He  was  admitted  to   the    bar.   and   for    se\ 

eral  years  was  actively  engaged  in  the  pri 
that  profession.  After  the  great  fire  of  1871,  he 
found  that  his  father's  estate  would  occupy  too 
much  of  his  time  to  admit  of  following  his  profes- 
sion, and  that  was  abandoned  that  he  might  give 
lis  l.est  energies  to  the  management  of  these 
pi.  .p.rty  interests.  Mr.  Peck  has  always  been  free 
and  outspoken  in  his  defense  of  the  rights  of  the 
working  man.  and  he  heartily  despises  till  forms 
of  snobbish  aristocracy.     Asa  strong  advocate  of 

the  cause  of  the  1 pie,  of  tin-  masses,  he  has  ever 

been  in  tic  front  rank,  and  to  that  sentiment,  born 
in  him  and  acted  up.  .11  by  him.  is  due.  in  a  measure, 
the  accomplishment  of  the  great  work  of  his  life, 
the  erection  of  the  Auditorium  Building.  It  was 
the  needs  of  the  people  that  caused  Mr.  Peck  to 
conceive  the  idea;  it  was  to  benefit  them,  by  aid- 
ing in  the  cultivation  of  art  and  music,  that  stim- 
ulated his  energies  and  brought  the  work  to  a 
happy  and  glorious  completion.  It  is  consistent 
with  the  nature  of  things  that  Ferd.  W.  Peck 
should  hold  some  honorable  public  positions, 
lb- is  tin  president  of  the  Chicago  Athenaeum, 
and  takes  much  pride  in  that  institution,  as  it 
stands  for  philanthropic  education  of  a  most  prac- 
tical kind.  He  is.  of  course,  president  of  the 
Chicago  Auditorium  Association.  Deeply  inter- 
ested in  educational  matters,  he  was  for  sonic  time 
president  of  the  Chicago  High  School  Alumni 
Associatii.il.     and     was      a    member      for     several 


262 


BIOGE  A  PHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


terms,  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  city  of 
Chicago,  and  served  as  its  vice  president.  He  is 
the  first  vice  president  of  the  Illinois  Humane 
Society,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Union  League 
Club,  [n  view  of  the  results  thai  have  followed, 
perhaps  Mr.  Peck's  position  ;is  president  of  the 
Opera  Festival  Association  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant he  lias  ever  occupied.  Few  had  any  con 
ception  of  what  a  gigantic  enterprise  this  \v;is.  but 
ii  is  .-i  fact  that  had  it  not  been  for  t  he  <  >pera  Fes 
tival  of  1885,  the  Auditorium  would  hardly  have 
been  built;  lor  that  season  developed  so  strongly 
the  sentiment  thai  such  a  building  was  needed, 
that  Mr.  Peck,  who  had  conceived  the  idea  some 
years  before,  was  enabled  to  bring  the  enterprise 
to  its  culmination.  With  all  his  labors  and  his 
multitudinous  cares,  Mr.Peck  finds  time  for  social 
enjoyments.  He  has  traveled  much  in  Europe,  as 
well  as  in  his  own  country.  He  has  ever  been 
devoted  to  the  art  of  music,  loving  it  betterthan 
painting.  His  city  home  was  for  a  longtime  at  the 
corner  of  Wabash  Avenue  and  23  I  street,  but  in  1889 
he  removed  toa  handsome  new  residence  at  1826 
Michigan  Avenue.  His  family  consists  of  a  charm- 
ing wife    and   six   children— four  sons   and    two 

daughters.    He  has  a  summer  villa  at  ()> imo- 

woe,  Wisconsin,  and  enjoys  the  distinction  of  be- 
ing  Commodore  of  the  Wisconsin  Yacht  Club. 
Two  of  his  boats  are  called  the  "Tarpon  "  and  the 
"  Arline."  the  latter  being  named  after  one  of  his 
daughters.  The  name  of  the  former  has  a  little 
history,  interesting,  at  least  to  Mr.  Peek,  who  is 
very  fond  of  fishing.  Once  while  spending  some 
time  in  Florida,  he  caught  a  tarpon  off  that  coast 
weighing  146  pounds.  He  accomplished  this  feat 
with  a  rod  and  reel,  and  only  after  a  vigorous  strug- 
g  le  of  several  hours.  It  was  in  honor  of  this  event 
that  M  r.  Peek  named  one  of  his  yachts  "Tarpon." 
The  great  Auditorium,  however,  is  Mr.  Peck's 
main  hobby,  and  every  one  is  glad  to  accord  to 
him  the  distinction  of  having  conceived,  planned 
and  carried  to  the  point  of  completion,  a  project 
which,  though  based  on  solid  ideas  of  utility,  with 
an  investment  feature,  was  yet  calculated  to  ad- 
vance Chicago  in  esthetic  and  ethic  development. 
Through  the  successful  labors  of  Mr.  Peck  and 
l;is  coa  Ijutors.  whom  he,  bv  persistent  solicitation 
brought  to  his  aid,  Chicago  became  possessed  of 
the  largest  building  ever  erected  in  this  country 
by    private  capital,      its  success  has  al  ready  been 

del strated,  and  those  who  invested  will  find  in 

return  for  their  invest  men  t  substantia!  reward,  and 
1  lie  city  «  ill  gain  advantages  possessed  by  no  other 
metropolis  in  the  United  States.    As  stated.  Mi-. 


Peck  had  been  thinking  of  this  enterprise  for  years 
and  the  opera  Festival  in  1885  gave  an  impetusto 

his  thoughts!  as  it  also  opened  up  before  the  cap 
ilalisls  of  the  city  the  need  and  therefore  the  pos- 
sibility of  erecting  such  a  temple  of  music  as 
would  serve  for  all  time,  In  the  spring  of  1886  Mr. 
Peck  laid  before  the  Commercial  Club  of  Chicago, 
at  one  of  its  monthly  banquets,  in  a  comprehensive 
address,  the  considerations  that  had  led  him  to  be- 
lieve his  project  a   good  one.     These  observations 

had  the  effect  to  stimulate  those  already  inter 
ested  in  carrying  out  the  enterprise.  A  site  had 
already  been  secured  through  the  efforts  of  Mr. 
Peck,  fronting  on  one  of  the  finest  boulevards  in 
the  world,  and  covering  an  area  of  one  and  one 
half  acres.  It  is  well  understood  that  Mr.  Peek. 
regarded  the  question  of  profit  as  a  subordinate  one. 
He  simply  wished  to  provide  the  public  with  a 
great  and  beautiful  auditorium,  a  hotel  of  the  high- 
est class,  and  a  building  containing  other  important 
features,  that  would  serve  public  convenience. 
It  was  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  difficulties 
before  him  that  Mr.  Peck  began  the  great  work. 
He  proceeded  step  by  Step  toward  its  accomplish 
ment  and  his  success  is  an  evidence  of  his  rare 
sagacity  as  a  man  of  business.  To  the  men  he 
desired  to  interest,  he  showed  the  need  of  the 
Auditorium  and  the  public  benefits  which  would 
be  assured  by  its  completion.  He  showed  that 
with  a  central  location,  the  income  paying  adjuncts 
which  could  be  secured  would  afford  a  safe  and 
certain  revenue  and  he  emphasized  the  good  1  licit 
upon  the  city  which  would  radiate  from  such  a  ecu 
terof  art  and  culture.  To  bring  these  matters  prop- 
erly and  convincingly  before  the  men  whose  aid 
he  wished  to  secure  cost  Mr.  Peck  several  years 
of  toil,  but  he  succeeded,  and  secured  a  list  of 
nearly  three  hundred  stockholders  worthy  of  a 
city  like  Chicago.  It  was  Mr.  Peck's  idea  that  no 
class,  clique  or  creed  should  claim  any  special 
credit  for  the  work  or  influence  in  its  completion. 
Notice  was  given  at  this  time,  when  the  certain 
success  of  the  enterprise  was  assured,  that  the 
wider  the  distribution  of  the  stock  remaining  mi 
sold,  the  more  effectually  would  the  idea  of  the 
projectors  be  secured.  It  was  of  course  among  the 
wealthy  and  public  spirited  men  of  the  city  that 
Mr.  Peck  first  labored  in  launching  (he  enterprise 
and  the  following  list  of  officers  of  the  association 
shows  how  successful  he  was.  Mr.  Peck  was 
naturally    made   the    president,  his  election  being 

unani us.      X.  K.  Fairbank  is   now   first    vice 

president    and   John  U.  Walsh,  second  vice  -presi- 
dent ;  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  treasurer  ;  Chas.  H. 


'UJNO/S. 


BIOOT;\P|[V  OF   ILLINOIS. 


263 


Lmnt,  secretary.  The  directory  is  composed  of 
X.  K.  Fairbank,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  M.  A. 
Ryerson,  A.  A.  Sprague,  Clarence  I.  Peck,  John  R. 
Walsh,  L.  Wampold,  Charles  Counselman,  A.  L. 
Coe  and  Ferd.  W.  Peck.  A  writer  in  speaking  of 
this  great  building  says  :  "The  Chicago  Auditor- 
ium is  not  an  expression  of  the  tastes  or  needs  of 
a  single  generation.  It  is  expected  to  convey  to 
future  inhabitants  of  this  great  city  some  idea  of 
the  spirit  of  prophecy  thai  was  in  us  and  some 
proof  <>f  our  knowledge  that  strength,  endurance, 
usefulness,  comfort  and  economy  are  everlasting 
principles,  to  be  yel  accepted  among  men.  rather 
than  to  be  forgotten.  Thus  the  Chicago  Audito- 
rium at  first  sight  is  no  ad  captandum  edifice.  Irs 
size  must  convey  to  the  intelligent  mind  its  real 
claims  Upon  human  wonder  and  admiration  It  is 
plain,  but  so  are  the  pyramids;  that  which  canawe 
the  beholder  is  in  no  danger  of  disappointing  him." 
The  architects  of  this  great  structure  were  Messrs. 
Adler&  Sullivan,  of  Chicago.  The  draughts  which 
finally  met  the  approval  of  the  board  of  directors 
were  selected  from  at  lest  twenty-five  different 
ones  that  were  submitted.  Fifteen  draughtsmen 
were  kept  busy  for  over  a  year  on  the  working 
drawings,  then-  being  five  thousand  sheets,  each 
of  them  four  by  seven  feet  in  size.  The  Chi- 
cago Auditorium  is  a  convincing  testimonial  that 
Chicago  has  citizens  not  to  be  outdone  in  deeds 
of  public  spirit.     Not  only  is  this  structure  a  mai 

ter  of  great  pride  to  the  ] pie  of  Chic< 

is  commanding  the  attention  of  the  whole  country 
and  also  of  Europe.  The  building  takes  rank  with 
the  finest  and  most  substantial  in  the  world.  The 
eost  of  the  great  structure  was  s:!..i1iii.ik Hi.  The 
Auditorium  Hall  is  superior  to  any  hall  now  in 
existence  and  will  lie  used  for  many  more  purposes 
than  were  dreamed  of  when  the  undertaking  was 
first  conceived.  It  will  accommodate  more  people 
than  tin-  famous  Albert  Hall  in  London.  The  stage 
i"i  1  cost  nearly  % 200,000.  The  organ  is  the  grand 
est  musical  instrument  of  the  kind  in  the  world, 
1  $55,000.  One  of  the  features  added 
to   the   original   plans   is  tie-   "Recital    Hall."    a 

r 11   capable  of  seating  five  hundred  persons  and 

designed  for  amateur  musical  performanci 
tures  and  tie-  like.  It  lias  been  found  to  i 
useful  adjunct  to  the  main  hall  and  is  another 
proof  of  the  sagacity  of  the  entire  conception. 
The  formal  dedication  of  "The  Auditorium"  was 
one  of  the  greatest  events  in  the  history  of  Chi 
cago.  This  occurred  in  the  presence  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  Benjamin  Harrison; 
the  governors  of  many  states,  government  officials 


of  Canada  and  the  official  representatives  of  the 
city  of  Chicago.  One  of  the  notable  gatherings  in 
the  Auditorium  was  the  lecture  of  Chauncey  M. 
Depew,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Press  Club,  of 
Chicago.  On  this  occasion,  as  well  as  later,  in  an 
interview  in  New  York  City,  the  famous  orator 
was  almost  at  a  loss  for  words  to  express  his  won 
der  and  admiration  for  the  stupendous  enterprise. 
The  hotel  feature  is  a  valuable  adjunct  and  is 
proving  a  good  paying  investment.  In  his  annual 
report  to  the  directors  in  December,  1888,  Mr. 
Peck  said  :  "You  are  creating  a  city,  as  it  were, 
containing,  when  completed  between  Ih.ikki  and 
12,000  -011  Is."  and  such  it  is.  a  veritable  city.  When 
Mr.  Peck  said  to  himself  "it  is  finished,"  he  was 
right  sofai  as  in-  pari  was  concerned,  but  the 
stockholders  still  had  something  to  do.  Theytoo 
now  say  "It  is  finished."  and  their  last  act  was 
placing  a  bronze  bust  of  Mr.  Peek  in  the  main 
foyer  of  the  Auditorium  hall.  It  is  the  work  of 
Howard  Kretscliniar.  a  Chicago  sculptor.  The 
granite  pedestal  upon  winch  the  bust  rests,  bears 
the  following  inscription:  "  A  tribute  to  the  foun 
der  of  this  struct  lire  from  the  stockholders  of  the 
Chicago  Auditorium  Association,  in  recognition 
of  his  eminent  services  as  their  president  ;  in  be 
half  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago.     1889."     Mr.  Peck 

unceasing  in  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the 
World's    Columbian     Exposition,    and     has    been 

prominent  in  the  directory  of  that  body    sii its 

organization.     He   is  a    member   of   the   board  of 

and  control,  member  of  the  executive 
committee,  memberof  the  committee  on  legislation. 
member  of  the  special  committee  on  ceremonies 
and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  finance. 


SIDNEY  SMITH. 

SIDNEY    SMITH     was    bom    in    Wa 

county.  Xew  York,  on  the  12th  of  May.  1829.  lb' 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  church   a    Davis,  of 

Albion.  New  York,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 
Albion  in  1851.  He  came  to  Chicago  in  1856,  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  (  Irani  <  roodrich  and 
William  W.  Farwell,  the  firm  taking  the  name  of 
Goodrich,  Farwell  &  Smith.  All  three  rose  to 
high  rank  in  the  profession,  and  were  honored  by 
election  to  tie-  bench,  one  after  the  other.  In 
1859  Mr. Goodrich  was  elected  judge  of  the  supe 
rior  court  of  Cook  county,  and  on  the  expiration 
of   his   term    resumed  his  old  place  at  the  head  of 


BIOGRAPHY  OP    II.UN'ols 


the  linn  until  L870,  when  Judge  Farwell  was 
elected  l"  the  circuit  bench,  and  the  firm  was  dis- 
Dm  its  conl  inuance,  the  firm  had  an 
.  tice  both  in  Illinois  and  adjacent 
states.  Mr.  Smith  attended  to  all  the  court  work 
of  the  firm  for  years,  and  probablj  tried  as  many 
cases  both  at  law  and  in  equitj  during  that  period 
asanj  lawyer  of  his  time.  He  at  once  became 
distinguished  as  a  trial  lawyer.    With  an  intellect 

rous  as  his  physical  frame  was  powerful,  he 
was  a  tremendous  worker,  and  devoted  to  every 
cause  In-  tried  his  fullest  capabilities  with  tin' 
most  untiring  energy.  This  remarkable  equip- 
ment -1  bodily  and  mental  strength  seemed  to 
give  an  air  of  aggressiveness  to  his  advocacy,  ami 
made  him  a  formidable  opponent  in  a  hard  foren 
m,'  contest.  Il<-  fought  every  point  of  a  rase  with 
a  persistent  tenacity  that  commanded  the  cespecl 

ourt  an. I  of  the  lawyers  opposed  to  him,  if 
it  did  not  always  insure  a  successful  issue  ha-  his 
client.  Strictly  honorable  and  upright  in  all  his 
professional  dealings,  he  has  always  taken  a  high 
rank  among  the  leading  men  of  the  Chicago  bar. 
To  enumerate  all  the  important    rases  in   which 

Smith  lias  been  engaged  on  one  side  or  the 
other  as  counsel  during  his  long  professional  life 
would  make  a  list  which  of  itself  would  till  con- 
siderable space.  It  would  embrace  causes  in 
almost  every  branch  of  legal  practice,  criminal  and 
civil,  for  his  services  and  advice  have  been  sought 
in  matters  as  diversified  in  character  as  they  were 
weighty  and  important.  He  has  been  the  leading 
counsel  in  cases  where  the  issue  was  the  solemn  one 
of  life  or  death,  and  also  in  cases  where  hundreds  oi 
thousands  of  dollars  were  involved,  and  in  the 
main  his  ad\  ocacj  has  been  remarkable  bucci  si 
I'nl.  both  before  juries  and  in  the  higher  courts, 
lebrated  cases  in  which  he  appeared 
i  1  in  the  early  part  of  his  career   was    the 

Hart  L.  Stewart  divorce  case,  and  one  of  the  latest 

..f    the    same    class,    involving    sensational    details 
which  filled  the  newspaper  columns  and  attracted 

!i it  the  whole  col  1 1 II 1 11 1 1  i  I  y  at    thetime. 

Leslie  Cartel    divi irce   case.     In    both  of 
these  Judge  Smith  was  opposed   bj    an   array  of 

aen  who  st 1  in  tin    yerj  Eoremost  rank  of 

uid  both    cases    were    keenly 

1.  every  resource  which  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  legal  principles  and  practice  alone 
furnish  being  called  into  requisition  on 
either  side.  In  1STT  Judge  Smith  was  retained  as 
counsel  for  the  city  of  (  Ihicago  aloe-  with  the  cor 
-I  in  the  litigation  between  the 
i-ity  ami  David  A.  Gage,  thi    former citj  treasurer. 


ami  lus  bondsmen,  being  successful  after  a  long 
contest  in  the  courts  in  obtaining  a  judgment  ami 

a  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  city's  claim. 
Among  the  many  important  criminal  cases  in 
which  he  was  engaged  may  he  mentioned  his  de- 
fence of  the  county  commissioners  indicted  for 
fraud  ami  embezzlement  in  connection  with 
contracts  lor  supplying  the  county  institutions  in 
IsTT.  He  was  also  retained  to  assist  the  state's 
attorney  in  the  prosecution  of  Ziegenmeyer  for 
the  murder  of  Gumbleton,  a  case  which  attracted 
much  attention  at  the  time.  In  1879  Judge  Smith 
was  elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the  superior  court 
of  Cook  county,  his  term  expiring  in  1885,  when 
lie  resumed  his  practice  at  the  bar  with  all  his 
wonted  energy  and  success.  After  his  retirement 
from  the  bench,  Judge  Smith  became  attorney 
for  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  which  position 
he    held    until    three    years    ago,   when  Mr.  A.  W. 

Green,  law  partner  of  \V.  ('.  Goudy,  succeeded 
him.  Throughout  his  professional  career.  Judge 
Smith  has  been  as  diligent  a  reader  and  studenl 
of  the  law  as  he  has  been  an  indefatigable  worker. 
and  is  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  science  of 
law  in  all  its  branches,  ami  an  adept  in  its  prac 
tie,.  He  is  a  good  judge  of  human  nature,  quick 
in  pet  ception,  firm  ami  positive  in  his  coin  id  ions. 
He  is  a  forcible  speaker,  and  makes  a  Btrong  argu- 
ment to  a  court  and  a  convincing  address  to  a 
i ii  ry .  He  carried  to  the  bench  the  same  habits  of 
industry  that  distinguished  him  in  his  business 
office.  He  was  one  of  the  "working  judges,"  at- 
tending daily  at  his  chambers,  with  very  rare  in- 
termissions. He  possesses  that  judicial  instinct 
which  makes  its  way  quickly  through  immaterial 
details  to  the  essential  points  upon  which  the  de- 
termination of  a  cause  must  turn,  and  in  all  cases 
decided  by  him  the  decisions  were  based  upon 
clearly  stated  principles.  During  his  judicial 
term  he  possessed  the  unqualified  confidence  of 
the  bar.  as  he  has  always  enjoyed  their  respect 
and  esteem  as  a  distinguished  member  of  the  pro- 
fession. Previous  to  the  Rebellion,  Judge  Smith 
had  been  ;<  Democrat,  but  was  always  a  staunch 
Union  man.  and  on  the  out  break  of  the  Civil  War 
he  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Republicans.  He  hae 
never  sought  political  office,  and  rests  his  claims 
to   the  esteem   ami  res] t  of  his  fellow-citizens 

upon  his  professional  record  and  his  standing  as  a 
citizen.  In  his  religious  views  he  is  broad  and 
tol. •rent,  ami  when  the  People's  Church  was  or- 
ganized, after  the  trial  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas 
bj  the  Roci  liner  Methodist  Conference,  he  was 
one  of  the  original  guarantors  of  the  new  church. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


>65 


and  h'as  stood  by  it  loyally  to  the  present  time. 
His  excellent  wife  is  one  of  the  leading  workers  of 
the  church,  and  takes  a  liberal  part  in  all  its 
charitable  undertake 


GEORGE    E.   ADAM-. 

GEORGE  E.  ADAMS  deserves  the  distinction 
of  being  Chicago's  response  to  the  demand  for 
"the  scholar  in  politics."  He  was  born  in  Keene, 
New  Hampshire,  in  June,  1810.  but  his  parents 
came  to  Chicago  just  as  he  was  entering  his  teens, 
and  that  city  has  been  his  home  ever  since.  His 
tat  her.  Benjamin  F..  and  his  mother,  Louisa 
(Redington)  Adams,  both  belonged  to  typical  New 
England  families.  He  had  already  been  well 
grounded  in  the  rudiments  of  education  when  he 
left  his  native  town,  and  at  the  early  age  of  six- 
teen he  entered  Harvard  College,  taking  the  regular 
and  full  course.  He  received  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Arts  from  that  college  in  1860.  He  ch<  ise 
the  law  as  his  profession,  graduating  from  the 
Dane  Law  School  of  Harvard.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1865.  For  the  fifteen  succeeding 
years,  .Mr.  Adams  was  a  private  citizen  of  Chicagi  >. 
devoting  much  of  his  time  to  study  and  travel. 
He  had  always  felt  a  keen  interest  in  public 
questions,  but  took  no  active  part  in  politics  until 
he  was  brought  forward  by  a  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  business  men  of  Chicago,  to  purify  the 
local  politics  of  that  city.  Young  men  who  had 
enjoyed  the  best  educational  advantages  and  who 
could  afford  financially,  to  devote  themsi 
the  public  service,  were  urged  to  take  an  interest 
in  politics,  and  be  active  in  trying  to  raise  the 
standard  of  the  party  of  their  affiliation,  out  of  the 
quagmire  on  to  the  table  lands  of  purer  methods 
and  nobler  aims.  Among  those  who  obeyed  the 
summons  was  George  Everett  Adams.  He  had 
hitherto  been  a  mere  voter  in  the  Republican 
party,  but  in  1880  he  was  nominated  and  elected 
to  represent  the  sixth  senatorial  district  of  Illinois 
in  the  State  Senate.  The  term  was  for  four  years 
or  two  regular  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly. 
Senator  Adams  entered  upon  his  duties  as  a  legis- 
late a-  with  zeal,  and  it  was  -zeal  according  to 
knowledge."  He  was  thoroughly  prepared  by 
nature  and  study  for  the  work  before  him.  The 
body  of  which  he  was  a  membi  r  was  remarkable 
for  the  large  number  of  young  men  it  contained 
who  have  since  become  prominent  in   the   public- 


affairs  of  the  state.     They    were    the    controlling 
element,  and  almost   from   the   first    Mr.   Adams 
was  recognized  as  specially  fitted  to  mold  legisla- 
tion.    Some  of  the  most  useful  of  the  statutes  of 
the  session  were  drafted  by  him.  and  others  were 
more  or  less  modified  by  him.     For  what  is  known 
as  "practical  politics"   he  had  no   taste,   but  for 
legislation    proper,  he  had   remarkable  aptitude. 
Two  years  later,  when  his  term  as  senator  was  only 
half  over,  he  was  nominated  and  elected  to   Con 
a  promotion  brought  about  byno  self-seek- 
ing.    He  would  ha'.  i it  to  have  served 
out  his  entire  term,  and   awaited   a  later  call  to 
"come  up  higher."  but  the  Congressional  district 
in  which  he  lived,  the  fourth  Illinois,  was  in  need 
of  his  services.     The  Hon.  Charles  B.    Farwell    of 
that  district  declined  a  re-election,  and  urged  Mr. 
Adams  as   his   successor,   on   the  ground   of  his 
marked  and  demonstrated  aptitude  Eor  legislation. 
He  could  still  serve  out  the  greater  part  of  his  re- 
maining senatorial  term,  which  he  did,  resigning 
as  senator.  March  .".  1883.    Mr.  Adams  was  elected 
to   Congress    four    consecutive    terms.     He    was 
nominated  for  a  fifth  term,  but  was  one  of  the  many 
victims  of  the  political  cyclone  of  1890.     In   Con- 
gress he  showed  the  same  qualifications  forlegisla- 
tion  as  in  the  Shite  Senate.     His  especial  field  of 
operation  was  the  committee  on    judiciary,  a  com- 
mittee which  aff i  »rds  the  best  scope  for  what  may  be 
called  the  details  of  general  legislation,  in  which 
his  labors  were   indefatigable.     Some   men   there 
are   who   come   out   strong   on   occasions  which 
attract  the  public  eye  and  incline  the    public  ear. 
but  when  it  c                        y  daj  duties  they  are  as 
fond  of  their  ease  as  Falstaff  in   his   inn.     Gei 
E.  Adams  on  the  contrary  performed  his  duties  in 
a  modest  way;  his   voice   was   sometimes   heard, 
however,  in  the  debates  on  the  floor  of  Congress. 
and  when  he  spoke  the  House   listened.     But  the 
attraction  was  not  the   pyrotechnics  of  oratory. 
He    commanded    attention     by    the     clear    and 
thorough  knowledge  which  he  possessed,  of  the 
subject   under    discussion,   the   closeness    of   his 
adherence  to  it.  and  above  all  by  the   fairness  of 
his  statements.     Of   the   speeches   made   by   Mr. 
Adams    during    his  Congressional   career,   three 
deserve  especial  attention — the   first,  delivered  in 
April.  1SSG.  discussed  free  coinage  of  silver;  the 
next  delivered  early  the  following  winter,  set  forth 
the    importance   and   feasibility    of  providing   a 
navigable  channel  between  Chicago  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  or  rather  the  supplying  of  the  missing 
link  in  the  chain   of  water   communication   from 
that  gulf  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.     The  third 


266 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


delivered  in  the  summer  of  1888.  on  the  restora- 
tion of  the  merchant  murine,  set  forth  the  great 
advantage  to  the  country  of  the  South  American 
trade.  The  latter  was  an  able  and  explicit  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  reciprocity  as  that  term  has 
come  to  mean,  in  connection  with  the  distinctive 
policy  of  the  Harrison  administration,  in  relation 
to  commercial  relations  with  our  neighbors  on  the 
south.  In  the  first  of  these  speeches,  Mr.  Adams 
set  forth  with  cogency  the  objections  to  free 
coinage,  how  it  would  undermine  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  l>y  lessening  the  purchasing  power  of 
money  in  common  use  by  the  people.  Hestrongly 
favored  international  bi-metalism — insisting  that 
to  attempt  the  restoration  of  silver  without  the 
co-operation  of  other  nations  would  defeat  the 
very  end  sought.  "What  is  to  be  desired."  he  said, 
"is  the  adoption  of  an  international  agreement  by 
which  each  nation  shall  bind  itself  to  use  its  fail- 
share  of  silver,  and  so  bind  itself  not  to  use  more 
than  its  fair  share  of  the  world's  stock  of  gold. 
The  adoption  of  such  an  agreement  would  perma- 
nently raise  the  price  of  silver  bullion."  He  did 
not  insist  upon  this  desired  international  gold  and 
silver  union  taking  any  particular  form;  it  might 
be  free  coinage  of  both  metals  at  an  agreed  ratio 
between  them,  or  the  issue  of  silver  bullion  certifi- 
cates based  upon  the  market  value  of  silver  in 
terms  of  gold  to  be  ascertained  and  determined 
from  time  to  time  by  an  international  authority. 
The  former  would  be  in  accordance  with  the 
fundamental  idea  of  the  Congressional  silver  act 
of  1878,  the  latter  of  the  Congressional  silver  act 
of  1890.  In  this  connection  he  used  the  following 
language,  which  in  the  light  of  the  developments 
of  1891,  may  be  called  almost  prophetic,  only  to 
the  countries  named,  Russia  should  be  added: 
"I  do  not  claim  that  we  can  force  European 
nations  to  come  to  a  settlement  of  the  silver 
question.  What  I  do  claim  is  that  by  announcing 
our  determination  to  suspend  silver  coinage  in  the 
near  future,  we  can  remove  from  the  minds 
of  European  financiers  a  motive  which  now  ope- 
rates to  delay  the  formation  of  an  international 
gold  and  silver  union.  They  know  that  by  our 
annual  silver  coinage  of  s28,000,000,  we  relinquish 
to  others  a  large  amount  of  gold  which  would  oth- 
erwise be  in  circulation  here.  They  also  know 
that  many  able,  earnest  and  eloquent  men  in  Con- 
gress, are  urging  unlimited  coinage  of  silver. 
They  have  some  reason  to  hope  that  this  country 
is  about  to  commit  an  irretrievable  error,  which 
Europe  will  be  swift  to  turn  to  her  own  advantage. 
They  have  but  to  wait  till  our  mint  is  open  to  sil- 


ver, and  the  five  hundred  millions  of  gold  now  cir- 
culating in  the  United  States  will  go  to  strengthen 
the  gold  reserves  of  France,  Belgium  and  Ger 
many."  The  commerce  of  the  harbor  of  Chicago 
was  set  forth  in  these  words:  '•  During  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  :>0.  1880,  the  aggregate  of  the  ar- 
rivals and  clearances  at  the  ports  of  Baltimore. 
Boston.  New  Orleans,  Xew  York,  Philadelphia. 
Portland,  Falmouth  and  San  Francisco,  amounted 
to  37,41  1.  while  the  arrivals  and  clearances  at  the 
port  of  Chicago  alone,  during  the  same  time 
amounted  to  22,096.  It  appears  that  the  arrivals 
and  clearances  at  this  single  port  exceeded  in 
number  the  arrivals  and  clearances  at  Baltimore. 
Boston,  Xew  Orleans,  Philadelphia,  Portland.  Fal- 
mouth and  San  Francisco,  which  were  only  21,227. 
They  exceeded  thoseof  New  York.  Xew  Orleans, 
Port  land.  Falmouth  and  San  Francisco,  which  were 
only  21.731.  They  exceeded  those  at  Xew  York, 
Baltimore,  Portland  and  Falmouth,  which  were 
only  21,996, and  they  exceeded  those  of  Xew  York, 
Philadelphia,  Portland  and  Falmouth,  which 
amounted  to  22,041.  If  we  compare  the  coastwise 
trade  of  Chicago  with  the  coastwise  trade  of 
other  ports,  which  I  admit  is  not  a  fair  compari- 
son, it  appears  that  the  coastwise  arrivals  and 
clearances  at  the  ports  of  Boston,  Baltimore,  New 
Orleans,  Xew  York.  Philadelphia.  Portland,  Fal- 
mouth and  San  Francisco,  aggregated  only  13,931, 
while  the  coastwise  arrivals  and  clearances  at  the 
port  of  Chicago  alone,  amounted  to  21.564."  Mr. 
Adams  expressly  disclaimed  any  hope  of  any  im- 
mediate appropriation  commensurate  with  the 
needs  of  such  a  commerce,  but  he  laid  a  firm 
foundation  for  the  demand  for  such  co-operation 
on  the  part  of  Congress  with  the  Chicago  Drain- 
age District  as  would  make  the  channel  for  the 
construction  of  which  that  district  was  created  a 
great  highway  for  ocean-going  ships.  In  discuss- 
ing the  development  of  foreign  trade  by  the  res- 
toration of  our  decayed  merchant  marine,  Mr. 
Adams  did  not  enter  upon  a  consideration  of  the 
general  principle  of  bounty  or  subsidy.  The  Post- 
office  Department  had  to  make  contracts  for  car- 
rying foreign  mails,  and  he  urged  that  so  far  as 
practicable,  they  should  be  made  with  American 
steamship  lines.  He  illustrated  the  importance 
of  having  direct  communication  with  these  coun- 
tries, by  citing  a  conversation  held  four  years  ear 
lier  with  a  Chicago  gentleman  who  had  for  years 
been  engaged  in  selling  American  goods  in  the 
South  American  markets.  This  salesman  told 
Mr.  Adams  that  on  one  occasion  he  was  trying  to 
sell   agricultural  machines,   such  as  are  made   in 


LWA8Y 


J^m^'d  W.  J&/z 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


267 


Mr.  Adams'  own  Congressional  district.  There 
was  a  demand  for  a  considerable  number  of  them. 
The  superiority  of  the  American  machine  at  tin- 
price  demanded,  was  admitted;  yet  he  could  not 
sell  his  machines.  Why'.'  Because  they  could 
not  be  delivered  in  time.  Why  not?  Because 
there  was  no  direct  and  regular  steam  communi- 
cation with  the  United  States.  The  machines 
would  have  to  be  sent  to  Europe,  and  tinner  to 
South  America.  Solas  customer,  or  rather,  the 
man  whom  he  wanted  for  a  customer,  di  1 
get  the  European  machine,  though  he  admitted 
its  inferiority  to  the  American  machine  at  the 
price  demanded.  He  could  get  the  European  ma- 
chine more  promptly  and  regularly  when  he  needed 
it.  That  one  example  illustrated  the  whole  case. 
and  in  this  connection  may  serve  to  illustrate  Mr. 
Adams'  practical  turn  of  mind  as  a  law-maker. 
He  is  a  statesman  with  an  eye  to  practical  results. 
and  not  glittering  generalities.  It  will  beobserved 
that  Mr.  Adams'  turn  of  mind  is  eminently  judi- 
cial and  free  from  the  bias  of  animosity.  Strong 
and  positive  in  his  republicanism,  his  party  fealty 
is  not  grounded  on  partisan  prejudice,  and  he  en- 
joys the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  his  associ 
ates,  irrespective  of  party.  Of  the  great  issues 
which  divide  the  two  parties,  with  their  roots 
extending  down  to  the  very  l.ed  jock  of  the  foun- 
dation of  the  Republic,  he  has  the  true  statesman's 
grasp.  Well  grounded  in  the  political  maxims  of 
the  schools,  familiar  with  the  philosophy  which 
found  its  highest  expounder  in  John  Stuart  Mill, 
he  also  studied  the  lessons  of  actual  life,  arriving 
at  his  conclusions  as  a  result  of  what  may  lie 
called  his 'post-graduate  studies  in  the  school  of 
affairs.'  Such  men.  whether  in  office  or  out.  are 
the  natural  leaders  of  which  ever  part}-  they  may 
lie  identified  with,  especially  in  that  movement 
toward  higher  politics  which  is  common  to  both 
parties,  and  which  constitutes  the  most  hopeful 
political  sign  of  the  period. 


DAVID  B.    LYMAN. 

DAVID  BRAINERD  LYMAN  .njoys  the  well- 
earned  distinction  of  ln-ing  what  the  public  calls 
"a  self-made  man."  He  was  born  at  Hilo.  on  tin- 
island  of  Hawaii,  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  on 
March  27,  1S40,  and  is  the  son  of  Rev.  David  B. 
Lyman,  a  missionary  clergyman  who  was  sta- 
tioned in  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  1831,  where  he 


remained  until  his  death  in  1SSG.  Rev.  D.  B. 
Lyman  was  born  at  New  Hartford.  Conn.,  was  a 
graduate  of  Williams  College  and  the  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  and  was  the  representative 
in  its  missionary  work  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  David's 
mother  was  Sarah  (Joiner)  Lyman,  a  native  of 
Royalton.  Vermont,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the 
old  New  England  families.  She  was  a  lady  of 
more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and  refinement. 
Throughout  her  busy  life  she  kept  up  a  course  of 
reading,  study  and  correspondence  with  friends  in 
different  part  s  1  if  the  world.  She  also  took  an  active 
part  in  her  husband's  life  work  in  tin-  missionary 
field.  They  were  both  spared  to  a  long  life  of  use- 
fulness, having  celebrated  their  golden  wedding 
about  five  years  before  Mr.  Lyman's  death.  Mrs. 
Lyman  survived  her  husband  but  two  years.  Dur- 
ing his  boyhood,  young  Lyman  took  advantage  of 
ever}  opportunity  forsecuring  an  education.  All 
his  leisure  hours  were  devoted  to  study  at  home. 
until  he  was  old  enough  to  enter  the  preparatory 
department  of  Oahu  College,  at  Honolulu.  Mr. 
Lyman  left  Honolulu  in  1859,when  he  was  but  nine- 
teen years  old. and  yet  before  this  he  had  been  in  the 
government  employ  as  a  surveyor  several  years. 
From  his  earnings  in  this  position  he  saved  the 
money  to  pay  fora  collegiate  education  in  America. 
He  sailed  from  Honolulu,  around  Cape  Horn,  to 
New  Bedford.  Conn.,  arriving  there  in  May,  1860, 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year  he  entered 
Yale  College  from  which  he  graduated  as  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1864.  During  his  course  at  Vale.  Mr. 
Lyman  was  the  first  president  of  the  college  so- 
ciety, Brothers  in  Unity,  and  was  in  other  ways 
honored  by  his  fellow  students.  He  next  went  to 
the  Harvard  Law  School  where  he  took  a  two 
years'  course,  graduating  in  1860,  and  receiving 
one  of  the  chief  prizes  for  his  essay.  During  the 
years  1864-65.  while  studying  law.  Mr.  Lyman 
was  an  active  worker  with  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sion, as  hospital  visitor  for  the  fifth  corps  hos- 
pital of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  He.  was  also 
detailed  to  the  Point  of  Rocks  hospital,  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  subsequently  had  charge  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission  work  for  the  army,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Washington.  In  1SGG.  after  being  admitted 
to  the  practice  of  law  in  the  Massachusetts  courts 
by  the  examining  authorities  in  Boston,  Mr.  Ly- 
man removed  to  Chicago  and  served  for  two  years 
as  a  clerk  in  the  law  office  of  Waite  &  Clark.  On 
July  1.  1869,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Hunt- 
ington W.  Jackson,  the  firm  name  being  Lyman 
&  Jackson.     This  firm  still   exists  and  is  the   old- 


268 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


est  law  partnership  iu  Chicago.  Mr.  Lyman  has 
been  highly  successful  in  tho  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  its  various  branches.  The  most  of  his 
business  has  been  in  real  estate,  corporation,  and 
commercial  law,  but  he  is  nevertheless  an  able 
counselor  and  advocate  in  all  lines,  and  as  a  gen- 
eral practitioner  has  few  equals.  During  his 
practice  he  has  conducted  important  litigation  in 
the  federal  and  state  courts  with  gratifying  suc- 
cess, winning  well-earned  fame  and  distinction. 
He  has  much  natural  ability,  but  is  withal  a  hard 
student  and  is  never  contented  until  he  has 
mastered  every  detail  of  his  cases.  He 
believes  in  the  maxim,  "there  is  no  excel- 
lence without  labor,"  and  follows  it  closely. 
He  is  never  surprised  by  some  unex- 
pected discovery  by  an  opposing  lawyer,  for  in  his 
mind  he  weighs  every  point  and  fortifies  himself 
as  well  for  defense  as  for  attack.  Mr.  Lyman  is 
not  an  orator  to  the  extent  of  swaying  juries  by 
his  eloquence,  aud  for  this  reason  he  has  been  ac- 
corded more  fameas  a  counselor  than  as  an  advo- 
cate. And  yet  there  are  few  lawyers  who  win  a 
larger  percentage  of  their  cases  before  either 
judge  or  jury  than  does  Mr.  Lyman.  He  convinces 
by  his  concise  statements  of  law  and  facts  rather 
than  by  word-painting,  and  so  highis  the  respect 
for  his  legal  ability  and  integrity  that  his  asser- 
tions in  court  are  seldom  questioned  seriously. 
Judges  and  clients  also  respect  him  for  his  careful 
counsel.  Mr.  Lyman  is  a  man  of  most  courteous 
manners  and  yet  firm  and  unyielding  in  all  that 
he  believes  to  be  right.  Whatever  he  does  is  for 
the  best  interests  of  his  clients  and  for  the  honor 
of  his  profession.  No  man  gives  to  either  a  more 
unqualified  allegiance  or  riper  ability.  These  qual- 
ities have  won  for  him  the  admiration  and  respect 
of  all  who  know  him.  He  is  not  a  politician  to  the 
extent  of  taking  an  active  part  inpolitics,  but  he  is 
nevertheless  a  staunch  Republican  and  is  much 
interested  in  that  party's  success,  and  in  the 
securing  of  good  government.  He  was  married 
on  October  5,  1870,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Cossitt,  daugh- 
ter of  F.  D.  Cossitt,  of  Chicago.  Four  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living,  are  the  result  of  this 
union.  Mr.  Lyman  resides  at  La  Grange,  a  beau- 
tiful suburb  of  Chicago.  He  takes  a  leading  part 
in  the  maintenance  of  the  Episcopal  church  there, 
and  is  now  its  senior  warden,  lie  is  also  active  in 
general  works  for  the  improvement  of  the  village. 
He  has  taken  a  leading  part  in  educational  mat- 
ters and  has  served  for  seventeen  years  on  the 
board  of  education  in  his  village,  as  its  president 
and  as  a  member.    He  is  an  enthusiastic  advocate 


of  the  common  school  system  and  hugely  through 
his  efforts  the  Lyons  township  high  school  was 
established,  which  is  taking  rank  equal  to  the  best 
schools  of  the  country.  Mr.  Lyman  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Church  Club  of  Chicago, 
and  served  as  its  first  president,  lie  is  president 
of  the  Cook  County  Abstract  and  Trust  Company; 
he  is  trustee  for  a  number  of  associations  and 
holds  other  important  positions  of  trust  in  finan- 
cial and  business  enterpri  ses.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Union  League,  the  Chicago  Club,  the 
University  Club  and  the  Literary  Club. 


JAMES  W.   SCOTT. 

JAMES  W.  SCOTT,  publisher  of  The  Chicago 
Herald  ami  president  of  The  Chicago  Evening 
Post  Company,  is  a  typical  western  American; 
a  man  of  unbounded  energy,  keen  business  fore- 
sight and  rare  courage.  He  was  born  iu  Wal- 
worth county,  Wisconsin,  in  June,  1849,  and  is  the 
son  of  Dr.  Wilmot  Scott,  an  old-time  printer,  who, 
for  thirty-five  years  preceding  his  death,  in  188S, 
was  an  editor  and  publisher  of  newspapers.  When 
James  W.  Scott  was  a  mere  lad,  his  father  re- 
moved to  Galena,  Illinois,  where  he  founded  a 
paper,  and  was  actively  identified  with  journalism 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  James  W.  Scott, 
when  old  enough  to  begin  work,  learned  the  print- 
ing trade  in  his  father's  office  at  Galena,  attending 
at  the  same  time,  the  public  schools  in  that  town. 
Later  he  was  a  student  at  the  Galena  high  school, 
and  on  graduating  from  that  institution,  went  to 
the  college  at  lieloit.  Wisconsin,  where  he  studied 
for  two  years.  He  was  unable,  on  account  of  his 
restless  desire  to  be  engaged  in  some  calling  on 
his  own  account,  to  complete  his  college  course, 
and  went  to  New  York,  where  for  a  time  he  was 
engaged  in  floriculture.  His  interest  in  this  fas- 
cinating business  was  great,  and  in  addition  to  his 
active  work  in  it,  Mr.  Scott,  although  then  very 
young,  was  an  intelligent  contributor  to  the 
papers  devoted  to  it.  Many  of  his  articles  showed 
a  good  literary  style,  as  well  as  an  enthusiastic 
study  of  the  subject.  Abandoning  this  business 
to  take  a  position  in  the  government  printing  office 
at  Washington,  Mr.  Scott  became  again  a  working 
compositor,  until  1872,  when  he  withdrew  from  the 
office  tii  establish  a  weekly  newspaper  in  Prince 
George  county,  Maryland.  This  was  Mr.  Scott's 
first  effort  as  a  proprietor,  and  his  success,  while 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


269 


not  glittering,  was  sufficient  to  confirm  him  in  the 
belief  that  it  was  his  proper  place  in  the  news- 
paper world.  The  Maryland  paper,  however,  did 
not  afford  Mr.  Scott  sufficient  Bcope;  he  was  a 
young  man  with  progressive  ideas,  many  of  which 
he  could  not  put  into  effect  on  a  country  weekly, 
ami  especially  one  in  so  contracted  a  territory  as 
Prince  George  county.  Leaving  Maryland,  he 
returned  to  Illinois,  and  with  his  father,  Btarted 
The  Press,  at  Galena.  Here  the  same  troubles 
faced  him;  he  wanted  a  larger  field — a  better  op- 
portunity. One  year  in  Galena  satisfied  him  that 
he  could  do  better  in  Chicago,  and  he  came  to  this 
city  as  a  resident,  in  1S75.  Mr.  Scott's  first  ven- 
ture in  Chicago  journalism  was  to  buy  The  Daily 
National  lintel  Reporter.  Under  his  manage- 
ment its  success  was  immediate,  and  he  made 
arrangements  to  change  it  from  a  class  daily  to  a 
general  newspaper.  From  this  intention,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Scott  afterwards  receded,  and  having  an 
able  and  trusty  partner  in  F.  W.  Rice.  In-  di  cided 
to  leave  the  control  i>f  the  journal  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  latter.  In  this  connection  it  may  In- 
mentioned  that  Mr.  Rice  still  conducts  the  paper 
for  himself  and  Mr.  Scott,  and  that  it  is  the  source 
of  great  profit  to  both  of  them.  It  was  the  ambi- 
tion of  Mr.  Scott  to  become  identified  with  a  high- 
class  daily  newspaper,  ami  in  May  1881,  he.  in 
company  with  several  young  men  who  hail  been 
successful  in  their  work  on  other  Chicago  dailies, 
organized  The  Chicago  Herald  Company.  Want 
of  sufficient  capital  retarded  the  proper  develop 
ment  of  the  enterprise,  until  1SVJ.  when  Mr.  John 
R.  Walsh,  president  of  the  Chicago  National 
Bank,  having  full  faith  in  Mr.  Scott's  ability  and 
judgment,  to  make  the  paper  a  success,  purchased 
the  stock  of  the  other  share-holders,  and  concen- 
trated the  control  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Scott. 
With  abundant  means  at  his  command,  and  at  the 
same  time  possessed  of  the  judgment  nee 

omical  but  wisely  directed  use  of  his  cap- 
ital, Mr.  Scott  accomplished  the  supreme  wish  of 
his  life  in  building  up  to  a  profitable  existence,  a 
great  metropolitan  daily  newspaper.  Every  de- 
partment of  the  Herald  bears  the  impress  of  his 
executive  ability.  He  surrounded  himself  with 
the  best  men  he  could  find,  both  in  the  editorial 
and  the  business  branches,  and  insisted  upon  a 
a  liberal  policy  in  the  gathering .  >f  the  news,  as  well 
as  in  its  preparation  for  publication.  The  result 
of  this  is  seen  in  the  unchallenged  statement  pub- 
lished in  the  Herald  every  day.  that  it  has  "the 
largest  morning  circulation  in  Chicago."  He  has 
spared  no  outlay  of   time  or  money   to  make   his 


paper  one  of  the  best  in  the  country,  and  the  resull 
is  not  only  highly  satisfactory  to  .Mr,  Scott  him- 
self, but  to  every  one  of  his  aids.  The  American 
Newspaper  Publishers' Association  is  a  powerful 
combination  for  the  mutual  benefit  and  protection 
of  all  the  leading  newspaper  publishers  in  the 
United  States,  and  of  this  organization  Mr.  Scotl 
has  been  president  for  three  terms,  his  counsel 
and  executive  direction  being  of  great  value  in 
accomplishing  the  objects  of  the  Association.  He 
has  also  served  for  three  terms  as  president  of 
The  Chicago  Press  Club,  and  much  of  the  pres- 
tige of  this  now  flourishing  society  is  due  to  his 
wise  admistration.  As  president  of  the  United 
Press,  which  expends  half  a  million  dollars  an- 
nually in  the  collection  and  distribution  of  news 
by  telegraph  over  leased  wires,  to  daily  papers  in 
all  parts  of  the  United  Stati  -  and  <  ianada,  .Mi-. 
Sett  wields  no  small  power.  The  telegraphic 
news  service  of  this  country  on  the  Association 
plan  is  a  recognized  institution,  and  the 
employed  in  preparing  the  reports  are  often  more 
influential  than  men  high  in  public  office.  To 
properly  handle  a  corps  of  this  kind,  and  obtain 
from  it  the  best  results,  while  at  the  same  time 
repressing  whatever  tendency  there  may  be  to 
abuse  of  its  high  power,  requires  some  thing  akin 
to  generalship,  and  the  present  highly  organized 
service  of  the  United  Press,  is  in  this  respect,  a 
testimonial  to  Mr.  Scott's  genius.  When  the  pro- 
ject of  securing  the  World's  Fair  for  Chici 
first  broached,  Mr.  Scott  was  made  chairman  of  the 
press  committee  of  the  preliminary  organization, 
and  it  was  largely  from  his  work  that  the  public 
opinion,  to  which  Congress  finally  yielded,  was 
formed.  He  was  an  active  man,  to  put  it  mildly, 
in  securing  the  Fair  for  Chicago.  When  the  per- 
manent organization  was  perfected,  he  was  made 
a  director,  and  he  was  unanimously  tendered  the 
position  of  president  at  the  annual  election  of  1891, 
but  the  pressureof  his  private  business  compelled 
him  to  decline  the  honor.  He  did.  however,  ac- 
cept the  chairmanship  of  the  committee  on  press 
and  printing,  and  the  same  sensible  direction 
which  made  Mr.  Scott's  previous  efforts  so  accep- 
table is  already  noticeable  in  this  important 
branch  of  the  World's  Fair  machinery.  A  little 
over  a  year  ago  Mr.  Scott  started  the  Chicago 
Evening  Post,  a  paper  which  has  attained  a  phe- 
nomenal success.  It  is  prosperous  and  influential, 
and  has  built  for  itself  one  of  the  finest  newspa- 
per offices  in  the  country.  While  not  so  active  in 
its  management  as  he  is  in  that  of  the  Herald. 
Mr.  Scott  has  a  keen  supervision  over  all  the   de- 


»7o 


BIOGRAPHY   OP    ILLINOIS. 


tailsof  the  business,  being  well  seconded  l>y  an 
able  staff  of  assistants.  In  personal  appearance, 
Mr.  Scotl  is  a  well  formed  man, of  robust  physique; 
his  face  is  of  kindly  mould,  and  he  has  keen  bul 
twinkling  eyes  which  well  show  his  good  nature. 
I  Minis.  l>.  soci  ;l  and  jovi  il  in  tusdisposi  i  in,  h:  is  i 
member,  either  active  or  honorary,  of  nearly  every 
prominent  club  in  Chicago,  as  well  as  of  the  fa- 
mous Clover  Club  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Press 
Club  of  New  York. 


ALBERT  A.   SPRAGUE. 

ALBERT  ARNOLD  SPRAGUE.  an  eminent 
merchant  of  Chicago,  known  in  the  commercial 
world  as  the  founder  and  senior  member  of  the 
great  wholesale  grocery  house  of  Sprague,  Warner 
&  Co.,  was  born  at  Randolph,  Vermont,  May  19, 
1835.  The  family  from  which  he  springs  is  one  of 
the  oldest  in  the  country,  having  been  founded  by 
ancestors  who  emigrated  to  America  from  the 
south  of  England  in  1629.  These  ancestors  set- 
tled at  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  whence  their 
immediate  descendants  spread  to  other  New  Eng- 
land colonies.  Branches  of  the  family  are  now  to 
be  found  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  belongs  to  a  branch 
which  was  established  in  Vermont  early  in  the 
present  century.  His  father,  Ziba  Sprague.  a  na- 
tive of  that  state,  was  a  well-to-do  farmer  and  tra- 
der at  Randolph.  He  married  Caroline  Arnold, 
who  came  of  a  highly  respectable  family  in  that 
neighborhood.  Albert  was  one  of  a  family  of  three 
children.  He  grew  up  on  the  parental  farm  and 
had  good  educational  advantages  from  his  earliest 
years.  After  attending  the  common  schools  in  his 
native  place  he  entered  the  seminary  at  Meriden, 
New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  prepared  for  college. 
In  1855  he  entered  Yale,  took  the  regular  classical 
course,  and  graduated  in  1859.  It  was  his  inten- 
tion at  this  period  to  qualify  himself  for  the  legal 
profession,  but  a  tendency  towards  pulmonary 
troubles  caused  an  abandonment  of  further  study. 
The  ensuing  three  years  were  spent  at  his  home  in 

Vera t  and  a  complete  restoration  to  health  and 

strength  effected.  In  the  spring  of  18G2  he  went 
to  Chicago  with  the  desire  of  engaging  in  business. 
He  had  at  the  time  no  well-defined  intentions  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  business,  but  after  a  little  in- 
vestigation he  concluded  that  there  was  a  good 
opening   in   the   wholesale   grocery  trade,  and  in 


that  he  embarked  his  limited  capital,  taking  as   a 
partner     Mr.    Z.    B.    Stetson,    with     whom     he 
formed    the    firm     of     Sprague   &   Stetson.      At 
the   expiration   of   a    year,    Mr.   Stetson   retired, 
and  a  new  partnership  was  formed  with  Mr.  Ezra 
J.  Warner,  under  the  style  of  Sprague  &  Warner. 
In   1864  Mr.  O.  S.  A.  Sprague,  a  younger  brother 
of  the  senior  partner,  was  admitted   to   the   firm, 
which  was  then  reorganized   under  the  style  of 
Sprague,  Warner  &  Co.     This  style  has  remained 
unchanged  down  to  the  present  day,  the  compo- 
sition of  the  firm  likewise  being  undisturbed.  The 
business  received  a  great  impetus  during  the  Civil 
War  and  while  the  war  prices  continued; but  the 
wonderful  and  substantial  growth   of   the   house, 
as  it  is  known  to-day,  is  the  result  of  splendid  busi- 
ness  management,   progressive  methods,   unflag- 
ging energy,  high  principles  and  honorable  deal- 
ings.    This  house  is  now  known  throughout   the 
United  States  as  the  largest  exclusively    whole- 
sale grocery  concern  in   the   Western  Continent, 
being  rivalled  but  by  one  other— that  of  Thurber 
&  Co.  of  New  York,  now  incorporated  as  a  stock 
company  and   which   deals   extensively   in   grain 
and  breadstuffs  for  foreign  shipment.     Regarded 
as    a    citizen,    and   in   his   social   relations,    Mr. 
Sprague   belongs  to   that   public-spirited,   useful 
and  helpful  type  of  men  whose  ambitions  and  de- 
sires are  centered  and  directed  in  those  channels 
through  which  flow  the  greatest  and  most  perma- 
nent   good  to  the  greatest  number.    Though  fre- 
quently solicited  to  become  a  candidate  for  high 
political  and  other  public  offices  he  has  eschewed 
them  entirely,  but  probably  there   is   not   a   man 
of  large  private  interests  in  Chicago  that  has  felt 
a  more  hearty  concern  for  the  public  welfare   or 
has  been  more  helpful   in   bringing   about   those 
purifying    and    wholesome   reforms   which   have 
been   gradually   growing  in  the  political,   munici- 
pal and  social  life  of  the  city.     It  is  true  that  his 
chief  life-work  has  been  that  of  a  remarkably  sue 
cessful  merchant,  but  the  range,  of  his  activities 
and  the  scope  of  his   influence   have   reached   far 
beyond   this  special   field.    He  belongs  to  that 
class  of  men  who  wield  a   power  which   is  all   the 
more  potent,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  moral  rather 
than  political  and  is  exercised  for  the  public  weal 
rather    than    for   personal   ends.     Unselfish    and 
retiring,     Mr.     Sprague    prefers    a    quiet    place 
in    the    background    to    the    glamour    of     pub- 
licity;    but     his     rare     aptitude     and     ability 
in     achieving     results     make      him     constantly 
sought  and  often  bring   him  into   a    prominence 
from  which  he  would  naturally  shrink   were  less 


uMivwstTYiVmots. 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


271 


desirable  ends  in  view.  Few  broad  municipal  or 
commercial  movements  of  progress  are  made  in 
which  he  is  not  a  factor.  In  the  political  manage- 
ment which  moulds  administrations  and  Shapes 
the  course  of  public  affairs  he  is  often  an  unseen 
but  potential  force.  His  earliest  political  affilia- 
tions were  with  the  Republican  party  and  he  still 
adheres  with  fidelity  to  its  principles  and  fortunes 
and  enjoys  the  confidence  and  respect  of  manj  of 
its  great  leaders.  Ready  at  all  times  to  contribute 
his  personal  support  to  whatever  lias  a  tendency 
even  to  advance  the  interests  or  add  to  the  con- 
venience of  Chicago,  he  has  become  connected 
with  a  number  of  important  corporations  having 
these  ends  in  view.  Among  them  maybe  named 
the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad  Company,  in  which 
he  has  been  a  director  since  1887;  and  the  Edison 
Electric  Light  Company,  in  which  also  he  is  a 
director.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of.  and  is 
still  a  director  in  the  Northern  Trust  Company, 
one  of  the  strongest  financial  institutions  of  the 
city.  In  the  field  of  philanthropy  and  benevolence 
he  is  likewise  active.  Since  1st:;  he  has  been  a 
director  in  the  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  and  from 
1887  to  1889  wasits  president.  He  is  also  a  trustee 
of  the  Orphan  Asylum  and  of  the  Presbyterian 
Hospital.  In  the  social  life  of  the  city  he  is  no 
less  active.  He  was  one  of  the  charter  members 
of  the  Commercial  Club,  organized  in  1S7S.  and  in 
1882  was  its  president.  Oiler  leading  social  or- 
ganizations of  which  he  is  a  member  are  the 
Chicago  Club,  the  Union  League  Club,  the 
Calumet  Club,  the  University  Chili  and  the 
Washington  Park  Club.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Chicago  Literal}  Society  and  a  director  in  the 
Art  Institute.  Few  men  in  Chicago  are  better 
known,  more  earnestly  sought  or  more  justly 
esteemed.  Mr.  Sprague  was  married  on  Septem 
her  29,  1862,  to  Miss  Nancy  A.  Atwood,  the 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Atwood.  of  Royalton, 
Vermont.     They  have  one  child,  a  daughter. 


WILLIAM  E.   McLAREN. 

The  Episcopal  diocese  of  Chicago  owes  much  of 
its  prosperity  and  its  material  and  spiritual  ad- 
vancement to  the  wise  guidance  and  Counsels  of 
the  Rt.  Rev.  William  Edward  McLaren,  D.  I  >..  1 1. 
C.  L.,  who  is  the  third  bishop  to  whom  the  dio- 
cese has  been  entrusted.  Assuming  the  charge  of 
affairs  at  a  time  when  the  church   was  rent  with 


factional  disturbance  and  men  and  money  win 
notably  lacking,  he  has  by  Arm  hut  loving  admin- 
istration made  tic  diocese  of  Chicago  the  second 
in  influence  and  church  wealth  in  the  United 
States,  being  outranked  only  by  the  much  older 
diocese  of  New-  York.  On  the  occasion  of  the  re- 
cent diocesan  convention  in  Chicago,  mention  was 
made  of  Bishop  McLaren's  noble  work  in   behalf 

of  the  church,  but  the  real  facts  of  his  labors  u  ill 
never  lie  fully  known  except  as  they  can  lie  seen 
in  the  outward  visible  growth  of  the  diocese. 
Factions  have  been  put  down,  feuds  abolished, 
and  the  various  parishes  united  in  the  work  of  the 
church.  Bishop  McLaren  is  a  man  of  kindly 
presence  and  contagious  enthusiasm.  Modest  in 
character,  but  firm  and  insistent  in  church  dis- 
cipline, he  governs  the  clergy  and  people  of  his 

dioceE He  by  force  of  good  example  and  honest 

in  their  affairs,  than  by  show  of  authority 
or  word  of  command.  He  is  a  man  who  knows 
men  and  how  to  handle  them.  Bishop  McLaren 
is  a  native  of  New  York  state,  and  was  born 
at  Geneva,  December,  13,  1831.  His  parents  on 
both  sides  were  of  Scotch  descent.  His  father's 
family  came  from  Callender,  in  the  Trosachs, 
Scotland,  and  his  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a 
Scotchman  named  McKay.  When  thirteen  years 
of  age.  youg  McLaren  went  to  Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, to  live,  and  after  a  short  residence  there  re- 
moved to  Pittsburgh.  He  studied  at  Jefferson 
college,  Canonsburg,  and  graduated  in  1851,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Bishop  McLaren's 
first  employment  was  as  a  journalist,  and  six  years 
of  his  life  were  passed  in  editorial  work  in  Cleve- 
land and  Pittsburgh.  His  inclination,  however, 
toward  the  clerical  life  grew  more  defined  as  he 
advanced  in  years,  and  in  1857,  when  twenty-six 
years  old,  he  entered  the  Allegheny  Theological 
seminary.  In  1SG0  he  received  Presbyterian  ordi- 
nation and  served  in  that  degree  of  church  work 
for  nearly  twelve  years.  In  July.  1872,  he  became 
deacon,  and  officiated  temporarily,  in  St.  John's 
church.  Detroit,  and  on  October  -20,  of  the  same 
year,  was  advanced  to  the  priesthood.  He  was  in 
that  year  inducted  as  rector  of  Trinity  church,  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  until  1875. 
when  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Illinois,  the  diocese 
covering  the  state.  The  consecration  of  Bishop  Mc- 
Laren, which  took  place  on  December  8, 1875,  was 
one  of  the  most  solemn  and  imposing  ceremonies  in 
the  history  of  the  church.  The  most  distinguished 
prelates  and  priests  of  the  country  were  present, 
among  them  being  Bishops  McCoskey,  of  Michi- 
gan, Bedell,  of  Ohio,  Whipple,  of  Minnesota,  Tal- 


272 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


bot,  of  Indiana,  Clarkson,  of  Nebraska,  Spalding, 
of  Colorado,  Gillespie,  of  western  Michigan,  and 
Welles,  of  Wisconsin,  all  of  whom  assisted  in  the 
consecration.  Revs.  Drs.  James  DeKoven  and 
George  Worthington,  were  his  attending  Presby- 
ters. Prom  the  start  Bishop  McLaren  secured  the 
support  of  influential  church  members  who  were 
weary  of  the  internecine  strife,  and  began  to'sweep 
away  the  elements  which  had  barred  the  work  of 
progress.  Under  his  care  many  church  works 
were  undertaken  and  pushed  to  successful  culmi- 
nation, with  the  result  of  still  further  strength- 
ening the  position  he  had  taken.  In  1877.  under 
his  guidance,  the  diocese  of  Quincy  and  Spring- 
field were  erected  and  subsequently  the  name  of 
the  remaining  diocese  was  changed  to  Chicago. 
By  his  appeals,  Bishop  McLaren  secured  the  build- 
ing and  endowment  of  the  Episcopal  Theological 
seminary,  at  Chicago,  and  Waterman  hall,  at 
Sycamore,  Illinois.  These  were  followed  by  a  com- 
plete renewal  of  the  Cathedral  equipment, and  the 
construction  of  a  clergy  house  and  sisters'  home. 
Funds  were  not  only  contributed  for  their  future 
support,  but,  with  all  the  work  of  enlargement, 
the  Elpiscopal  treasury  was  not  aegltcted  and  it  is 
now  in  a  very  satisfactory  condition.  One  of  the 
greatest  of  Bishop  McLaren's  successes,  perhaps, 
was  the  building  of  the  Western  Theological  Sem- 
inary. With  an  endowment  of  i?225,000  by  Dr. 
Tolman  Wheeler,  as  a  basis,  the  seminary  was  in- 
corporated, and  Bishop  McLaren,  as  its  president, 
labored  unceasingly  until  the  structure  was  coni- 
pleted  and  the  training  of  young  men  for  the 
priesthood  begun.  As  dean  of  this  seminary,  he 
is  its  executor  and  administrator.  Another  insti- 
tution in  which  the  Bishop  takes  a  special  inter- 
est is  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  to  the  success  of  which 
he  has  contributed  materially.  Bishop  McLaren 
was  the  recipient  of  the  degree  of  S.  T.  D.,  (or 
D.  D..)  from  Racine  College,  in  1875.  and  in 
1889  the  University  of  the  South  conferred  on  him 
the  degree  of  D.  C.  L.  Bishop  McLaren  is  a  pul- 
pit orator  of  wide  fame,  and  his  sermons  and  ad- 
dresses  are  models  of  pure  and  eloquent  language. 
One  of  the  chief  charms  of  his  delivery  is  his  clear, 
strong  and  sympathetic  voice,  in  the  toning  of 
which  to  the  varied  phases  of  expression  he  is  a 
master.  A  man  of  deep  learning,  not  only  in 
church  matters,  but  in  all  branches  of  polite  liter- 
ature, and  will  informed  on  the  current  events  of 
the  day,  Bishop  McLaren  is  a  strong  and  convinc 
ing  debater,  and  in  argument  is  aggressive  and 
fearless.  He  is  a  ready  writer  and  has  published 
many  interesting  and  important    books  and   pain 


phlets,  among  the  Eormer  being  "Catholic  Dogma, 
the  Antidote  of  Doubt,"  which  appeared  in  1883. 
The  purpose  of  this  volume  is  to  restate  and  apply 
to  present  times  the  Vincentian  canon.  "Quod 
semper,  ubique  et  ab  omnibus."  In  18L>1  he  deliv- 
ered an  important  charge  on  the  "  Current  Phases 
of  Unbelief."  Bishop  McLaren  is  intimately  asso- 
dated  with  Racine  College,  of  whose  board  of  trus- 
tees he  is  president.  He  occupies  a  similar  rela- 
tion to  St.  Mary's  school,  Knoxville,  and  Water- 
man hall,  Sycamore;  and  he  is  by  virtue  of  his 
Metropolitan  See  Primus  of  the  provincial  synod, 
composed  of  the  three  dioceses  of  Illinois. 


WILLIAM  W.  KIMBALL. 

WILLIAM  WALLACE  KIMBALL,  founder 
of  the  piano  and  organ-making  industries  of  Chi- 
cago, and  illustrious  in  national  mercantile  annals 
as  the  pioneer  of  the  wholesale  music  trade  of  the 
Northwest,  was  born  in  1828  in  Oxford  county, 
Maine.  This  was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father. 
David  Kimball,  and  the  ancestral  abode  since  the 
close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  Through  the 
chronicles  of  early  New  England,  the  direct  line  of 
ancestry  of  the  Kimball  family  on  American  soil. 
is  traced  back  through  some  twelve  generations  to 
Richard  Kimball,  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  who  emigra- 
ted from  Ipswich,  England,  and  settled  in  that 
colonial  village  in  1634.  The  family  name,  thus 
associated  with  the  antiquities  of  the  nation,  is 
frequently  encountered  in  the  introductory  chap- 
ters of  our  country's  history,  coming  to  eminence 
in  peace  and  war  alike,  during  all  the  earlier  sta- 
ges of  colonial  development,  and  through  the  sub 
sequent  era  of  rapid  political  transition,  ending  in 
the  establishment  of  our  present  republican  gov- 
ernment. Among  the  many  soldiers  of  the  family 
entering  the  great  war  for  independence,  from 
New  Hampshire,  and  of  whom  history  makes  hon- 
orable mention,  is  found  the  name  of  Moses,  grand 
father  of  William  W.  and  father  of  David  Kimball, 
who  in  turn  served  with  equal  distinction  through 
the.warof  1812.  The  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
;,t  the  close  of  that  struggle,  became  a  farmer,  re- 
moved to  Maine  and  settled  in  Oxford  county, 
which,  two  hundred  years  subsequent  to  the  time 
of  Richard  the  Pilgrim,  of  Ipswich,  became  the 
birthplace  of  W.  W.  Kimball.  At  the  age  of  eigh- 
teen, with  such  educational  advantages  as  were 
afforded  by  the  district  and  high   schools  of  his 


LlbRA.i 

OF  THE 

UHlVERSlTYof  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGKAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


73 


native  county,  young  Kimball  engaged  for  a  time 
in  stoic  clerking,  and  afterward,  in  teaching.  The 
bent  of  his  inclination  was  strongly  in  the  direc- 
tion of  commerce,   however,   and   proceeding   to 

Boston  at  once  upon  attaining  his  majority,  he 
secured  mercantile  employment,  and  soon  became 
a  traveler,  doing  business  first  in  New  England 
and  afterward  in  the  Middle,  Southern  and  West- 
ern states.  As  the  result  of  these  years  of  travel, 
heacquiredan  intimate  and  comprehensive  knowl- 
edge of  western  mercantile  geography,  which 
proved  of  inestimable  practical  advantage  to  him 
later  (.11.  in  supplying  those  various  latii  u 
co [unities  with  the  product  of  his  own  manu- 
factory. In  1857  Mr.  Kimball  visited  Chicago, 
then  a  frontier  city,  in  a  comparatively  isolated 
region.  Finding  something  congenial  to  his  own 
temperament  in  the  whirl  of  its  traffic,  and  in  the 
vitality  of  its  enterprise,  he  decided  to  locate  per- 
manently in  the  place  and.  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year,  commenced  business  as  a  dealer  in  pianos 
and  organs.  There  was  apparently  at  that  time 
little  to  tempt  business  enterprise  to  enter  the 
musical  field.  The  infinite  domain  beyond  Chi- 
cago was  mainly  a  wilderness  and,  in  the  clearing 
and  settlement  of  that  vast  country,  the  material 
necessities  had  to  take  precedence  of  the  arts. 
There  was  no  art  sentiment  in  the  Northwest.  What 
the  settlers  wanted  was  lumber,  tools,  hardware 
and  groceries.  There  was  no  call  for  musical  in 
struments,  andfor  a  man  in  those  days  to  see  the 
great  future  prosperity  in  the  piano  trade,  he  had 
to  be  somewhat  long-headed.  He  had  to  look  far 
enough  ahead  to  see  the  country  after  it  had 
changed,  and  after  music  had  become  one  of  the 
interests  of  the  land,  as  well  as  good  hatchets  an.  I 
shingles  and  blacksmiths'  outfits.  Experience, 
also,  seemed  to  discourage  the  project.  All  who 
had  preceded  him,  in  that  particular  line  of  busi- 
ness, had  encountered  only  discouragement  and 
failure.  The  young  merchant  seemed  to  realize 
the  necessity  of  patient  waiting,  and  so  resl 
tent  with  a  local  retail  trade,  in  the  belief  that  the 
growing  requirements  of  the  country  would  in 
time  call  for  the  establishment  of  a  wide  agency 
system  and  wholesale  traffic  connections,  with  tin' 
larger  opportunities  thus  implied.  Nor  did  he  mis- 
calculate. In  1864  the  wholesale  trade  in  pianos 
ha.l,  through  his  individual  effort,  been  established 
for  the  first  time  in  Chicago,  and  the  development 
of  traffic  became  such  as  to  justify  his  removal  to 
the  famous  Crosby  Opera  House  on  Washington 
street.  Here  he  opened  fine  ware-rooms  which  be- 
came  the   center   of  the  polite  trade  of  the  north- 


west till  the  general  conflagration  of  1871.  From 
newspaper  records  of  the  period,  it  appears  that 
W.  W.  Kimball,  within  forty-eight  hours  after  the 
subsidence  of  that  historic  tire,  had  converted  his 
private  residence  on  Michigan  avenue  into  a  musi- 
cal warehouse,  with  the  billiard  room  for  an  office 
and  the  barn  for  a  shipping  department.  The  floor- 
age,  however,  proving  quite  inadequate  for  his 
business,  a  removal  was  made  to  larger  quarters, 
at  the  northwest  corner  ..f  Wabash  avenue  and 
Thirteenth  street,  which  served  his  purpose  till 
the  summer  of  1st:;,  when  he  took  possession  of 
the  commodious  building  at  the  south-east  corner 
of  State  and  Adams  streets,  in  the  rebuilt  central 
district.  Here,  in  1882,  the  business  was  reorgan- 
ized under  the  corporate  name  of  W.W.Kimball 
Company,  and  the  growth  of  trade,  including  the 
extension  of  the  manufacturing  industry,  led,  a 
few  years  later,  to  the  occupancy  of  the  mammoth 
structure  at  the  south-east  corner  of  State  and 
Jackson  streets.  In  the  spring  of  1891  the  final 
removal  was  made  to  the  Btately,  new  edifice  147- 
157  Wabash  avenue,  which  is  elaborately  planned 
and  constructed  for  the  perfect  accommodation  of 
all  the  different  departments  of  a  business  that 
has  now  come  to  be  represented  by  a  thousand 
branches,  and  to  cover  all  the  wide  territory  trib- 
utary t. .  Chicago.  In  supplementing  this  general 
outline  of  his  business  career,  it  would  be  interest- 
ing to  present  a  larger  and  more  detailed  review, 
with  side-lights  on  the  character  and  commanding 
energy  of  the  man,  and  some  reference  to  the  final 
bearings  of  his  individual  achievement  on  national 
art  interests.  Hut.  even  in  a  sketch  so  limited  as 
this,  there  is  on.-  aspect  of  his  work  that  can 
hardly  lie  passed  without  mention.  The  former 
sentiment  of  mankind  that  all  heroic  intellect  anil 
energy  have  their  expression  in  war,  is  giving  way 
in  the  modern  world  to  an  equal  appreciation  of 
enterprises  that  result  in  some  economic  benefit  to 
society.  W.  W.  Kimball  took  the  view  that 
capable  leadership  in  the  civil  industries 
may  be  just  as  masterly  or  heroic  as  military  cam- 
paigning or  spectacular  gunpowder  engineering; 
that  it  is  just  as  worthy  of  our  national  ambition  to 
invade  a  foreign  country,  peacefully  and  smilingly, 
with  tine  pianos  and  organs,  as  to  invade  it  violent- 
ly, with  trained  sharp-shooters  and  improved  rifles. 
Music  being  the  finest  spirit  of  human  art.  with 
influences  upon  human  taste  far  superior  to  paint- 
ing or  statuary,  he  used  to  say  that  to  produce  an  ■ 
improved  musical  instrument — to  introduce  a  new 
and  purer  instrumental  tone  to  the  hearing  of 
mankind — was  equivalent  to  the  introduction  of  a 


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BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS 


new  Eactor  in  the  civilization  of  the  world,  and 
quite  as  worth)  of  renown  as  riding  a  military 
horse  at  theheadof  anarmywith  banners.  From 
the  time  that  he  entered  the  music  trade  of  Chi- 
cago, his  idea  seemed  to  !><■.  not  only  t<>  bring  the 
piano  and  organ  to  the  highesl  degree  of  perfec- 
tion consistent  with  the  mechanical  resources  of  the 
world,  but  to  finally  realize  so  definite  an  economy 
in  those  industries  as  to  effect  a  practical  benefit 
to  tlir  West  and  to  the  American  public  as  a  nation. 
If  is  plan  aimed  at  once  to  advance  the  mechanical 
principles  of  construction,  and  to  so  economize 
the  industry  as  to  afford  the  highest  grade  of  in- 
struments at  a  greatly  reduced  cost  to  the  public. 
In  pursuance  of  this  plan  he  erected  a  great  organ 
factory  in  the  year  1881.  The  trade  of  the  house 
now  covered  all  the  Western  and  Northwestern 
territory,  and  a  careful  review  of  the  situation 
over  a  larger  and  more  universal  field  indicated 
the  time  as  opportune  for  inaugurating  the  indus- 
try. The  experiment  proved  a  wonderful  success. 
In  five  years'  time  the  Kimball  parlor  organ  was 
selling  on  every  American  market  and  forming  an 
important  item  in  the  national  export  trade.  The 
manufacture  of  pianos  was  begun  six  years  later 
(in  L887),  when  a  factory,  corresponding  with  the 
dimensions  of  the  vast  organ  plant,  was  erected  in 
juxtaposition  to  the  latter,  and  completed  a  vast 
two  [old  manufacturing  system,  covering  a  floor- 
age  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  square  feet,  and  being 
thus  made  jointly  available  to  the  two  sepa- 
rate but  related  industries.  The  latter  enterprise 
also  proved  very  successful,  a  product  being  soon 
realized  which,  under  the  name  of  the  "new 
scale  Kimball  piano,"  was  at  once  accepted  by  the 
musical  authorities  of  this  country,  and  of  Europe, 
as  among  the  foremost  instruments  of  our  time. 
Personally  speaking.  W.  W.  Kimball  is  not  only  a 
man  of  quick,  comprehensive  and  commanding  in- 
tellect, but  of  a  cheerful,  natural  vitality  and  hu- 
mor that  convert  the  greatest  labors  into  an  invig- 
orating pastime.  He  enjoys  vigorous  competition 
for  its  constant  brisk  encounter  of  schemes,  tac- 
tics, policies  and  plots — as  a  trial  of  the  wit  and 
strength  of  men— and  likes  the  big  chess-board  of 
commerce,  not  merely  for  the  stakes,  but  for  the 
animation  of  the  mighty  game.  He  is  fond  of  the 
drama,  of  lively  society,  and  of  polite  club  life. 
But,  while  classed  among  the  millionaires  of  Chi- 
cago, and  known  to  have  been  one  of  the  original 
promoters  of  many  of  its  public  institutions,  to 
possess  great  wealth  has  never  1. ecu  the  quicken- 
ing principleof  his  ambition.  Another  character- 
istic is  his  fondness  for  reading  men  andcharacter. 


A    happy  faculty  of  interpreting  the   traits   and 
peculiarities  of  strangers,  with  the  quickness  of  in- 
tuition and  with  an  almost  infallible  accuracy,  has 
been  one  main  secret  of  Ids   success  in  mercantile 
life.     Of  course  the  best  evidence  of  great  mental 
endowment    lies  in   his  work,   and   its  lasting   im- 
print on  one  of  the  great  art  interests  of   society. 
What  a  few  years  ago  existed  but  as  a  determina- 
tion and  a  purpose  in  a  Western  merchant's  busy 
brain,  has  been  publicly  realized  in  important  eco- 
nomic changes,  and  become  part  of  the  crystal  of 
American  mercantile  history.     But  the  fact  of  his 
being  a  natural  optimist,  with  a  keen  enjoyment 
of  life  itself,  regardless  of  life's  stakes  and  fortunes, 
and  looking  always  on  the  silver  lining  of  the  cloud, 
and  on   the  bright   side  of   every  human  situation 
—taking  losses  and  reverses   as  trifling  incidents 
of  the  play— all  this  has  probably   had   as  much 
to  do   with   the  outcome  of  his  career,  as   mere 
business  sagacity.    But.  while .  if  a  light  and  jocular 
disposition  that  has  made  him  famous  for  his  stories 
and  humorous  anecdotes,  he  is   possessed,  also,  of 
the  judicial  mind  and  that  clear  sense  of  the  equities 
so  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  a  spotless  per- 
sonal reputation,   through  all    the    trials   of  con- 
flicting interests,  and  all  the  warfare  of  industrial 
ci  impetition.    Furthermore,  to  compass  these  pres- 
ent results  called  not  only  for  sagacity  and  an  opti- 
mistic disposition,  but  for  the  laborer's  patience  a  ml 
the  soldier's  strong  will;  it  called  for  an  invincible 
tenacity  of  purpose  that  could  overcome  obstacles 
and  opposition    and   survive    the   mutabilities   of 
commerce  through  long  periods  of  time;  it  called 
for  the  faculty  of  organization  and  leadership  and 
for  the  very  highest  order  of  practical  administra- 
tive ability.     These  are  the  traits  and  qualities  that 
illustrate  the  character  and  mental  fibre  of  W.  W 
Kimball.     The  pursuit  of  his  great  main  purpose, 
though  persistent,  unwavering,  intrepid  and  ambi- 
tious, has  been  equally  marked  by  tranquillity  and 
self  possession — by  a  breadth  and  practical  wisdi  >m 
in  all  his  policies  and  measures  by  which  his  influ- 
ence in  the  music  trade  has  been  felt  throughout 
the  civilized  world.    His  career  has  been  equally 
marked,  also,  by  a  standard  of  commercial  integ- 
rity, that  has  made  his  house  one  of  the  shining 
names  of  the  West.     During  all  the  unpropitious 
conditions  of  war.  tire,  panic,  industrial  depression 
and   political   turbulence,   coming   in    successive 
blasts  of  calamity   and  danger  troml857to  1S92, 
there  never  was  a   time  when   he  failed  to  main- 
tain an  even  balance  with  the  world,  and  to  meet 
all  obligations  in  full.     Still   another   character- 
istic has  been  his   appreciative   and  considerate 


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275 


fidelity  to  employes.     Many  of  those  who  began 

with  him  at  the  commencement  of  his  career  are 
still  in  his  service.  Others  who  have  branched 
out  for  themselves  have  received  his  assistance  and 
encouragement  to  assured  prosperity.  In  return. 
hi-  aids  and  subordinates— the  rank  and  file  of  his 
clerical  and  working  force— have,  individually  and 
asa  body,  shown  aloyalty  to  their  chief,  worthy  of 
t  in.  •  s«.ldirrs  to  a  general,  who  has  led  them  through 
the  campaigns  of  more  than  thirty  years.  Mr. 
Kimball  was  married  in  ISO.")  to  Miss  Evalyne  M. 
Cone,  daughter  of  Hubbell  B.  Cone,  of  Chicago. 


EDWARD    L.   BREWSTER. 

EDWARD  LESTER  BREWSTER,  the  founder 
and  head  of  the  well-known  banking  and  brokerage 
house  of  Edward  L.  Brewster  &  Co.,  was  born  at 
Brockport,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  on  June 
22,  1842,and  i-  a  lineal  descendant  of  Elder  Will- 
iam Brewster,  chief  of  the  Pilgrims.  His  parents 
were  Frederick  William,  and  Jeanette  (Downs) 
Brewster,  both  natives  of  the  Empire  state.  His 
paternal  grandfather,  Hon.  Henry  Brewster,  was 
for  many  years  a  presiding  judge  in  I 
county.  X.  Y.,  and  a  man  of  distinction  in  the 
legal  profession.  The  boyhood  of  young  Brewster 
was  spent  in  his  native  place,  where  he  attended 
the  public  schools,  and  also  a  collegiate  institute 
which  flourished  there  at  that  time,  where  he  ob- 
tained a  good  academic  education.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  dry  goods  store,  but. 
after  a  year  in  that  employment,  he  concluded  to 
reach  out  for  the  better  advantages  offered  in 
larger  business  centers.  Thus,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen he  left  his  native  village,  and  shortly  after 
we  rind  him  occupying  a  good  clerkship  in  the 
then  largest  insurance  agency  in  Buffalo.  The 
two  succeeding  years  that  he  spent  in  that  city. 
were  years  of  much  profit  to  him.  for  he  not  only 
acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  business  methods 
in  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  clerk,  but  by 
utilizing  his  leisure  hours,  supplemented  the 
knowledge  thus  obtained  with  a  course  of  study 
at  a  commercial  college.  So.  well  equipped  in 
both  practical  and  theoretical  education,  he  found 
no  difficulty  in  securing  employment  on  his  arrival 
in  Chicago,  in  November,  1860.  His  firsl 
ment  was  in  the  banking  house  of  Edward  1. 
Tinkham  &  Co.,  and  from  that  day  to  this  Mr. 
Brewster  has   been  either  directly   or   indirectly 


identified  with  the  banking  interests  of  Chicago. 
During  the  eight  years  following  the  discontinu- 
ance of  the  banking  house  of  Edward  I.  Tinkham 
&  Co..  Mr.  Brewster  was  variously  employed,  first 
as  a  money  broker,  next  in  the  service  of  the 
Galena  &  Chicago  Union  R.  R.  Co.  prior  to  its 
consolidation  with  the  C.  A-  X.  W.  R.  R,  Co.;  then 
as  confidential  clerk  in  a  iarge  wholesale 
house  and  finally  as  clerk  in  the  Third  National 
Bank,  where  he  remained  two  years.  In  January 
L868,  in.  connection  with  Samuel  P.  Parrington, 
Mr.  Brewster  established  the  wholesale  grocer) 
house  of  Parrington  &  Brewster,  at  the  corner  of 
Dearborn  and  South  Water  streets.  This  business 
was  successfully  carried  on  and,  though  heavy 
losers  in  the  great  fire  of  1871,  the  firm  paid  every 
dollar  of  their  obligations  at  maturity,  and  con- 
tinued their  business  as  before.  On  July  1.  1872, 
Mr.  Brewster  retired  from  the  firm  to  engage  in  a 
general  banking  and  brokerage  business,  which, 
from  his  early  training  and  his  personal  taste  for 
financiering,  he  found  mere  in  the  line  of  his 
ambitions  than  merchandising  proved  to  be.  He 
established  the  firm  of  Wrenn  &  Brewster  on 
Wabash  avenue,  in  the  vicinity  of  Congress  street, 
but  in  the  spring  of  1873  they  removed  their  head- 
quarters to  9G  Washington  street.  This  new 
venture  proved  profitable  to  Mr.  Brewster,  and. 
greatly  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  that  the  firm  suc- 
cessfully weathered  tie-  great  financial  panic  of 
that  year,  and  remained  in  active  existence  until 
January.  1*70.  when  it  was  dissolved.  Mr.  Brewster 
immediately  opened  a  new  office  at  101  Washing- 
ton street,  and  alone  continued  in  the  same  line 
of  operations.  His  business  grew  rapidly,  and  ln- 
soon  found  it  necessary  to  establish  himself  in 
more  commodious  quarters,  which  he  did  at  104 
Washington  street.  From  this  time  on.  Mr. 
Brewstergrew  in  public  favor  as  a  judicious  and 
thoroughly  reliable  financier.  Prosperity  came  to 
him  as  a  natural  sequence,  so  that  he  was  enabled 
in  1883  to  absorb  the  house  of  Gwynne  &  Day, 
(successors  to  A.  O.  Slaughter)  bankers.  Mr. 
Chas.  C.  Yoe,  who  had  been  a  trusted  employe 
of  Mr.  Brewster  for  a  period  of  years,  was  now 
taken  into  partnership  under  the  firm  name  of 
Edward  L.  Brewster  &  Co.,  which  has  continued 
as  such  up  to  the  present  time.  They  remained 
in  the  Grannis  Block,  to  which  they  had  removed 
on  the  purchase  of  Gwynne  A-  Day"s  business. 
until  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  on  the  evening  of 
February  10,  1S85.  when  they  took  new  offices  at 
the  corner  of  Dearborn  and  Washington  streets. 
When  the  new  Board  of  Trade  building  was  com- 


276 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


pleted,  Mr.  Brewster,  recognizing  the  change  of 
business  center,  established  a  branch  office  in 
thai  building  and  connected  it  with  his  main 
office  by  two  private  wires,  thus  securing  means 
of  instantaneous  and  absolutely  private  communi- 
cation between  the  two  offices.  He  has  been  an 
Influential  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  since 
1873,  and  also  of  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange 
since  1881.  He  was  one  of  the  principal  projectors 
and  charter  members  of  the  Chicago  Stock  Ex- 
change,  which  has  now  become  one  of  the  very 
important  institutions  of  the  city,  and  is  destined 
to  exercise  great  influence  in  the  monetary  affairs 
and  in  the  transactions  in  market  securities  of  this 
country.  Mr.  Brewster  has  been  from  the  begin- 
ning a  member  of  the  governing  committee,  and 
lias  exercised  an  important  influence  in  shaping 
the  policy  of  the  Exchange,  and  is  at  this  time  its 
president.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  many  of 
the  large  enterprises,  banks  and  corporations 
in  and  about .  Chicago,  but  has  uniformly 
declined  a  place  in  the  directory  of  any, 
except  the  Chicago  Edison  Company.  The  stock 
of  this  company  is  owned  by  a  few  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  the  city,  and  Mr.  Brewster 
was  elected  one  of  its  directors.  This  company 
controls  all  of  the  Edison  electric  patents,  for 
Cook  county,  and  is  fast  becoming  an  enterprise 
of  great  magnitude.  The  present  offices  of  Ed- 
ward L.  Brewster  &  Co.,  at  the  corner  of  Dear- 
born and  Monroe  streets,  which  they  occupied 
for  the  first  time,  on  November  12.  1889,  are,  per- 
haps, the  most  complete  in  arrangements,  and 
the  most  elegant  in  appointments  of  any  in  the 
city;  and  there,  during  the  busy  hours  of  the  day, 
many  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  of 
Chicago's  citizens  are  frequently  in  consultation 
with  Mr.  Brewster  concerning  their  various  in- 
terests entrusted  to  his  management,  in  the  mon- 
etary markets  of  the  world.  His  reputation  for 
honorable  dealing  and  business  sagacity,  has 
brought  to  him  the  patronage  and  friendship  of 
many  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  men 
in  Chicago.  Outside  of  his  business  cares  he  en- 
joys the  pleasure  of  social  contact,  and  his  name 
is  found  in  the  membership  of  the  Chicago  Club, 
Calumet  Club,  Union  Club,  and  Washington  Park 
Club,  and  the  Chicago  Athletic  Association.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Union  League  Club  and 
the  New  York  Club,  of  New  York  City.  Mr. 
Brewster  has.  from  time  to  time,  indulged  in 
travel  and  during  1890,  in  company  with  his  wife, 
spent  six  months  in  Europe,  visiting  the  leading 
centres  of    interest  on   the   continent.       In   the 


sphere  of  business  activity  such  as  Mr.  Brewster 
has  spent  the  major  part  of  his  life,  it  is  difficult 
to  characterize  those  elements  in  a  man's  make- 
up which  are  most  essential  in  attaining  pre-emi- 
nence. That  the  successful  broker  must  possess 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  existing  and  prospective 
values  of  speculative  properties,  that  he  must  pos- 
sess rare  judgment  in  making  or  advising  invest- 
ments, and  many  times  lie  obliged  to  act  on  matters 
involving  fortunes  on  a  moment's  notice;  that  he 
musi  I '■'  a  man  of  business,  courage,  and  most  of 
all  a  man  of  unquestioned  probity,  is  necessarily 
true.  That  these  qualities  predominate  in  Mr. 
Brewster,  his  splendid  success  is  ample  testimony. 
His  temperament  is  of  that  restless,  sanguine 
type  which  is  never  satisfied  with  "  well  done,  " 
but  confident  of  yet  greater  effort  and  greater  re- 
sults. This  spirit  was  very  noticeable  in  his 
younger  days  during  the  several  changes  of  occu- 
pations, always  made  in  the  hope  of  improved  op- 
portunities and  the  ultimate  attainment  of  better 
things.  When  finally  he  had  determined  upon  the 
vocation  for  which  he  believed  himself  adapted, 
and  which,  at  least,  was  consonant  with  his  tastes, 
he  surrendered  to  it  his  best  energies  and  thought; 
and  from  that  time  up  to  the  present  his  career 
has  been  an  upward  and  prosperous  one.  The 
volume  of  transactions  carried  on  by  the  house  of 
Edward  L.  Brewster  &  Co.  has  continued  to  in- 
crease  from  year  to  year,  until  to-day  it  ranks 
among  the  foremost  of  similar  concerns  in  the 
West.  On  November  12,  1866,  Mr.  Brewster  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  Hiram  Niles,  of  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  who  has  borne  him  six  children, 
three  of  whom,  two  boys  and  a  girl,  are  now 
living. 


WILLIAM  K.   ACKERMAN. 

WILLIAM  K.  ACKERMAN  was  born  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  January  29,  1832.  He  comes 
from  the  old  Knickerbocker  stock,  his  family  for 
three  generations  back  having  been  born  in  that 
city.  His  grandfather,  Abram  D.  Aekerman, 
resided  there  during  the  Revolutionary  period, 
and  participated  in  the  incidents  of  that  struggle, 
having  served  as  captain  of  a  company  in  a  New 
Jersey  regiment  known  as  the  "Jersey  Blues," 
and  was  with  General  (Mad)  Anthony  Wayne  at 
the  storming  of  Stony  Point.  His  father,  Law- 
n-nee Aekerman,  was  born  in  the  city  "I  New 
York.  April  20,  1786,  and  resided  there  for  eighty- 


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277 


five  successive  years;  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  war 
of  1812,  serving  as  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Regi- 
ment ot  New  York  State  Artillery;  at  one  time  he 
had  command  of  the  troops  stationed  on  Bedloe's 
Island.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  a 
high  school  education  in  the  city  of  New  5Tork, 
and  after  engaging  in  mercantile  business  for  a 
tew  years,  entered  the  service  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company  on  the  28th  of  May, 
1852,  as  a  clerk  in  the  financial  department  in 
New  York;  this  was  shortly  after  the  charter  of 
this  pioneer  land  granl  road  was  obtained  from 
the  Legislature  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  Continu- 
ing in  the  service  of  the  company  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Chicago,  September  13,  I860,  and  after 
tilling  the  various  positions  of  secretary,  auditor 
and  treasurer,  on  July  17.  1ST*!,  he  was  elected 
vice-president,  and  as  the  company  was  without  a 
president  at  that  time.  Mr.  Ackerman  was  practi- 
cally its  chief  executive.  On  October  17,  1S77.  in 
response  to  the  expressed  wishes  of  tic  foreign 
shareholders,  who  at  that  time  held  a  majority  of 
the  shares  of  the  stock  of  the  company,  he  was 
made  president,  which  position  he  held  until 
August  15,  1883,  when  he  voluntarily  resigned  in 
favor  of  Mr.  James  C.  Clarke  the  vice-president, 
who  had  been  a  faithful  co-worker  with  him  in 
the  Illinois  Central  service  for  many  years.  Upon 
his  resignation  as  president,  the  board  of  directors 
again  elected  him  vice-president;  he  continued  in 
this  position  until  January  1,  1884,  when  he  with 
drew  entirely  from  the  service  of  the  company. 
During  his  active  management  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  its  affairs  were  con 
ducted  to  t  lie  great  satisfaction  of  the  shareholders. 
and  the  credit  of  the  company  at  home  and  abn  iad 
was  well  maintained.  -Mr.  Ackerman  is  the 
author  of  two  interesting  works  on  the  subject  of 
railways.  -Early  Railroads  of  Illinois"  and  "His 
torical  Sketch  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad." 
He  has  also  contributed  numerous  articles  upon 
the  railway  question  to  the  periodicals  and  news- 
papers of  the  day.  The  thriving  town  of  "Acker- 
man" in  Choctaw  county.  Mississippi  was  named 
for  him.  Mr.  Ackerman  is  now  connected  with 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  in  the  capacity 
of  comptroller,  a  position  for  which  on  account  of 
his  long  experience  in  railway  management,  and 
his  thorough  knowledge  of  accounts,  he  is 
eminently  fitted.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Chicago  Historical  Society.  Mr.  Ackerman  was 
married  Nov.  30,  1858,  to  Miss  Alida  Reynolds 
Lewis,  at  Cortland,  N.  Y.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Acker- 
man are  esteemed  members  of  Chicago  society. 


JAY  C.   MORSE. 

JAY  COLLINS  MORSE,  president  of  the 
Illinois  Steel  Company,  was  born  in  Painesville. 
Ohio,  March  24,  1838.  His  father  was  Collins 
Morse,  a  native  of  Brattleboro,  Vermont,  and  his 
mother  was  Fannie  Curtis,  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts. Some  time  in  the  early  30's  they  moved  to 
Ohio  and  settled  in  Lake  county  near  Painesville. 
When  but  an  infant  of  six  months,  death  deprived 
Mr.  Morse  of  a  mother's  care.  His  father  was  en- 
gaged in  general  business,  real  estate  and  grain 
being  the  prominent  features.  He  died  in  1886. 
After  the  usual  attendance  at  "common  schools T- 
during  early  boyhood,  his  restless  spirit  and  the 
desire  to  begin  the  actual  battle  of  life,  induced 
young  Morse  to  leave  home  and  school,  and  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  obtained  a  clerkship  in  the  freight 
department  of  the  L.  S.  A  M.  S.  Ry.,at  Cleveland. 
Ohio,  under  Mr.  Addison  Hills,  then  one  of  the 
most  competent  ami  thorough  general  freight 
agents  in  the  country,  a  strict  disciplinarian  and 
a  stern  and  just  officer.  Young  Morse  remained  in 
this  employ  seven  years,  during  which  he  earned 
promotion  through  the  several  grades  to  the  chief 
clerkship  of  the  department.  In  1864  he  married 
Miss  Mary  A.  Outhwaite,  daughter  of  John  Outh- 
waite,  of  Cleveland,  who  was  at  that  time  one  of 
the  few  investors  in  the  Lake  Superior  iron  ore 
district  and  president  of  the  Cleveland  Iron  Min- 
ing Company,  whose  mineral  lands  were  located 
in  Marquette  county.  Michigan.  Mr.  Outhwaite 
and  his  associates,  among  whom  were  Samuel  L. 
Mather,  George  Worthington,  Selah  Chamberlain, 
and  General  James  Barnett,  of  Cleveland,  pre- 
vailed upon  Mr. Morse  to  relinquish  his  promising 
career  in  railroading  to  take  the  management  of 
the  Cleveland  Iron  Mining  Company's  mines  at 
Marquette,and  in  1865,  with  his  young  \vife,he  took 
passage  on  a  lake  steamer  for  Marquette  to  make 
a  home  and  a  name  among  the  pioneers  of  that 
wonderful  mining  country.  Here  he  found  a  field 
peculiarly  adapted  to  his  disposition  and  am- 
bition. All  was  new  and  crude,  the  only  railroad 
in  the  upper  peninsula  of  Michigan  was  the  four- 
teen miles  of  track  that  connected  the  mines  with 
the  lake  harbor  at  Marquette.  Very  little  machin- 
ery, and  that  of  the  crudest  kind,  was  in  use  in  the 
great  mine.  The  ore  was  being  mined  by  hand 
labor,  hoisted  with  horse  power  and  loaded  on  to 
vessels  at  Marquette  with  hand  barrows.  Mr.  Mi  >rse 
soon  equipped  the  mine  with  machinery,  built  one 
of  the  first  great  ore  docks  at  Marquette  and  in 
the  following  sixteen  years  of    his    intimate    and 


-7s 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


prominenl  connection  with  the  mining  interests  of 
Lake  Superior,  during  all  of  which  time  he  made 
his  home  in  Marquette  and  continued  in  the  man- 
agemenl  of  the  Cleveland  company's  mines, 
Lake  Superior  had  grown  to  be  the  greatest  iron 
ore  producing  district  in  the  United  States.  In 
1881,  having  earned  a  much  needed  rest,  Mr.  Morse 
went  to  Europe  on  a  tour  of  travel  and  remained 
abroad  until  the  summer  of  1882,  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  city  of  Cleveland  to  live,  still  retain- 
ing the  management  of  the  Cleveland  Iron  Min- 
ing Company's  affairs,  the  general  office  of  which 
company  was  located  in  that  city.  At  this  time 
he,  with  Colonel  James  Pickands  and  Samuel 
Mather,  both  of  whom  had  long  been  his  associ- 
ates in  Lake  Superior  interests,  organized  the 
firm  of  Pickands,  Mather  A:  Co..  of  Cleveland,  and 
two  years  later  ties.'  parties,  with  Major  H.  S. 
Pickands  ami  W.  L.  Brown,  organized  the  firm  of 
Pickands,  Brown  &  Co.,  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Morse  is 
still  a  member  of  both  concerns.  They  are  exten- 
sively interested  in  iron  and  coal,  both  as  miners 
ami  shippers  of  iron  ore  and  coal,  and  manufac- 
turers of  pig  iron.  Early  in  the  year  1885,  Mr.  H. 
II.  Porter,  who  hail  undertaken  the  re-organization 
of  the  Union  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  of  Chicago, 
prevailed  upon  Mr.  Morse  to  resign  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Cleveland  company's  mines  that  he 
had  so  long  and  ably  conducted,  to  enter  the 
broader  Held  of  manufacturing  steel  products, 
and  he  became  president  of  the  new  Union  Steel 
Company  with  headquarters  at  Chieago.  Under  Mr. 
Morse"s  active  direction  this  company  rebuilt  the 
steel  works  at  Bridgeport,  Chicago,  and  at  once 
took  a  prominent  position  in  the  steel  rail  trade. 
In  1889  Mr.  Morse,  as  president  of  this  company  was 
largely  instrumental  in  effecting  the  consolida- 
tion "f  the  three  great  steel  companies  of  the 
West,  viz:  The  Union  Steel  Company,  the  North 
Chicago  Rolling  Mills  Company,  and  the  Joliet 
Sol  ( lompany,  into  the  Illinois  Steel  Company, 
of  which  company  Mr.  Morse  is  now  president. 
This  is  one  of  the  largest  and  strongest  concerns 
of  ils  kind  in  the  world.  It  has  an  authorized 
capital  of  twenty  live  million  dollars  and  employs 
about  eleven  thousand  men.  Its  plants  are  at 
South  Chicago.  North  Chicago,  Bridgeport,  Chi- 
eago, and  at  Joliet  and  Milwaukee.  After  so 
many  years  of  signal  success  in  iron  mining  Mr. 
Morse  and  his  associates  decided  to  avail  theui- 
selves  of  his  skill  and  experience  in  that   business 

once  -e.  and  he  selected  the  comparatively  new 

but  exceedingly  promising  district  of  northern 
Minnesota,  and  in  lss?  Air.  Morse  and-Mr.  H.   H. 


Porter  and  his  associates  Organized  I  lie   syndicate 

that  purchased  the  Minnesota  lr.ni  Company's 
mines  at  Tower  and  the  Duluth  and  Iron  Range 
Railroad.  Mr.  Morse  was  at  once  made  president  of 
the  company,  and  under  the  application  of  his 
sure  and  rapid  methods  the  management  and  pol- 
icy of  the  company  underwent  a  complete  re-or 
ganization,  and  calling  to  his  aid  his  old  mining 
captains  from  Lake  Superior,  he  more  than 
doubled  the  output  of  ore  ami  brought  tin1  min- 
ing company  to  a  dividend-paying  basis,  and  its 
stock  is  justly,  to-day,  one  of  the  marked  favorites 
■  hi  lln'  markets.  When  Mr.  Morse  accepted  the 
presidency  of  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  he  re- 
signed the  presidency  of  the  Minn.  Iron  Company, 
I  nd  he  is  still  a  director  and  member  of  I  he  executive 
board,  and  a  large  stockholder  in  that  company. 
Mr.  Morse's  wife  died  at  Cleveland.  February  28, 
18S6.  An  only  child,  a  daughter  with  whom  Mr. 
Morse  now  makes  his  home,  is  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Arthur  C.  Ely,  a  young  business  man  of  Chicago. 
Mr.  Morse  is  something  of  a  club  man,  being  a 
member  of  the  Chieago,  Union  and  tin'  Washing- 
ton Park  Clubs  in  Chicago,  and  the  Union  Club, 
of  Cleveland,  and  the  Union  League  Club  of  New 
York  City. 


WILLIAM   P.  NIXON. 

WILLIAM  PENN  NIXON,  an  American 
journalist,  known  in  both  hemispheres  as  the  editor 
ami  controlling  genius  of  the  Inter  Ocean  of 
Chicago,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  widely-circu- 
lated journals  of  the  United  States,  and  a  lead 
ing  Republican  newspaper  of  the  West,  is  of 
Virginia  descent,  both  his  father  and  mother  being 
natives  of  that  state.  His  ancestors  were  English 
Quakers,  his  grandfather,  Barnaby  Nixon,  being 
an  esteemed  minister  of  that  denomination.  He 
was  not  only  an  earnest  preacher,  but  a  determined, 
conscientious  man.  He  early  became  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  it  was  wrong  to  hold  a  human 
being  in  slavery,  and  before  his  denomination  had 
borne  its  testimony  against  slavery,  as  it  did  after- 
wards, he  set  his  slaves  free,  but  continued  to  have 
a  watchful  care  over  them  as  long  as  he  lived. 
Owing  to  the  severe  laws  of  the  state  these  freed- 
incn  continued  to  be  a  great  care  to  his  son  long 
long  after  his  death.  His  plantation  was  beauti- 
fully situated  on  the  James  river  not  far  from 
Petersburg,  which  was  his  market  town.    On  this 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


2/9 


plantation  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  last  century, 
his  only  child.  Samuel  Nixon,  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this   sketch,   was   born,   and   there  he 

lived  until  well  advanced  in   bachelors 1.   Mien 

he  married  Mrs.  Rhoda  Butler,  a  young  widow 
with  three  children,  an  1  removed  to  North  I'am- 
limi.  near  Greensborough,  where  he  resided  many 
years.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Hubbard,  a 
family  extensively  related  through  the  southern 
Atlantic  States,  many  members  of  which  were 
prominent  in  public  and  social  life.  William  Penn 
Nixon,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  youngest 
of  his  mother's  seven  children.  All  his  brothers 
and  sisters  were  born  south,  but  ho  was  born  in  a 
small  village  in  Wayne  county.  Indiana.  - 
family  had  moved  early  in  the  thirties.  A-  is 
evident  he  was  named  after  the  illustrious  founder 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  whose  distinguished  virtues 
and  honorable  career,  the  boy's  parents,  who.  like 
their  ancestors  for  generations,  were  faithful 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  cherished  a 
praiseworthy  regard.  Brought  up  under  the 
uign  home  influences,  moral,  mental  and 
religious,  the  young  lad  early  manifested  decided 
intellectual  tastes.  His  parents  carefully  fostered 
his  natural  bias  in  this  direction  and  decided  to 
give  him  a  classical  education.  In  1S4!V  after 
having  been  duly  prepare  1  ;it  a  hoarding  school 
located  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  and  under  the 
management  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  he  entered 
ow  known  as  Belmont  i  near 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1853. 
For  two  years  he  taught  school  in  Cincinnati, 
but  having  decided  upon  the  profession  of  law,  he 
went  to  Philadelphia  in  1855,  where  he  took  a 
four  years  course  in  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1859,  having 
taken  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  at  this  in- 
stitution, he  returned  to  Cincinnati,  was  promptly 
admitted  to  the  Ohio  bar  and  at  one.  engaged  in 
practice,  in  which  he  continued  until  1868.  He 
met  with  flattering  success  at  the  bar,  and  being 
an  outspoken  Republican,  active  in  partisan  work 
and  full  of  vigor  and  determination  in  the  support 
of  the  principles  and  policy  of  his  party,  he  was 
nominated  by  it  for  the  Ohio  Legislature  and  was 
eleeted.  by  a  heavy  vote,  for  three  successive 
terms,  viz.,  those  of  1865,  1866  and  1867.  In  1868, 
in  connection  with  his  elder  brother,  Dr.  0.  W. 
Nixon,  and  other  friends,  he  founded  the  Cincin- 
nati Chronicle,  and  a  year  or  two  later  purchased 
the  Cincinnati  Times  which  they  then  consolida- 
ted with  the  Chronicle,  the  two  interests  being 
combined  as  a  Republican  organ.    Early   in  1S72 


he  sold  his  interest  in  this  journal,  and  in  May  of 
the  same  year,  accepted  the  position  of  business 
manager  of  the  Inter  Ocean  of  Chicago,  a  news- 
paper then  in  the  early  stages  of  its  career  and 
making  heroic  struggles  for  a  foothold.  In  1875. 
in  connection  with  his  brother,  Dr.  Nixon,  he  De- 
controlling interest  in  this 
journal  and  took  the  sole  management  of  its 
affairs,  which  he  has  directed  with  undisputed 
authority  from  that  day  to  the  present.  "There 
is."  says  a  writer  conversant  with  the  facts,  "per 
haps  no  paper  in  the  city  of  Chicago  that  has 
passed  through  more  vicissitudes  or  had  a  fiercer 
struggle  for  existence,  than  the  Inter  Ocean. 
For  years  it  was  an  expensive  luxury  to  own.  and 
required  the  closest  financiering  to  keep  the 
breath  of  life  in  it:  but  success  finally  came,  as 
the  reward  of  brains,  energy  and  determination, 
and  the  Inter  Ocean  is  not  only  a  very  valuable 
property,  but  one  of  the  most  in- 
fluential journals  of  the  country.  Mr.  Nixon  was 
well  qualified  for  the  place  when  he  assumed  its 
management,  and  he  has  grown  with  the  extraor- 
dinary demands  made  upon  him  until  he  must  be 
of  the  most  sagacious  newspaper 
men  in  the  city.  He  has  an  unobtrusive  watch 
fulness,  a  quiet  persistence  and  an  equable  temper 
that  tit  him  admirably  for  the  place  he  occupies. 
The  features  of  his  policy  are  concentration  on 
points  of  special  interest,  a  close  attention  to  all 
the  details  of  news  gathering  and  a  readiness  to 
respond  to  what  he  deems  the  most  wi 
public  sentiment.  He  gives  personal  attention  to 
the  business  affairs  of  the  company,  and  extends 
a  general  supen  11  departments  of  the 

paper."  He  works  early  and  late,  being,  as  a  rule, 
the  first  at  the  office  in  the  morning  and  among 
the  last  to  leave  at  night.  He  takes  a  personal 
interest  in  every  man  on  the  staff,  knows  just  what 
work  he  does  and  how  he  does  it.  anil  is  as  quick 
to  praise  as  he  is  to  reprove.  ••Through  all  these 
years  of  toil  : 1 1 ; •  I  trial"  says  the  writer  pri 
quoted,  -he  has  held  every  line,  manipulated 
every  key.  guided  every  movement,  and  dictated 
every  thought  expressed  by  the  paper.  Its  wise 
and  judicial  political  administration  is  to-day 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  for  years  it  has  been 
regard)  d  by  a  very  large  following  as  the  gnat 
Republican  monitor  of  the  West  and  has  held  a 
position  of  power  in  Washington  second  to  no 
paper  in  the  country."  To  his  practical  training 
at  the  bar  before  entering  the  field  of  journalism 
he  doubtless  owes  much  of  the  success  which  has 
crowned  his  later  labors,  and  the  observant  reader 


28o 


BlOGBAl'HY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


may  easily  detect  in  his  best  editorial  work 
frequent  evidences  of  judicial  thoroughness  and 
evenness  of  temper.  These  traits  elevate  and 
dignify  his  published  utterances  which  not  unfre- 
quentlj  ring  in  clarion  tones  from  one  end  of  the 
continent  to  the  other.  His  aim  appears  to  have 
been  to  secure  a  national  importance  for  his  news- 
paper while  making  it  a  great  and  reliable  local 
leader.  In  this  he  has  been  brilliantly  successful. 
The  rare  courage  required  to  breast  powerful 
opposition,  to  overcome  obstacles  incessantly 
rising,  and  above  all  to  continue  unfalteringly 
a  long  fight  against  adversity  he  has  possessed  in 
a  truly  remarkable  degree.  His  success  has  been  a 
real  test  of  merit,  and  it  must  be  said  to  his  credit 
that  while  lie  appreciates  it.  he  wears  his  laurels 
modestly.  The  new  building  of  the  Inter  Ocean, 
completed  in  1890,  stands  at  the  corner  of  Madison 
and  Dearborn  streets,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  news- 
paper buildings  in  the  West.  Absorbed  in  theduties 
of  journalism  and  management,  Mr.  Nixon  does  not 
rind  a  great  deal  of  time  to  devote  even  to  his 
favorite  reading  and  studies.  Nevertheless  he 
does  not  wholly  neglect  either,  having  that  quality 
of  mind  which  finds  rest  in  change  rather  than 
cessation  of  employment.  In  his  college  and 
school  days  he  delighted  in  the  study  of  mathe- 
matics and  excelled  in  all  branches  that  come 
under  that  head.  But  in  literature  he  has  taken 
his  greatest  pleasure  since  leaving  college,  and  he 
can  come  nearer  forgetting  all  cares  in  a  volume 
of  Dickens  than  in  any  other  way.  He  is  frank  to 
say  that  he  thinks  David  Copperfield  the  greatest 
of  novels.  On  the  downward  side  of  fifty  years  of 
age  Mr.  Nixon  looks  younger,  although  his  hair, 
quite  dark  in  youth,  is  " now  sprinkled  with  the 
white  lines  of  care  and  industry  that  mark  the 
labor  and  study  that  lift  the  boy  from  obscurity 
to  a  place  in  the  affairs  of  men."  In  stature  he  is 
above  the  common  medium  of  height,  and  perhaps 
a  trifle  below  the  normal  weight.  He  has  deep- 
set  blue  eyes,  keen  but  kindly,  and  a  head  which 
is  admirably  proportioned  to  his  slender  frame 
and  nervous  temperament.  To  say  that  he  is  a 
busy  man  but  half -expresses  the  fact.  Few  men 
are  more  busy.  But  with  such  lofty  aims  labor  is 
a  pleasure  to  him,  and  in  the  confident,  belief  that 
he  is  doing  something  lor  the  advancement  of  his 
fellow-men  and  for  the  betterment  of  his  country, 
;ii  the  same  time  commanding  the  attention  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  expectant  readers  as 
they  are  told  tile  daily  story  of  the  world,  he  finds 
a  satisfaction  which  renders  other  pleasures  lame 
in    comparison.     His    theory   is    that   the   life  is 


scarcely  worth  living  that  does  not  make  other 
lives  happier  and  leave  the  world  better  for  its 
having  been.  He  is  one  of  the  best  known  as  he 
is  one  of  the  most  respected  men  in  Chicago,  and 
is  keenly  alive  to  every  interest  of  that  great  city. 
.Mr.  Nixon  was  married,  in  Cincinnati,  in  1861,  to 
.Miss  Mary  Stites,  daughter  of  Hezekiah  Stites,of 
that  city.  This  lady  died  in  1862,  leaving  no  issue. 
In  18G9,  Mr.  Nixon  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth 
Duffield,  daughter  of  Charles  Duffield,  a  merchant 
of  Chicago.  By  this  marriage  there  are  three 
children.  Mary,  Bertha  and  William  l'enn.  Jr. 


W.  C.  D.  GKANNIS. 

WILLIAM  CHARLES  DUSTIN  GRANNIS, 

a  prominent  citizen  and  financier  of  Chicago,  and 
president  of  the  Atlas  National  Bank  in  that  city, 
was  born  in  the  village  of  Hatley,  Stanstead  town- 
ship, Province  of  Quebec,  on  March  30,  1826.  He 
is  of  New  England  ancestry  and  a  grandson, 
on  the  maternal  side,  of  Moody  Dustin.  who 
was  an  officer  in  the  American  army  during  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  whose  commission,  signed 
by  John  Hancock,  is  a  prized  heir-loom  in  the 
family.  The  father  of  Mr.  Grannis  was  William 
Grannis,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  who  was  a 
merchant  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and 
was  in  business  at  Hatley  at  the  time  of  his  son"s 
birth,  although  several  years  afterward  he  gave 
up  mercantile  pursuits,  and  removing  to  the  town 
of  Stanstead,  engaged  in  hotel-keeping.  He  died 
in  Stanstead  in  is:;;;.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Nancy  M.  Dustin.  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Ensign  Dustin,  previously  mentioned.  She 
also  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  attended  public  anil  private 
schools  at  Stanstead  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of 
age,  and  thoroughly  mastered  the  usual  branches 
of  an  English  education.  He  then  turned  his  at- 
tention to  business,  and  securing  a  situation  in  a 
store  at  Waterloo,  Canada,  spent  a  year  in  gain- 
ing an  acquaintance  with  commercial  methods. 
An  opportunity  occurring  to  learn  the  drug  busi- 
ness at  Woodstock,  Vermont,  hi'  removed  to  that 
place  and  devoted  three  years  to  mastering  the 
science  of  pharmacy.  When  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age  he  removed  to  Montpelier,  Vermont, 
and  taking  a  partner  opened  a  drugstore  there 
which  did  a  thriving  business  for  several  years. 
In  the  fall  of  1852,  Mr.  Grannis  disposed  of  his  in- 


^^r. 


■    . 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


28l 


terest  in  this  establishment  and  went  to  Chicago. 
Receiving  a  good  offer  from  the  well-known  whole- 
sale grocery  house  of  M.  D.  Oilman  &  Co.  in  that 
city,  he  accepted  a  clerkship  with  this  firm,  and 
on  January  1.  1856,  was  admitted  to  partnership, 
the  firm  then  taking  the  style  of  Gilman,  Grannis 
&  Farwell.     In  1867  Mr.  Gilman  retired  from  the 
firm,  and  the  remaining  partners  conducted    the 
business  under  the  style  of   Grannie  &   Farwell. 
The  great  tire  of  1871  swept  away  the  store   and 
stock  of  the  firm;  but  even  before  the  excitement 
occasioned  by  that  terrible  calamity  had  begun  to 
subside.  Mr.  Grannisand  his  partner  were  at  work 
re  establishing  their  business.     At  first  they  con- 
ducted their  operations  from  temporary  headquar- 
ters in  a  stable  at  the  corner  of  Michigan  avenue  and 
Twenty-First  street,  which  they  occupied  about  a 
month,  when  more  suitable  accommodations  were 
secured  on  Michigan    avenue,   between   Madison 
and  Monroe  streets.     A    year   later   the    firm    re 
moved  from  this  place  to  a  larger  store  on  Frank- 
lin   street,    between     Madison    and    Washington 
streets;  and  in  1871.  returned  to  its  original  loca- 
tion, now  occupied  by  Sprague  &  Warner,  occupy 
ing  the  new  and  tire  proof  structure   erected    on 
the  site  of  that  destroyed  in  1871.     In  1879   Mr. 
Grannis  and  his  partner  sold  out  and  both  retired 
from  mercantile  pursuits.     For  several  years  pre- 
vious to  taking  this  step  Mr  Grannis  had  been  a 
director    in   the    Union    National   Bank    of  Chi- 
cago, and  in   the  discharge  of  his  duties  as   such, 
had  exhibited  so  marked  a  capacity  for  the  manage- 
ment of   financial  affairs,  that  when  he  had   re- 
leased himself  from  other  business  cares  his  fellow- 
directors   insisted    on    his    accepting    the     vice 
presidency  of  that  institution— then,  as  now.  one 
of  the  first  in  Chicago.     Since  that  date  Mr.  ( iran 
nis  has  given  his  principal  attention  to   banking. 
In   1882   he  was  chosen    president  of  the   Union 
National  Bank,  and  as  its  chief  officer  managed  its 
affairs  with  success  until  the  close  of  18s;,.  when 
he  resigned   the   position  in    order  to  accept  the 
presidency  of  the  Atlas  National  Bank.     This  in- 
stitution,  which   Mr.   Grannis,   together    with   a 
number  of  leading  merchants  of  Chicago,  had  or- 
ganized in  1885,   with  a   capital  of   S700,000,  was 
duly  chartered  by  the  Unite.!  States  Government, 
and  began  its  operations  early  in  1886.     The  abil- 
ity and  character  of  its  presiding  officer  and  direc- 
tors placed  it  at  once  upon  a  firm  footing  with  the 

nmereial  world;  and  its  business,  from  the  day 

it  opened  to  the  present  time,  has  been  a  large 
and  growing  one.  A  recent  report  of  its  condition 
shows  that  its  deposits  range  in  the  neighborhood 


of  two  and  a  half  millions.     Mr.  Grannis  is  still  at 
the   head   of   this  bank,  and  is  ably  assisted    in 
managing   its  affairs  by  the  Hon.  C.  B.  Farwell. 
late  United  States  Senator,  who  holds  the  office 
of  vice  president.     Mr.  Grannis  has  been  for  sev- 
eral years  a  director  in  the  Chicago  Dime  Savings 
Bank.     He  is  also  a  director  of  the  great  packing 
corporation   doing    business   under   the   style   of 
Libby,  McNeil  &  Co.;  and  holds  the  office  of  vice- 
president  of  the  Union  Rendering  Company,   or- 
ganized a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.     Among  other 
corporate    positions  held  by  him  are  the  treasurer- 
ships  of  the  Oakwoods  Cemetery  Association  and 
of  the  Union  Building  Association.     As  a  young 
man  Mr.  Grannis  unhesitatingly  cast  his  lot  with 
the  people  of  Chicago,  and  his  best  energies  have 
been    given  to   the  development  and    elevation  of 
that  city.     His  businesss  career  has  been  remark- 
able  for  persevering  energy  and  an  unswerving 
fidelity  to  duty  in  every  station  he  has  tilled:  and 
his  success  has  been  the  gradual  outcome  of  intel- 
ligent, persistent  and  honorable  effort.     An  active 
experience  of  nearly  forty  years  as  a  successful 
merchant  and  banker  in  Chicago,  has  enabled  him 
to   acquire  a  practical  grasp  of  its  business  and 
financial  affairs,  which  is  probably  not  exceeded  by 
that  of  any  of  his  cotemporaries.     Conservative  in 
judgment,  and  possessed  of  excellent   organizing 
abilities,    his    views   and    services   are    frequently 
sought       by     persons     interested    in     important 
investments,   and  which  have  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to   the  success  of    many  enterprises. 
His  association  with  any  undertaking  is  in   itself 
sufficient  to  ins], ire  public  confidence  in  its  suc- 
cess.    Although  so  highly  successful   in  life  and 
so  implicitly  relied  upon,  Mr.  Grannis  is  a  man  of 
great  modesty  of  character.     His  habits  and  tastes 
are  likewise  modest  and  simple.     Notwithstanding 
the  demand  made  upon  him  by  his  numerous  cor- 
porate duties,  he  is  always  ready  to  give  his   aid 
and   assistance  to  any  movement  for  the   public 
good,  and  also  finds  time  to  attend  to  many  mat 
ters  of  a  social  and  philanthropic  character.     He 
is  a  member  of  the  Calumet.  Commercial.  Chicago 
and  Iroquois  Clubs,  and  is  widely  esteemed  for  his 
many  companionable  and  agreeable  personal  qual- 
ities.    Mr.  Grannis  was  married  in  1850  to    Miss 
Lucia  Louisa   Baldwin,  of   Montpelier,   Vermont, 
who  died  in  18(U.  without  issue.     His  present  wife, 
formerly     Miss     Clara     J.     Brown,     has     borne 
him  four  children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living. 
Mrs.  Grannis  is  widely  known  and  highly  esteemed 
for  her  many  excellent  qualities,  and  is  active  and 
helpful  in  many  good  works. 


iilOOKAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


JOEL  C.   WALTER. 

One  of  the  oldest  merchants  of  Chicago,  died 

at  his  late  residence  on  Michigan  avenue,  on 
March  11,  1891,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 
All  but  twenty  seven  years  of  this  long  and  useful 
life  had  been  spent  in  Chicago,  including  a  period 
of  nver  a  half  a  century,  during  which  the  city 
grew  up  from  a  rude  frontier  settlement  of  three 
or  four  thousand  inhabitants  to  its  present  pop- 
ulation of  more  than  a  million  people.  It  may  be 
said  of  Mr.  Walter  as  of  Caesar;  "  All  this  he  saw 
and  part  of  it  he  was,"  for,  certainly  no  citizen's 
life  was  more  fully  identified  with  the  growth  and 
progress  of  the  city,  especially  during  the  early 
stages  Of  its  development,  than  was  his.  Joel 
Clarke  Walter  was  born  in  Goshen,  Litchfield 
county,  Connecticut,  on  October  30,  1810,  and  was 
of  Revolutionary  parentage.  One  of  his  ancestors 
was  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  several  of  them  were  soldiers  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  Mr. 
Walter  left  his  farm-home  in  Connecticut  to  seek 
his  fortune  in  the  then  wild  West.  In  those  early 
days  railroads  did  not  span  the  country  as  now. 
Lake  navigation  was  the  only  means  of  commerce 
between  the  East  and  the  West,  and  the  Erie 
canal  was  the  chief  artery  connecting  the  great 
lakes  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Mr.  Walter 
made  a  halt  in  Buffalo,  then  a  thriving  town  of 
probably  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  In  June, 
1837,  he  landed  in  Chicago.  At  that  time  the  vil- 
lage boasted  a  population  of  about  three  thousand 
five  hundred.  It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  curious 
illustration  of  the  expectation  of  those  early  set- 
tlers in  regard  to  the  future  of  Chicago,  that  when 
Mr.  Walter  arrived  here  in  1837  he  expressed  the 
hope  that  the  new  town  might  some  day  equal 
Buffalo  in  population  and  business.  He  was  al- 
ways a  firm  believer  in  the  future  of  Chicago; 
but  this  shows  how  inadequate  were  his  ideas,  as 
indeed  were  those  of  all  the  early  settlers,  as  to 
the  future  greatness  of  the  city.  Little  did  he 
dream  that  he  should  live  to  see  it  the  proud 
metropolis  of  the  Northwest  and  the  second  city 
of  the.  Republic.  In  less  than  five  years  it  had 
exceeded  Buffalo's  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
from  that  time  on,  during  Mr.Walter's  life,  ils  av- 
erage rate  of  increase  was  more  than  twenty  thous- 
and a  year.  It  was  a  surprise  and  a  satisfaction, 
no  less  than  a  constant  stimulus  to  his  faith  and 
enterprise,  In  sir  a  city  of  such  magnitude  and 
promise  growing  up  around  him  and  to  feel  that 
he  was  an  active  promoter   of    many   of   its    most 


important  institutions  and  interests.  When  Mr. 
Walter  first  came  here  there  was  no  business  mi 
Wabash  avenue.  The  arteries  of  trade — such  as 
they  were — pulsed  through  South  Water  and 
other  streets  touching  upon  the  river.  He  was 
instrumental  in  building  the  first  stone  store  or 
warehouse  in  the  city.  His  enterprise  secured  to 
Chicago  its  first  grain  elevator.  Through  his 
company  the  first  shipment  of  grain  was  made  by 
lake  from  Chicago  to  Buffalo.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  and  a  member  of  the  old  volunteer  fire 
company,  and  one  of  the  charter  members  of  En- 
gine Company  No.  1.  Mr.  Walter's  first  business 
venture  was  the  establishment  of  the  mercantile 
firm  of  H.  Norton  A  Co.,  in  the  storage  and  for- 
warding business  on  South  Water  street  between 
Clark  and  Dearborn  streets,  he  being  the  com- 
pany and  resident  partner.  In  1839  he  pre-occu- 
pied  a  piece  of  government  land  at  the  corner  of 
Dock  and  River  streets,  which,  when  offered  by 
the  government  fur  sale,  his  firm  purchased.  The 
company  also  engaged  in  the  handling  of  grain, 
lumber  and  coal,  and  also  became  interested  in 
the  pork-packing  business,  then  an  infant  indus- 
try. In  1810  he  built  the  first  warehouse  for  the 
storage  of  grain  in  the  West.  The  immense  grain 
areas  of  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa  and 
Nebraska  had  not  then  been  developed,  and  the 
grain  handled  by  Mr.  Walter  (H.  Norton  &  Co.), 
was  bought  of  Indiana  farmers  and  delivered  on 
the  decks  of  vessels  in  large  dump-boxes.  It  was 
then  shoveled  into  bags  and  in  this  form  sent  to 
its  destination.  The  business  grew  so  rapidly 
that  the  warehouse  was  soon  displaced  by  an  ele- 
vator, the  first  built  in  Chicago,  the  necessary 
power  for  a  time  being  furnished  by  horses.  Then 
the  wooden  elevator  was  burned  and  a  structure 
of  stone  with  steam  power  took  its  place.  In  1812 
the  late  Edward  K.  Rogers  became,  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Horace  Norton  &  Co.,  in  the  storage 
and  forwarding  business.  Mr.  Walter  was  also  a 
partner  for  fifteen  years  with  Mr.  Rogers  in  the 
coal  and  iron  business  and  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  firm  of  Wadhams  &  Willard,  now  the 
Washington  Ice  Company.  All  of  his  business 
ventures  proved  successful.  Mr.  Walter  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1818. 
When  the  war  for  the  Union  broke  out  in  1861, 
he  was  one  of  the  first  to  sign  the  muster-roll  of 
'•The  Old  Guard,"  a  military  organization  com- 
posed of  citizens  over  forty-five  years  of  age. 
After  the  great  fire  which  devastated  the  city  in 
October,  1871,  he  was  among  the  first  to  rebuild. 
His  city  residence  previous  to  the  fire  was  on  the 


UBRMN 


^//  c>  /oa^^^- 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


283 


present  site  of  the  Clifton  House,  corner  of  Wa- 
bash avenue  and  Monroe  street,  and  the  title  to 
this  property  has  remained  in  his  estate  for  over 
fifty  years.  During  thirty  years  previous  to  his 
death  lie  owned  a  summer  residence  at  Lake 
Geneva,  and  took  great  interest  in  popularizing 
that  place  of  resort.  In  1878  he  took  a  leading 
part  in  organizing  the  Calumet  Club,  of  Chicago, 
and  it  was  at  his  suggestion  that  the  meetings  of 
the  old  settlers  were  held  in  the  club  house  of  that 
organization.  As  a  business  man  Mr.  Walter  was 
both  conservative  and  aggressive.  While  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  push  out  into  new  enterprises,  his 
rare  sagacity  enabled  him  to  anticipate  the  results 
of  his  ventures  and  he  was  not  often  disappointed. 
He  was  a  good  judge  of  the  value  of  property, 
fruitful  in  resources  and  of  rare  tenacity  in  hold- 
ing to  whatever  plans  he  had  prescribed  for  his 
conduct.  His  natural  disposition  was  to  accumu- 
late rather  than  to  spend,  and  while  he  was  lib- 
eral and  public-spirited,  he  did  not  neglect  his 
own  private  fortune.  He  left  a  valuable  estate 
to  the  survivors  of  his  family.  In  his  religious 
and  social  preferenci  s.  and  in  questions  of  politics, 
he  was  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal  views,  in  belief 
a  Unitarian  and  in  political  principles  a  Demo- 
crat of  the  Jeffersonian  school.  Probably,  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  Civil  War  he  would  never 
have  changed  his  relations  with  the  Democratic 
party  to  which  he  belonged  by  inheritance  of 
birth.  However,  he  never  sought  political  pre- 
ferment. Mr.  Walter  was  twice  married;  first,  in 
1847,  to  Miss  Ophelia,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr. 
Phillip  Maxwell,  of  Chicago.  The  fruit  of  this 
marriage  was  four  children,  two  of  whom  are 
living.  Mrs.  Julius  Steele  and  Charles  J.  Walter. 
Mrs.  Walter  (nee  Maxwell)  died  October  Is.  1863. 
In  December,  1866,  he  married  Miss  Mary  E. 
Mudge,  of  Lynn.  Massachusetts,  who  with  a  sou, 
Alfred  M.  Walter,  survives  him. 


OR]   BALCOM. 

URI  BALCOM  was  born  in  Oxford.  Chenango 
county.  New  York,  on  the  17th  of  May,  1815.  He 
is  descended  from  the  English  family  of  Balcombe, 
in  the  county  of  Kent.  The  first  of  the  name  who 
came  to  America  in  1661  was  Henry  Balcom,  who 
settled  at  Charlestown.  Massachusetts.  Col.  Bal- 
com is  in  the  seventh  generation  descended  from 
this  English  'ancestor.     His  grandfather,   Henry 


Balcom,  was  born  in  Sudbury,  Massachusetts, 
August  16,  1710,  and  in  1773.  about  the  time  of  the 
Boston  tea  party,  moved  with  his  family  to  New  - 
fane,  Vermont,  being  a  pioneerto  that  wilderness. 
In  August,  1777.  he  responded  to  thecal!  of  ( leneral 
John  Starke,  and  ('ought  under  the  command  of 
that  redoubtable  soldier  at  Bennington.  He  served 
until  thecloseof  the  Revolutionary  war.  Another 
Balcom,  near  of  kin,  was  Captain  Joseph  Balcom, 
who  was  in  the  battle  of  Lexington.  Henry  Bal 
com  moved  from  Vermont  to  Oxford,  Chenango 
county.  New  York,  in  1793  and  died  there  in  1812. 
His  two  sons,  Francis  and  Samuel,  had  settled 
there  in  17*9.  married  then',  and  with  their  wives 
endured  all  the  hardships  incident  to  tie-  life  of  a 
pioneer  at  that  early  day.  Samuel  Balcom.  the 
father  of  Uri.  had  nine  children.  He  lived  for  a 
short  time  in  Green,  the  next  township,  and  for  a 
few  years  in  Steuben  county,  where  his  four  sons 
had  become  lumbermen,  but  he  returned  to  Ox- 
ford in  time  to  be  a  presidential  elector  in  the 
Harrison  campaign  and  victory  of  1840.  He  was 
a  man  above  suspicion  of  doing  wrong  to  another, 
and  was  loved  ami  honored  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  died  in  Oxford  in  1847.  Uri  Balcom  went  early 
to  Steuben  county.  New  York,  and  engaged  in  the 
lumbering  business,  owning  large  lumber  interests 
and  floating  his  lumber  in  rafts  to  Baltimore. 
Harrisburg.  and  other  points.  About  1864  he  re- 
moved to  Oconto,  Wisconsin,  and  became  one  of 
the  partners  in  the  large  lumber  firm  of  Eldreds  & 
Balcom.  This  partnership  was  dissolved  after  a  few- 
years,  and  the  firm  of  Holt,  Balcom  &  Calkins  was 
formed.  In  two  years,  the  interest  of  Calkins  was 
bought  by  Holt  and  Balcom,  and  this  firm  con- 
tinued in  business  together  over  twenty  years. 
Like  his  Revolutionary  ancestors.  Col.  Balcom  has 
always  been  imbued  with  a  spirit  of  ardent 
patriotism  and  devotion  to  his  country.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  in  1861,  he  raised  a  com- 
pany in  Wisconsin,  which  did  gallant  service  in 
the  field.  A  staunch  Union  man,  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Republican  party  since  its  organi- 
zation, and  loyally  supported  the  government  in 
all  its  reconstructive  and  economic  policy  since 
the  close  of  the  war.  In  1S6S  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  Chicago,  and  has  since  been  known  as 
one  of  the  most  influential  and  public  spirited 
citizens  of  our  western  metropolis.  The  product 
of  the  mills  at  Oconto  was  shipped  to  the  lumber 
yards  in  Chicago,  andhis  firm  have  done  for  many 
years  past  an  extensive  business  in  this  city  under 
Mr.  Balcom's  personal  supervision.  About  four 
years   ago   he   retired   from   business,  though  he 


:84 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


still  remains  a  director  of  the  Atlas  National  Bank 
ol  Chicago,  in  which  he  has  had  a  large  interest 
Bince  its  organization.  Socially  he  is  very  popular, 
ami  is  a  member  of  three  of  the  leading  clubs  of  the 
city,  the  Commercial.  Calumet  ami  Union  League, 
which  represent,  in  some  aspects,  the  business. 
social,  and  political  life  of  this  community.  Mr. 
Balcom  married  Miss  Jane  E.  Berly,  of  Steuben 
county.  New  York,  an  estimable  lady  who  has 
I'M-  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  the  highest 
social  circles  of  Chicago.  They  have  no  children. 
One  of  his  brothers.  Judge  Ransom  Balcom,  rose 
to  eminence  as  a  member  of  the  bar  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  and  was  for  many  years  judge  of  the 
Supreme    Court    of   that    state.     He  died   there  a 

few  years  age. 


GRANT  GOODRICH. 

GRANT  GOODRICH  was  born  in  Milton,  Sara- 
toga county.  New  York,  on  the  7th  of  August,  1811. 
He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Col.  Gideon  Goodrich, 
and  was  a  direct  descendant  in  the  seventh  gen- 
eration from  William  Goodrich,  who  arrived  in 
New  England  in  1630.  The  family  name  is  Saxon, 
and  can  be  traced  back  for  centuries  before  the 
Norman  conquest  of  England,  one  of  those  who 
I  wire  it  being  St.  Godric,  abbot  of  Croyland,  men- 
tioned in  the  chonicle  of  Ingulphus  and  the  his- 
tory ol'  Hector  Boece.  It  has  been  interpreted  to 
mean  "  a  good  ruler."  or  "  one  rich  in  God,"  or  "  in 
goodness."  Its  early  English  possessors,  notably 
the  good  abbot,  are  said  to  have  exemplified  the 
first  of  these  meanings,  and  the  American  branch 
of  the  family  have  steadily  striven  to  exemplify  in 
their  lives  the  second.  This  was  notably  so  with 
the  subject  of  our  sketch,  who  said,  in  a  family 
memorial  written  by  him  and  privately  printed, 
"  Whether  the  name  was  originally  intended  to 
indicated  one  rich  in  God  or  in  goodness,  a  good 
ruler,  or  a  ruler  over  a  good  district  or  domain,  is 
not  important  at  this  day;  cither  denotes  an  hon- 
orable family  origin  and  name,  which  all  who  in 
herit  should  strive  never  to  dishonorer  disparage." 
Among  the  descendants  of  William  Goodrich  were 
several  who  rendered  useful  service  to  their  conn 
try  in  time  i  if  need.  One  of  them  was  with  Starke 
in  the  battle  of  Bennington;  another  supplied  bul- 
lets,  cast  from  the  lead  of  his  own  dwelling,  to  the 
continental  troops  in  Boston;  another  was  a  metn- 
ber  of  the  corporation  of  Yale  college  soon  after 
its  foundation;  another  served  through  the  Revo 


lutionary  war,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender 
of  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga;  another  was  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  with 
Washington  when  he  inarched  his  victorious  army 
into  New  York.  In  the  early  years  of  the  present 
century  we  find  among  its  members  prominent  ad- 
vocates of  anti-slavery  and  temperance  principles, 
and  devoted  adherents  of  the  Methodist  Church. 
Literature,  law.  and  diplomacy,  the  pulpit,  the 
counting  house,  and  the  legislature,  all  are  repre- 
sented on  this  family  roll.  ••  Peter  Parley."  whose 
entertaining  books  for  young  people  were  the  de- 
light of  a  past  generation,  was  a  near  relative  of 
Judge  Goodrich.  His  father  was  a  man  of 
marked  ability,  force  of  character,  public  spirit. 
and  general  information,  especially  interested  in 
promoting  education,  and  active  and  liberal 
in  the  founding  of  schools.  He  was  colonel 
of  militia  during  the  war  of  1812  with  Eng- 
land, represented  Saratoga  county  in  the  Legis- 
lature, was  always  prominent  in  public  and 
political  affairs,  and  possessed  the  confidence 
ami  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  Iu  1816 
he  started  for  "the  West."  which  in  those  days 
was  located  in  the  western  part  of  New  Y'ork.  He 
purchased  large  tracts  of  land  in  Chautauqua 
county,  which  was  a  comparative  wilderness,  and 
so  entirely  destitute  of  educational  advantages 
that  he  was  obliged  to  employ  a  private  tutor  for 
his  large  family.  When  Grant  Goodrich  was  ten 
years  old  his  mother  died,  and  he  went  to  live  with 
his  sister,  a  remarkably  cultivated  and  intellectual 
woman.  Her  husband  was  a  physician,  and  so 
thoroughly  did  she  acquaint  herself  with  the 
scieii f  medicine,  that  when  patients  came  dur- 
ing his  absence  they  were  quite  as  well  satisfied  if 
she  would  prescribe  for  them.  His  associations 
in  his  sister's  family  confirmed  his  taste  for  liter- 
ary employment;  and  much  to  the  disappointment 
of  his  father,  who  wished  him  to  become  a  farmer, 
he  showed  a  decided  inclination  for  books.  He  was 
a  puny,  delicate  boy.  with  some  tendency  to  con- 
sumption, which  study  and  confinement  seemed 
to  aggravate,  and  his  relatives  decided  to  put  him 
on  one  of  the  vessels  of  his  brother,  who  was  en- 
gaged in  the  commission  business  at  Portland  Har- 
bor, on  Lake  Erie.  His  physical  system  was  greatlj 
strengthened  by  the  fresh  air  and  manual  exercise 
of  two  years'  seafaring  life,  which  probably  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  ripe  old  age  which  he  at- 
tained, and  he  also  gained  much  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  laws  controlling  navigation,  which  was 
useful  to  him  in  after  years  in  his  admiralty  prac- 
tice.    He  next  entered  Westfield  academy,  where 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS 


285 


he  completed  his  preparatory  studies,  and  then 
studied  law  with  the  firm  of  Dixon  &  Smith,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1834.  Much 
against  the  wishes  of  his  family,  he  decided  to 
come  west,  and  after  a  journey  of  fourteen  days 
in  a  stage  coach  arrived  in  Chicago  on  the  1  1th 
of  May.  ls:u.  Hire  he  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  Alexander  N.  Fullerton,  which  contin- 
ued for  about  a  year.  In  the  fall  of  1835  he 
went  into  partnership  with  Giles  Spring,  which 
continued  until  1849.  The  climate  of  the  West 
must  have  been  particularly  favorable  to  his 
constitution,  for  he  endured  labor  and  hardship 
of  which  he  would  not  have  been  thought  capable 
in  his  early  years,  while  the  excitement  and  ro- 
mance of  life  in  a  new  country  seemed  to  be  con- 
genial to  his  mental  temperament,  stimulating 
without  demoralizing  his  ardent  nature.  He  came 
to  Chicago  when  only  eight  small  frame  houses 
weir  here  to  mark  the  site  of  the  future  great 
city.  He  lived  to  see  what  few  living  men  have 
seen  or  will  ever  see — a  mere  frontier  settlement 
on  the  banks  of  a  small  stream  glow  into  a  great 
metropolis  of  over  a  million  people.  He  antici- 
pated from  the  beginning  the  city's  destined  great 
ness,  and  planned,  along  with  other  far-sighted 
pioneers,  forthat  wonderful  growth  which  Chicago 
was  to  attain.  His  name  is  recorded  as  one  of  the 
eleven  lawyers  practicing  in  Chicago  in  1834.  He 
was  present  at  the  first  formal  meeting  of  the 
Chicago  bar,  held  in  1835,  on  the  death  of  Chief 
Justice  Marshall.  One  of  the  hardships  of  those 
early  days  was  the  trip  to  Springfield,  which  the 
lawyers  were  obliged  to  make  twice  a  year  to  attend 
the  terms  of  the  United  States  court  which  were 
held  there.  The  ride  to  that  city  now  occupies 
part  of  a  day  or  night  in  a  comfortable  railroad 
car.  Then  a  stage  coach  was  the  most  luxurious 
conveyance  to  be  had.  In  June,  when  the  broad 
prairies  were  covered  with  a  carpet  of  grass,  over- 
laid with  a  variety  of  wild  flowers,  the  .journey 
was  one  of  pleasure.  But  in  December,  four  or 
five  days  of  weary  travel  through  snow  or  rain  and 
fathomless  mud,  traversing  swollen  streams  on 
treacherous  bridges,  or  folding  where  the  bridges 
had  disappeared,  was  a  terrible  ordeal  for  the 
strongest  physique.  Judge  Goodrich  interested 
himself  and  took  stock  in  the  building  of  plank 
roads,  which  was  the  first  movement  towards  im- 
proving the  facilities  for  inland  transportation. 
At  some  seasons  of  the  year  the  roads  leading  out 
from  Chicago  were  almost  impassable.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  volunteer  fire  department,  from 
its  inception,  and  the  present  generation,  who  can 


go  to  sleep  with  perfect  confidence  in  the  ability 
of  the  splendidly  equipped  and  perfectly  trained 
fire  brigade  to  protect  their  property  can  have 
little  conception  of  what  that  service  implied. 
Every  good  citizen  was  impressed  witli  the  idea 
that  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  little  hamlet 
of  Chicago  rested  upon  his  individual  shoulders, 
and  the  talismanic  cry  of  '-fire"  in  the  midnight 
hours  would  rouse  him  from  the  soundest  slum- 
bers. Dressing  hastily,  he  would  rush  to  the  river 
carrying  his  leathern  bucket,  form  in  line,  and 
pass  buckets  of  water  from  hand  to  hand,  for 
hours  if  necessary,  until  the  fire  was  subdued,  and 
then  go  home  with  blackened  visage,  but  with 
the  proud  consciousness  of  duty  fulfilled.  In  1838 
lie  was  one  of  the  ten  aldermen  who  constituted  the 
Common  Council  of  Chicago,  of  which  body  Judge 
John  D.  Caton  is  the  only  living  representative. 
His  name  is  found  in  the  list  of  the  first  city  elec- 
tion, and  probably  in  every  succeeding  one,  for 
with  him  it  was  a  matter  of  principle,  and  he  con 
sidered  it  the  duty  of  every  American  citizen  to 
take  an  interest  in  elections,  and  endeavor  to  in- 
sure the  success  of  what  each  voter  considered  for 
the  best  interests  of  the  country.  For  ten  years 
afbr  his  arrival,  he  knew  every  settler  in  the 
young  town.  He  at  once  saw  the  great  possibili- 
ties of  real  estate  speculation,  ami  engaged  in  that 
business,  in  which  he  was  rapidly  acquiring  a  for- 
tune, when  the  crash  of  1837  came,  and  not  only- 
swept  away  his  own  acquisitions,  but  involved  him 
in  debts  not  strictly  his  own,  to  the  then  appall- 
ing extent  of  over  £00,000.  The  old  canal  lands 
had  been  offered  for  sale  on  long  time  on  payment 
of  a  first  cash  installment.  A  great  number  of 
people  came  to  Judge  Goodrich  to  help  them  get 
a  homeon  these  terms,  and  he  endorsed  their  notes 
which  went  for  the  deferred  payments.  A  large 
number  of  these  notes  were  thrown  back  on  him 
for  payment.  He  refused  to  seek  shelter  under 
the  bankruptcy  law  to  relieve  him  from  this  bur- 
den; he  set  himself  resolutely  b  1  pay  <  iff  every  obli- 
gation, dollarfor  dollar,  and  it  took  him  seventeen 
years  to  do  it.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  had 
paid  off  the  whole,  principal  and  interest.  In  1854 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  Hon.W.  W.  Far- 
well,  and  in  1  sr,i ;  Sidney  Smith  was  admitted  into 
the  firm,  which  took  the  name  of  Goodrich,  Far- 
well  &  Smith.  They  transacted  a  large  business 
both  in  the  State  and  Federal  courts,  and  were 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of  Chi- 
cago. The  unremitting  labor  which  he  had  under- 
gone began  to  tell  upon  his  health,  and  by  advice 
of  his  physicians  lie  went  to  Europe  in  1858.  After 


286 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


his  return,   in   1859,  he  was  elected  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  superior  court,  which  position  he 
held  between  four  and  five  years,  when  he  returned 
to  the  bar,  resuming  Ins  place  at  the  head   of   the 
linn   which    was   finally  dissolved  in  1869,  when 
Judge  <  (oodrich  retired  from  general  practice.    In 
common  with  hundreds  of  others,  he  saw  the  ac- 
cumulations of  years  of   toil   swept  away   in   the 
great  tire  of  1871.    To  retrieve  something  of  his 
tosses,  he  again  entered  into  active   practice;  but 
after  five  years  of  intense  and   successful   profes- 
sional labor,  his  nervous  system  gave  way.  and  his 
prostration  became  so  complete  that  he  was  forced 
to  all  am  Ion  all   professional    labor.     As    a   lawyer 
and   judge,  he  well  deserved  the  eulogium  spoken 
of  him  by  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,—"  In  his  ap- 
prehension of  the  law,  as  well  as  business  capacity. 
Judge  Goodrich  was  an  honorable  man.     I  do  not 
suppose  those  who  knew  him  would  claim  that  he 
was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lawyers  at  the  bar  of 
the  city  or  state,  but  he  was  a  good,  well  read,  and 
thoroughly  conscientious  lawyer,  who   made   his 
way  in  the  world  by  just  and  honorable  means,  and 
not    by   financial  trickery.     There  are  few  men  in 
the  city  in  whom  the  public  had  more  perfect  con- 
fidence than  in  Judge  Goodrich,  and  this  confi- 
dence was  never  misplaced.     He  was  as  true  to  his 
clients  as  to  his  own  convictions  of  duty;   and  the 
same  characteristics  he  carried  to  the  bench,  when 
the  responsibilities  of  that  position  devolved  upon 
him."   But  it  is  as  a  citizen,  a  friend  of  educationin 
its   highest  sense,  and  of  the  Christian  religion  in 
which  he  was  reared,  that  Judge  Goodrich  will  be 
longest  remembered,  and  his  acts   in  furtherance 
of  which  will  be  his  most  enduring  monument.  In 
isr_!he  was  one    of    the    members   of   the   school 
board,  and   helped   to  lay   the  foundations  of  its 
splendid  school  system.     He   aided   in  organizing 
the   first   temperance  society   and  the  tirst  Bible 
society  in  Chicago,  and    was   at   his  death   a    life 
member  and  vice-president  of  the  American  Bible 
Society.    To  provide  facilities  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation    in    the    north  west,     he,   associated   with 
others,  procured  the  charter  of  the  North-Western 
University,  at  Evanston,  and  by   personal   contri- 
butions,  their   united   labors,  watchful  care  and 
judicious   management   of   its  financial  interests, 
secured  its  endowment  and  the  honorable  reputa- 
tion it  bears.     The  university  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.     As  the   legal  ad- 
viser of  Mrs.  Eliza  Garrett,  after   her   husband's 
death,  he  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  confirming 
her  decision    to   endow    the   Biblical  Institute  at 
Evanston,  which  bears  that  lady's  name.     He  was 


one  of  its  trustees  until  his  death,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Judge  0.  H.  Horton.  He  was  also 
one  of  the  founders  of  Rush  Medical  College,  and 
a  trustee  of  that  institution  from  the  date  of  its 
incorporation,  March  2,  1837.  When  the  college 
was  organized  and  opened  for  students  in  ( (ctober, 
L843,  he  was  chosen  secretary,  and  signed  everj 
diploma  which  was  conferred  by  that  college 
until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  must  have  num- 
bered thousands.  He  was  one  of  a  committee  of 
five  who  were  appointed  to  draft  the  call  for  the 
convention  to  urge  the  general  government  to  im- 
prove the  rivers  and  harbors  of  the  west,  which 
met  in  Chicago  in  1818,  and  was  attended  by 
twenty  thousand  delegates.  But  over  and  above 
all  these  enterprises,  any  one  of  which  would  be  a 
proud  memorial,  we  have  to  speak  of  his  services 
to  religion.  The  Methodist  church  owes  him  a 
large  debt  of  gratitude,  which  it  will  always  be 
paying,  gladly.  No  layman  has  been  more  closely 
identified  with  the  progress  of  Methodism  in  the 
Northwest.  He  was  converted  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church  in  Westfield,  New 
York,inl832.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  in 
Chicago,  he  became  a  member  of  old  Clark 
street  church.  He  worshiped  as  a  member  in 
all  of  the  temples  erected  successively  for  the  use 
of  that  congregation.  In  addition  to  securing  on 
a  firm  footing  the  two  great  educational  institu 
tions  of  the  Methodist  church  at  Evanston,  already 
mentioned,  it  is  to  his  advice  that  that  church 
owes  its  present  possession  of  its  most  valuable 
property  in  this  city-  the  building  at  the  corner 
of  Clark  and  Washington  streets.  When  others 
thought  it  was  too  far  from  their  homes  on  the 
outskirts,  and  insisted  on  its  being  sold,  he  strenu- 
ously counselled  that  it  be  kept  in  the  hands  of 
the  church;  and  its  present  value  is  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  the  wisdom  of  the  advice.  It  stands  now 
in  the  very  center  of  the  business  part  of  the  city, 
and  the  rents  received  from  offices  in  the  building, 
for  the  erection  of  which  he  drew  a  special  char- 
ter which  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  have 
amounted  to  over  $300,000,  most  of  which  has  been 
used  in  the  founding  of  other  churches.  Belong- 
ing to  the  same  political  party  as  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
having  been  associated  with  him  in  important  law 
suits,  he  became  one  of  the  most  ardent  support- 
ers of  Mr.  Lincoln  for  the  presidency.  When  the 
Rebellion  broke  out  he  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Union  Defence  Committee  of  Chicago,  which 
organized,  equipped  and  sent  to  the  field  several 
regiments.  After  the  Emancipation  Proclamation 
was  issued,  he  acted  as  a   member  of   the  Freed 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UMWtRSlTY  of  ILLWOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


287 


man's  Aid  Society  in  caring  for  the  liberated 
slaves,  and  there  were  few  charitable  movements 
which  did  not  receive  his  best  thought  and  active 
BUpport  until  the  time  of  his  death.  He  died  at 
his  home  in  Chicago  on  the  15th  of  March,  lss'.t. 
in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age.  The  news 
of  his  death  brought  sadness  to  a  large  host  of 
friends,  both  in  the  church  and  in  business  circles. 
A  memorial  service  was  held  in  the  First  church 
on  Clark  street,  where  venerable  pastors  joined  in 
paying  a  tribute  to  his  memory,  who  have  them- 
selves since  passed  away.  Among  those  who  thus 
honored  him,  were  the  Rev.  Drs.  Hatfield,  Hitch- 
cock. Boring.  Edwards,  and  Bolton.  His  pallbear- 
ers were.  Hon.  Thomas  Drummond,  Hon.  W.  W. 
Parwell.  Hon.  Sidney  Smith.  William  Deering, 
William  A.  Baldwin  and  John  Borden.  In  1836, 
Judge  Goodrich  married  at  Westfield,  New  Yorki 
Miss  Juliet  Atwater,  who  survives  him.  Five 
children  were  born  to  them.  Horace  A..  Mary  P., 
George  D.,  Walter  G.,  and  Charles  H.  Goodrich. 
Horace,  the  eldest,  is  in  the  real  estate  business 
in  Chicago,  and  Walter  ( J.  is  a  member  of  the  Chi- 
cago bar;  George  is  a  manufacturer  of  sewer  tiles 
in  Boston;  Mary  became  Mrs.  Maguire,  and  is  now 
a  widow;  Charles  died  in  lssi.  The  North  Western 
University,  the  Garrett  Institute,  the  Chicago 
board  of  education  and  the  Chicago  bar  all  held 
meltings  and  adopted  appropriate  tributes  to 
Judge  Goodrich's  memory.  At  the  bar  meeting 
the  memorial  minute  was  presented  by  Judge 
Borton,  and  we  are  indebted  largely  toitformany 
facts  embodied  in  this  sketch.  Judge  Horton 
summed  up  the  characteristics  of  Judge  Goodrich 
in  these  appropriate  words:  "He  inherited  from 
his  father,  either  by  nature  or  teaching,  a  stern 
sense  of  the  responsibilities  of  life,  combined  with 
a  gentleness  and  equanimity  which  were  phenom- 
enal. His  indignation  was  never  roused  to  fierce 
passion.'  He  never  used  expletives  to  emphasize 
his  resentment,  and  malice  was  a  word  that  had 
uo  meaning  as  applied  to  him.  for  an  injury  was 
no  sooner  acknowledged  than  it  was  condoned  or 
forgotten,  and  life  seemed  too  busy  and  too  impor- 
tant to  waste  on  such  insignificant  matters.  His 
influence  was  always  for  the  cause  of  right  and 
justice,  regardless  of  consequences."  The  press  of 
the  city  and  the  northwest,  and  wherever  Judge 
Goodrich  was  known,  paid  unmeasured  tributes 
to  his  memory  which  voiced  a  public  regard 
accorded  to  but  few  men.  A  lectureship  in  apolo- 
getics has  been  founded  at  the  Garrett  Biblical 
Institute,  which  has  been  called  the  Grant  Good- 
rich lectureship. 


JOHN    H.   LEWIS. 

HON.  JOHN  HENRY  LEWIS,  a  prominent 
citizen  and  lawyer  of  Knoxville,  two  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Illinois  Legislature  and  a  representative 
of  the  state  in  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  was  born  in  Tompkins  county, 
New  York,  July  '21,  1830.  Mr.  Lewis  is  of  an  an- 
cestry which  will  always  be  distinguished  as 
illustrious  in  American  annals,  being  descended 
from  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence  Francis  Lewis,  a  native  of  Llandaff. 
Wales,  who  in  1735,  when  about  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  in  New- 
York  as  a  merchant.  Francis  Lewis  was  one  of 
the  most  resolute  supporters  of  the  movement 
which  resulted  in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Great 
Britain.  He  was  one  of  tie  originators  of  this 
movement  and  one  of  the  famous  organization 
known  as  the  "Sons  of  Liberty."  He  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Continental  Congress  from  17TG  to 
177'.'.  and  signed  the  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  terminated 
a  long,  brilliant  and  successful  career  on  Decem- 
ber 30,  1803,  dying  in  New  York,  on  that  date. 
The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
Henry  Lewis,  a  descendant  of  "the  signer."  He 
was  born  October  6.  1796,  in  Sussex  county.  X.  J., 
just  across  the  line  from  New  York,  of  which 
latter  state  his  kinsman.  General  Morgan  Lewis — 
who  married  into  the  old  Livingston  family — was 
Governor  at  one  time.  Henry  Lewis  married  Miss 
Permelia  M.  Shaver,  a  native  of  Xew  Fork  state. 
July  8, 1820.  In-  the  fall  of  1830  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lewis  removed  to  Illinois  with  their  two  sons, 
George  W.  and  John  H.,  the  latter  being  a  little 
over  six  years  of  age  at  the  time.  The  family 
made  the  wearisome  journey  in  a  two-horse  wagon. 
the  trip  consuming  fifty-one  days,  arriving  at  their 
destination.  October  15.  1836.  It  was  a  bold  as 
well  as  a  serious  undertaking,  for  the  pioneers  of 
those  days  were  called  upon  to  endure  hardships 
and  privations  of  the  sternest  character.  Mr. 
Lewis  settled  in  Ellisville,  Fulton  county  where 
there  were  only  some  old  uninhabited  wigwams. 
He  built  the  tirst  frame  house  erected  in  that 
town,  but  died  within  a  year  after  his  arrival 
therein— September  25.  1S37.  His  widow,  a  cour- 
ageous and  God-fearing  woman,  was  thus  left 
alone  with  her  young  children  in  an  almost  un- 
civilized country.  Shortly  after  her  bereavement 
she  and  her  little  ones  were  turned  out  of  house 
and  home  to  subsist  as  best  they  could  among 
strangers.    With  a  mother's  devotion  she  labored 


288 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


diligently  to  provide  for  her  offspring,  and  sup- 
ported and  watched  overthem  to  the  best  of  her 
ability  until  they  were  able  to  maintain  them- 
selves. George  the  elder  son-  left  Illinois  while 
still  young  in  years,  and  after  extended  travel  in 
the  Eastern  states  and  in  Mexico,  found  a  home 
in  Southern  California,  where  he  still  resides. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  remained  near  his 
mother  who  continued  to  live  at  Ellisville — until 
he  was  about  eleven  years  of  age,  getting  a  few 
months"  schooling  in  each  year,  but  also  doing 
some  farm  work  in  an  effort  to  contribute  to  his 
own  support.  At  the  age  mentioned  he  was  put 
out  to  work  on  a  farm  in  Peoria  county,  near 
Farmington.  The  family  with  whom  be  was  placed 
were  South  Carolinians,  and  the  period  of  service 
was  fixed  at  six  years.  The  considerations  offered 
him  were  good  clothing  during  his  apprenticeship, 
three  months*  schooling  each  year,  and  a  horse, 
saddle  ami  bridle  at  the  close  of  the  term.  As  in 
many  similar  instances,  these  considerations  were 
willfully  neglected,  and  the  lad  at  the  end  of  five 
years  of  the  period  had  had  but  forty-one  days 
schooling,  almost  nothing  in  the  way  of  clothing, 
and  all  this  time  was  treated  as  an  inferior  and 
even  denied  association  with  the  family  at  meals. 
Under  the  impression  that  he  was  legally  bound 
out.  he  submitted  to  this  cruel  neglect.  By  acci- 
dent, his  mother  while  working  at  a  farm  house, 
some  six  miles  distant,  learned  of  her  son's  condi- 
tion. As  there  had  been  no  formal  indentures  of 
apprenticeship  she  claimed  him  and  soon  after- 
wards succeeded  in  placing  him  for  the  winter  in 
the  family  of  William  Kent  who  lived  near  the 
present  town  of  Yates  City.  His  mother  who  also 
was  an  inmate  of  this  household,  kept  him  at 
school  during  this  time  and  supplied  him  with 
clothing  and  books.  In  the  spring  he  found  em- 
ployment as  farm-hand  with  Mr.  James  Kent,  who 
lived  near  by.  receiving  for  his  labor  seven  dollars 
a  month.  In  the  fall  of  1817  he  entered  the  family 
of  Mr.  1!.  L.  Hannaman,  of  Knoxville,  Knox  county, 
stipulating  to  do  chores  for  his  board.  Here  he 
was  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness  and 
remained  two  years,  attending  school  in  proper 
season.  Early  in  1849  he  obtained  a  minor  clerk- 
ship in  the  store  of  G.  M.  Ewing,  at  Knoxville, 
beingpaid  fifty  dollars  a  year  salary  in  addition  to 
bis  I ii .a id.  The  second  year  the  money  considera- 
tion was  raised  to  seventy  live  dollars.  The  third 
year  he  was  offered  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
to  continue,  but  he  declined  it.  preferring  to  attend 
school  during  that  summer.  In  the  fall  he  was 
temporarily  employed  by  a  Mr.  Alexander  Ewing' 


in  opening  up  a  new  stock  of  goods,  and  made  such 
a  good  impression  by  his  fidelity  and  cleverness 
that  this  worthy  merchant  gave  him  credit  for  a 
small  stock  of  goods  to  enable  him  to  start  in 
selling  on  the  road  on  commission.  To  procure 
the  necessary  horse  and  wagon  involved  consider- 
able financiering,  as  the  lad's  capital  did  not 
exceed  twenty -two  dollars.  Of  this  amount  twenty 
dollars  were  paid  on  account  of  a  horse  and  harness 
purchased  for  forty  dollars,  and  a  sixty-day  note 
for  sixty  dollars  was  given  for  a  wagon.  This  note 
— the  first  he  ever  negotiated — was  paid  before  it 
matured  out  of  the  profits  of  his  commercial 
venture.  In  1852,  lie  took  a  responsible  clerkship 
in  the  newly  opened  store  of  a  Mr.  McChesney,  at 
Abingdon,  ten  miles  from  Knoxville,  and  continued 
in  that  employment  until  his  employer  sold  out  in 
1857.  Thrown  into  connection  with  court  officers 
and  lawyers,  through  his  temporary  services  in 
the  law  offices  of  Hannaman  &  Hales  in  making 
an  abstract  of  the  county  records,  he  acquired  a 
bias  in  favor  of  the  law  as  a  profession,  and  having 
access,  in  1857,  to  the  law  library  of  A.  J.  King,  a 
prominent  lawyer  of  Abingdon,  he  made  good  use 
iif  the  privilege  and  qualified  himself  for  admission 
to  practice.  He  was  duly  licensed  by  the  Supreme 
Court  to  practice  law  in  all  the  courts  of  the 
state  mi  the  10th  of  January,  1870.  Mr.  Lewis 
imbibed  abolition  ideas  while  he  was  a  mere 
boy  in  years — the  neglect  he  experienced  at  the 
hands  of  the  southern  family,  to  whom  he  im- 
agined he  was  bound,  awakened  in  him  a  deep 
sympathy  for  the  enslaved  blacks.  He  became  a 
member  of  the  Republican  party  when  it  was 
formed,  voted  for  its  first  presidential  candidate. 
Fremont,  and  in  the  exciting  campaign  of  18G0, 
was  its  nominee  in  Knox  county  for  the  office  of 
clerk  of  the  circuit  court.  Elected  to  this  office, 
by  virtue  of  which  he  became  also  recorder  of 
the  county,  he  served  out  his  four  years  term,  and 
then  took  a  vacation  of  several  months,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  visited  many  of  his  friends  in 
the  Union  army,  then  operating  in  the  border 
states.  His  own  private  business  affairs  occu- 
pied him  pretty  closely  for  a  few  years  and  he 
paid  considerable  attention  to  politics.  In  1S68 
he  again  entered  the  clerk's  office  as  deputy,  re- 
maining there  until  1871.  Early  in  that  year  he 
was  appointed  one  of  three  trustees  of  the  Illinois 
Institution  for  the  education  of  the  blind,  but 
this  office  he  resigned  in  the  fall,  after  being 
elected  to  the  State  Legislature.  Mr.  Lewis  made 
an  excellent  record  in  this  body,  in  which  he 
served  one   term  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of 


UBRWtf 

OF  THE        vrvlC 


C^'U^vr^n,xU^c 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


;89 


his  fellow-citizena  generally.  A  man  of  the  most 
humane  impulses  he  was  led  to  examine  for  him- 
self into  the  workings  "f  the  penal  institutions  of 
the  state,  and  becoming  convinced  that  the  sys- 
tem employed  was  prejudicial  to  the  public  wel- 
fare, In-  framed  a  preamble  and  resolution  which 
was  read  for  the  information  of  the  Legislature 
in  187."),  and  published  in  the  Chicago  Tinas  and 
many  other  leading  Western  newspapers.  In  this 
preamble  and  resolution  Mr.  Lewis  took  the 
ground  that  the  public  prisons  should  be  places 
of  reform  instead  of  vindictive  punishment;  that 
justice  should  be  dune  even  to  a  criminal;  and 
that  in  punishing  him,  innocent  ones  dependent 
upon  him  lor  support  should  not  lie  robbed  of  all 
of  his  production  and  driven  to  the  poor-house, 
prostitution  or  tin-  grave.  This  resolution  ex- 
cited wide-spread  interest  and  was  probably  the 
first  step  taken  in  this  country  to  draw  public  at- 
tention to  a  subject  which,  at  least,  is  beginning 
tn  receive  the  consideration  it  merits.  It  was. 
without  doubt,  the  first  paper  bearing  on  this 
matter  ever  offered  in  an  American  legislative 
body.  In  1880  Mr.  Lewis  was  nominated  for  Con- 
gress by  the  Republicans  of  the  ninth  Congres- 
sional district  of  Illinois,  and  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  364,  over  his  Democratic  opponent, 
John  S.  Lee.  He  was  again  nominated  in  1882, 
but  was  defeated  owing  to  the  marked  publicsen 
timent  reproving  those  who  voted  for  the  River  and 
Harbor  bill  passed  by  the  Forty-seventh  Congress, 
of  whichhe  wasa  member.  It  should  be  recorded 
that  Mr.  Lewis'  support  of  this  bill  was  praise 
worthy  and  honorable  beyond  cavil.  He  believed 
the  measure  to  he  perfectly  right  and  he.  himself, 
had  an  appropriation  to  complete  needed  locks 
and  dams  on  the  Illinois  river.  Although  not  re- 
turned to  his  seat  in  Congress,  Mr.  Lewis  still 
maintains  a  profound  interest  in  public  affairs, 
regarding  which  few  men  in  Illinois  are  better  in- 
formed. His  acquaintance  with  public  men  is 
extensive  and  he  keeps  in  perfeet  touch  with  en- 
lightened public  sentiment  on  all  matters  of  im- 
portance, national  as  well  as  local.  While  in  Con 
gress  he  served  on  the  committees  on  public 
buildings  and  grounds,  and  public  expenditures, 
occupying  second  place  on  the  first  named  com- 
mittee, and  gave  close  and  intelligent  attention 
to  public  business,  never  sparing  time  or  labor  in 
any  matters  which  engaged  his  support.     Since 

leaving  the  National  Legislature  he  has  1 n   oc 

cupied  almost  wholly  by  his  private  business  af- 
fairs. Although  "belonging  to  no  church  and  ac- 
cepting no  creed  yet  his  faith   in  the  mercy  and 


justice  of  God  is  great  and  immovable."  He  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  with 
which  he  became  affiliated  shortly  after  coming  of 
age.  As  a  business  man  he  owes  his  success  to  his 
trained  judgment  and  high  reputation  for  integ- 
rity. His  extensive  operations  in  real  estate  have 
brought  him  into  intimate  relationship  with  a 
large  number  of  well-known  and  wealthy  citizens, 
as  well  as  with  others  less  known  and  less  wealthy, 
by  all  of  whom  he  is  held  in  deserved  respect. 
He  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Knox  county 
and  a  staunch  Republican.  His  triumphover  tin- 
adverse  circumstances  of  his  early  life  has  been 
complete  and  teaches  the  lesson  of  patience,  per- 
severance and  honorable  living.  The  mantle  of 
his  illustrious  ancestor — "the  Signer  "—has  fallen 
upon  shoulders  worthy  to  bear  it,  and  lias  been 
borne  without  spot  or  stain.  Mr.  Lewis  wasmarried 
on  December  12.  lSo7,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  S.Russell, 
daughter  of  R.  H.  and  Elizabeth  Russell,  of 
Abingdon.  Illinois.  This  lady  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, from  which  state  she  accompanied  her  par- 
ents to  Illinois,  when  but  one  year  old.  Her 
father  and  mother  were  among  the  early  pioneers 
of  the  latter  state,  coming  in  the  fall  of  1837.  and 
were  people  of  worth  and  high  respectability,  Inn- 
ing left  their  native  state  on  account  of  then- 
hatred  to  the  institution  of  slavery.  Of  six 
children,  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis,  only  two  sons.  Ira  J.  the 
fourth,  born  August  11.  1865  mow  in  a  bank  in 
Moberly.  Missouri  i.  and  John,  the  sixth, born  Aug- 
ust 30.  1S74  (now  attending  St.  Albans  school 
in    Knoxville  i.  survive. 


GILBERT  WOODR  V  Y  V . 

GILBERT  WOODRUFF,  president  of  the  Rock- 
ford  National  Bank,  and  a  leading  citizen  of  that 
city,  was  born  on  the  20th  of  November,  1817,  in 
Watertown.  New  York,  the  son  of  Frederick  and 
Lodema  A nd ms  Woodruff.  During  his  boyh Un- 
attended the  common  school  in  tin-  winter  season. 
spending  the  summer  months  on  his  father's  farm. 
Having  mastered  the  rudiments  of  learning.  In- 
finished  his  school  course  at  an  early  aye  and 
with  a  small  capital  began  the  grocery  business  at 
Watertown.  At  tin-end  of  six  months  he  had  sold 
out  his  stock,  and  opened  a  large  store,  which  he 
conducted  for  two  years  and  a  half ,  with  constant- 
ly increasing  prosperity.     Having  now,  by  careful 


>90 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


management,    sufficiently    increased    his   capital 
he  began  to  invest  in  real  estate,  and  soon  had  the 
management   of   an   extensive   business.    He   in- 
vested  heavily   in    building,   and   among   others, 
erected  the  Washington  Ball  block,  in  Watertown. 
In   L857,  he  elosed  out  Ins  business  in  the  East, 
and  removed  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where  he  spent 
one  year  attending  to  his  financial  interests.    Dur- 
ing the  period  of  his  real  estate  transactions  in 
Watertown,   he  had  .loaned  money  to  parties   in 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  and   had  also  invested  in 
lands  in  both  those  states.      He  removed  to  Rock- 
t'ord.  Illinois,  in  1858,  and  for  the  next  three  years 
employed  the  principal  part  of  his  time  in  the  real 
estate  business,  exchanging  his    Iowa  and  Wis- 
consin lands  for  property  in  and  around  the  city 
of  Roekford.     Within  two  or  three  years  he  owned 
forty   farms   in   Winnebago    and   Ogle    counties, 
which  he  afterwards  exchanged  for  city  property. 
The  beautiful  city  in  which  he  decided  to   make 
his  home  oweB  a  large  part  of  its  development  to 
the   public   spirit  and  energy   of   Mr.    Woodruff. 
During   his  long   residence  there,  he  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  all  public   enterprises, 
and  has  been  associated  with  many  city  improve- 
ments.    The  Woodruff  addition  to  Roekford  was 
laid  out  by  him.     He  has  seen  the  city  grow  from 
a  mere  village  into  a   large  manufacturing   town, 
and  has  personally  taken  an  active  part  in  nego- 
tiations to  induce  manufacturing  corporations  to 
establish  their  headquarters  there.     In  several  of 
these  efforts  he  has  been  successful,  and  Roekford 
now  boasts  a  variety  of   manufacturing  concerns, 
each  employing  hundreds  of  workmen,  who  have 
been  attracted  to  the  city  by  the  public  spirited 
efforts  and  agency  of  Mr.  Woodruff  and   others. 
He  was  one  Of   the   originators   of   the   Roekford 
National  Bank,  and  in  May,  1871,  was  elected  its 
president,  a  position  which  he  still  holds.     In  1873 
he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Forest  City  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  of  which  he  is  now  president, 
and  in  1875  he  organized  the   Forest  City  Furni- 
ture Company,  which  has  one  of  the  largest  man- 
ufacturing establishments  in    the  city,  doing  an 
extensive  business  in  the  west.     In  the  same  year 
he  built  a  large  plow  factory,  which  is  also  a  thriv- 
ing   concern,     employing     a     large     number     of 
hands.      Recently     he    built    two    of   the  finest 
business  blocks    in  Roekford,    one   of    which  is 
the  Roekford  National    Hank    building,  and    I  he 
other    an     elegant   block     in    which    is    located 
the  opera  house.     In  1st:!  he  waselected  mayorof 
Roekford,   ami   held   that   office    until    1ST.").      Mr. 
W hull'  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 


religious  work,  and  is  a  leading  member  and  tins 
tec  of  the  first  Congregational  Church  of  Roek- 
ford. He  is  also  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Rock- 
ford  Female  Seminary,  which  ranks  very  high 
among  the  educational  institutions  of  the  state. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  Socially  he  leads 
a  quiet,  unostentatious  life,  and  is  always  accessi- 
ble to  the  humblest  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and 
always  ready  with  a  helping  hand  whenever  his 
sympathies  are  aroused  by  a  case  of  distress.  In 
all  his  dealings  he  has  maintained  throughout  life 
a  character  of  the  highest  integrity,  and  the  city 
of  Roekford  does  not  contain  a  more  generally 
esteemed  and  respected  citizen.  In  April  1812,  he 
married  Miss  Nancy  Fay,  and  has  two  sons  and 
three  daughters. 


CHARLES  W.   LEFFINGWELL. 

REV.  CHARLES  WESLEY  LEFFINGWELL. 
D.D.,wasborn  on  the  5th  of  December,  1840.  Heis 
the  son  of  Rev.  Lyman  and  Sarah  (Brown)  Lef- 
flngwell  (deceased),  who  were  natives  of  Connecti- 
cut. His  paternal  grandfather,  Joseph  Leffing- 
well,  born  in  Norwich,  was  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Lieutenant  Thomas  Leffingwell,  leader  of  the  col 
ony  that  founded  that  place.  Charles  Wesley 
entered  the  Sophomore  class  of  Union  College, 
Schenectady,  New  York,  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 
Owing  to  ill  health  he  was  compelled  to  suspend 
study  and  come  to  Illinois,  whither  his  parents 
had  preceded  him,  to  recuperate.  Soon  after 
his  arrival,  when  but  seventeen  years  old, 
he  taught  a  school  of  about  sixty  pupils,  one  sea 
son,  near  Dundee,  Kane  county,  Illinois,  after 
which  he  taught  one  season  in  the  Military  Insti- 
tute at  Kirkwood,  Missouri.  He  then  went  to 
Galveston,  Texas,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Eaton,  with  whom  he  lived  for  a  year.  Af- 
terward he  held  the  position  of  deputy-surveyor 
for  the  city  and  county,  and  taught  a  private 
school  during  most  of  the  time.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  in  1861  he  returned  to  Illi- 
nois and  entered  Knox  College,  at  Galesburg, 
where,  in  June,  1862,  he  graduated.  On  the  23rd 
of  July,  1862,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  Francis,  formerly  of  Kent.  Eng- 
land, then  a  resident  of  Chautauqua  county.  New- 
York.  Mr.  Leffingwell  soon  after  became  vice- 
pi  -incipal  of  the  Military  Institute,  of  Poughkeep- 
sie,  New  York,  of  which  Dr.   C.   B.   Warring   was 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


RIOORArilY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


29T 


the  principal.  He  completed  his  theological 
course  in  the  seminary  at  Nashotah,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  graduated  in  L867.  After  his  ordination 
by  Bishop  Whitehouse,  having  served  four  months 

as  assistant  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rylance,  of  St.  James 
church.  Chicago,  he  was  elected  tutor  of  the  Nash- 
otah Theological  Seminary.  While  a  student 
there  he  had  supported  himself  and  family  by  or- 
ganizing and  conducting  a  school,  which  he  now- 
continued  to  carry  on  successfully  in  connection 
with  his  duties  in  the  seminary.  Before  a  year 
had  expired  he  was  called  from  his  tutorship  to 
establish  and  take  charge  of  a  diocesan  school  for 
girls,  in  Knoxville,  Illinois.  Accordingly,  Si. 
Mary's  school  was  opened  April  13,  1868.  In 
1875,  Mr.  Leffingwell  received  the  degree  oJ 
Doctor  of  Divinity  Crom  Knox  College.  After 
conducting  for  four  years  a  religious  paper  called 
"The  Diocese."  in  the  interest  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  Illinois,  he  became  editor  and  propri 
eter  of  Tht  Living  Church,  Chicago,  a  general 
church  weekly  newspaper,  which  under  his  man- 
agement has  attained  a  large  circulation  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States,  having  also  many  sub- 
scribers in  Canada  and  England.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  January  1,  1883,  the  building  and  contents 
of  St.  Mary's  School  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  school,  however,  was  not  disbanded,  but  in 
October  occupied  a  new  building,  far  exceeding 
the  previous  one  in  beauty  and  convenience  In 
1890,  Dr.  Leffingwell  opened,  as  a  private  enter 
prise.  St.  Alban's  School  for  boys,  in  Knoxville. 
He  has  been  for  many  years  president  of  the 
standing  committee  of  the  dioceseof  Quincy,  and 
has  represented  the  diocese  from  its  formation 
in  the  general  convention.  He  has  edited  two 
books:  "A  Reading   Book   of   English   Classics'' 

(1879),   and   a   volume  of  j try.  ■•  Lyrics   of  The 

Living  Church"  (1891).  He  has  had  seven  chil- 
dren, two  having  died  in  infancy.  The  oldest 
living  is  Mrs.  Alice  E.  Binkley,  Chicago,  Illinois; 
Charles  Warring,  graduate  of  Columbia,  1892; 
Ernest  DeKoven,  Hortense  Nesbitt,  and  Ger- 
trude. 


ELIJAH    II.    GAMMON. 

Among  the  figures  prominently  identified  with 
the  development  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  both  in 
spiritual  and  material  interests,  is  that  of  Rev. 
Elijah  H.  Gammon.  His  remarkable  career  has 
in  it  much  inspiration  for  aspiring  young  manhood. 


Mr.  Gammon  was  bom  in  what  is  now  the  town 
of  Lexington.  Maine,  December  23.  1819.  He  was 
the  eldest  of  six  children.  His  parents  were  poor, 
and  he  was  early  thrown  on  his  own  resources, 
both  for  a  livelihood  and  an  education  He  left 
home  to  seek  his  fortune;  but  being  come,  ted  at 
seventeen,  and  uniting  with  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  his  plans  for  life  were  changed,  and 
he  felt  deeply  impressed  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
preach  the  gospel.  He  taught  school  for  a  time, 
and  at  twenty-four  was  licensed  to  preach,  and 
received  into  the  Maine  Conference.  In  this  same 
year,  1843,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Sarah  J. 
Cutler,  of  Wilton.  Maine,  and  it  was  to  this  town 
that  he  went  as  his  first  appointment,  with  a 
salary  of  one  hundred  dollars.  He  labored  suc- 
cessfully as  pastor  and  preacher  111  Maine  for  eight 
years.  But  in  1851,  having contracte  I  a  bronchial 
affection,  and  desiring  a  more  genial  climate  he 
removed  with  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife 
and  two  daughters.  Abbie  K.  and  Sarah  M.  Gam- 
mon, to  DeKalb  county,  Illinois.  At  Ross  Grove 
he  opened  a  private  school;  but  the  next  year. 
1852,  he  began  again  to  preach,  and  united  with 
the  Rock  River  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 
He  was  sent  to  St.  Charles.  The  year  following 
he  served  the  Jefferson  street  Church,  Chicago. 
In  1854  he  went  to  Batavia  as  pastor  of  the  new- 
church  just  completed.  Here  he  remained  one 
year  and  was  then  appointed  presiding  elder  of  the 
St.  Charles  district,  and  continued  in  charge  until 
1858.  In  that  year,  his  health  again  breaking,  and 
his  bronchial  trouble  having  become  chronic,  he 
was  obliged  to  have  the  ministry.  His  home  was 
broken  in  1S.V>.  by  the  death  of  his  wife.  In  May 
I806.  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Jane  C.  Colton,  and 
on  September  of  the  next  year  was  born  his  first 
and  only  son,  Charles  Wesley  Gammon,  who  lived 
to  be  about  nineteen,  when  he  died  of  typhoid 
fever  while  attending  school  at  Worcester,  Mass. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  excellence  and  promise, 
greatly  beloved.  The  two  daughters.  Mrs.  J.  S. 
Harvey  and  Mrs.  Fred  Huse,  both  died  in  early 
womanhood.  Thus  stricken  by  the  death  of  all 
his  children,  Mr.  Gammon  bore  his  loss  with  a 
fortitude  becoming  his  character,  both  as  a  man 
and  a  Christian.  The  business  career  of  Mr. 
Gammon  began  in  1859,  when  he  connected  him- 
self with  Newton  A:  Co.  of  Batavia.  This  firm 
soon  began  the  manufacture  of  the  Palmer  & 
Williams  self-raking  reaper,  and  this  was  the  first 
introduction  of  that  machine  in  the  West.  The 
partnership  of  Newton  &  Co. having  ended  in  1861, 
Mr.  Gammon,  who  foresaw  a  great  demand  in  the 


292 


lilOOKAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS 


Northwest  for  harvesting  machinery,  concluded  to 
establish  a  distributing  house  in  Chicago.  A 
partnership  was  formed  with. Mr.  J.  D.  Easter, 
and  under  the  firm  name  of  Easter  &  Gammon 
thej  handled  until  1864,  Ball's  Ohio  reapers  and 
mowers,  and  threshing  machines.  About  this 
time  the  Marsh  brothers  were  seeking  to  introduce 
their  harvester,  the  first  of  its  kind.  Easter  A 
Gammon  saw  the  machine,  and  had  faith  in  it, 
and  against  many  discouragements,  and  bitter 
opposition  began  its  manufacture  and  sale.  They 
obtained  exclusive  control  of  the  Marsh  harvester 
for  six  western  states.  The  development  of  this 
machine,  the  adoption  of  the  automatic  binder, 
and  the  perfecting  of  the  twine-binding  harvester, 
are  largely  due.to  the  enterprise  and  courage  of 
Easter  &  Gammon.  Inl868this  tirui  was  dissolved, 
and  Mr.  Gammon  went  into  partnership  with  Mr. 
James  P.  Prindle.  This  firm  continued  the  busi- 
ness of  making  and  Belling  reapers  and  farm 
machinery.  In  the  year  following,  Mr.  Gammon 
acquired  an  interest  with  the  Marsh's  and 
Stewards,  in  the  manufactory  at  Piano.  In  1870, 
Mr.  Prindle  having  retired,  Mr.  Gammon  formed 
a  partnership  with  Mr.  William  Deering.  and  the 
great  manufacturing  firm  of  Gammon  &  Deering, 
was  established.  This  firm  became  sole  owners  of 
the  works  at  Piano.  They  pushed  the  sale  of  the 
Marsh  Harvesters  to  a  great  success,  and  intro- 
duced a  practical  wire  binder,  and  the  Appleby 
twine  binder.  In  1878  Mr.  Gammon  sold  out  his 
interest  to  Mr.  Deering.  His  health  being  poor,  he 
had  traveled  abroad  and  in  his  own  country  for  a 
year  or  more  before  retiring  from  business.  With 
health  recruited,  he  established,  in  connection  with 
Mr.  William  H.  Jones  and  others  in  1880,  the  Piano 
Manufacturing  Company.  Of  this  very  successful 
Company  Mr.  Gammon  was  vice-president  and  the 
largest  stockholder,  and  his  connection  with  it,  has 
given  it  the  confidence  of  the  people  throughout 
the  country,  and  helped  in  no  small  degree  to  make 
it  the  profitable  institution  that  it  has  become. 
During  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Gammon's 
health  was  much  impaired.  By  spending  some 
time  abroad,  and  by  wintering  in  the  South,  it  was 
hoped  that  the  bronchial  affection  would  be  eradi- 
cated. But  every  effort  was  unavailing,  and  in  the 
Bummer  of  1891,  on  returning  from  Atlanta,  Geor- 
gia, he  was  taken  with  a  severe  attack  of  asthmatic 
bronchitis  and  pneumonia  from  which  he  died 
peacefully  at  his  home  in  Batavia,  on  the  morning 
of  July  3.  His  death  produced  a  profound  im- 
pression on  the  whole  community,  for  he  was  a 
man  loved  by  his  friends,  respected  by  his  busi- 


ness associates,  and  honored  by  his  church.  The 
gathering  at  his  funeral  on  July  G,  bore  strong 
testimony  to  the  high  regard  in  which  he  was  held. 
He  was  buried  in  the  family  lot  in  Graceland, 
Chicago.  The  business  career  of  Mr.  Gammon 
was  remarkably  successful;  but  the  large  fortune 
he  accumulated  has  gone  in  part  to  bless  and  help 
lift  up  the  world,  as  well  as  to  make  rich  provis- 
ion forthe  beloved  wife  and  relatvics  that  remain. 
Throughout  his  long  life,  Mr.  Gammon  had  main 
tained  a  wide  sympathy  with  all  philanthropic  and 
especially  with  educational  interests.  He  was 
always  a  liberal  man,  and  as  the  passing  years 
added  to  his  generous  fortune  they  also  added  to 
the  large  purposes  for  God's  kingdom  that  had 
always  throbbed  within  him.  To  the  Maine  Wes- 
leyan  Seminary  he  gave  five  thousand  dollars;  to 
Garrett  Biblical  Institute,  of  which  he  was  for 
twenty  years  a  trustee,  lie  gave  ten  thousand.  To 
needy  friends  and  students,  tei  chinches,  to  the 
benevolent  causes  of  Methodism,  he  gave  sums 
that  make  large  aggregates.  Batavia  will  ever 
hold  a  monument  of  his  generosity  and  that  of 
Capt.  D.  C.  Newton,  in  the  unique  and  beautiful 
church  erected  by  them  there.  But  the  crowning 
work  of  Mr.  Gammon's  life,  and  that  which  ranks 
him  among  the  foremost  philanthropic  sons  of  his 
church,  has  been  the  foundation  and  endowment 
of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
that  bears  his  name.  Into  this,  there  has  already 
been  put  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thous- 
and dollars,  and  by  the  provisions  of  his  will  this 
amount  will  be  raised  to  nearly  half  a  million.  It 
is  1  in t  fair  to  say  that  no  school  of  the  South  is 
the  outgrowth  of  a  more  deliberate  and  thought- 
ful conviction  than  is  the  Gammon  Theological 
Seminary.  Through  it  a  strong  Christian  soul  has 
found  an  utterance  for  itself,  to  its  own  and  every 
succeeding  generation.  Mr.  Gammon  was  of  the 
New  England  type  of  character;  but  to  the  rug- 
ged strength  of  his  nature  there  was  added  a  kind- 
liness and  charity  that  increased  with  the  years. 
In  manner  he  was  modest  and  unobtrusive.  He 
was  a  man  of  few  words,  reticent  and  thoughtful, 
coining  to  deliberate  conclusions  and  hard  to  move 
from  them.  As  a  Christian  he  was  simple  and  sin- 
cere. His  home  was  singularly  happy,  a  place  of 
warm  friendships,  and  given  to  hospitality.  From 
every  state  of  the  South,  have  come  up  to  the 
bereaved  family  expressions  of  deepest  gratitude 
from  the  people  for  whom  he  wrought  his  greatest 
work.  And  in  not  a  few  churches  in  that  land, 
the  draped  altar  and  the  memorial  service,  have 
spoken  the  honor  in  which  he  was  held.     In  the 


LIBRARY 

OP  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


"^^ 


■  ftiMsluii£  &Eiigrarii  f 


^7^.   T^L 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


293 


death  of  Mr.  Gammon,  we  feel  that  a  potent  fac- 
tor lias  gone  out  of  the  life  of  the  state  and  of  the 
nation.  He  touched  at  so  many  points,  Bociety, 
the  business  world,  the  cause  of  education,  the 
church  of  Christ  and  the  larger  liberty  of  our 
country,  that  when  we  sum  up  his  life,  we  feel 
that  In'  represents  net  merely  the  upright  busi- 
ness man  and  the  loyal  citizen,  but  in  a  true  high 
sense,  the  typical  American. 


GEORGE  M.   ROGUE. 

GEORGE  MARQUIS  BOGUE  is  a  native  of 
Norfolk,  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York,  where 
he  was  born  January  21, 1842,  and  lived  until  he 
was  fourteen  years  of  age.  His  parents  were  War- 
ren Steuben  and  Sally  (Underwood)  Bogue.  The 
form  T  was  a  descendant  of  John  Bogue,  who  came 
to  America  from  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  1680,  and 
settled  in  the  Connecticut  colony  at  East  Haddom. 
now  known  as  Hadlyme.  Warren  Bogue  was  born 
at  Georgia.  Vermont,  in  the  year  1800,  but  removed 
when  a  young  man  to  St.  Lawrence  county,  New 
York,  where,  as  stated,  (  leorge  M.  Bogue.  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born.  In  IS.jG.  when  he 
was  in  his  fifteenth  year.  <  leorge  M.  Bogue  came  to 
Chicago  to  join  his  brothers.  Hamilton  B.  and  S. 
Curtiss,  who  had  preceded  him  by  several  years. 
He  reached  Chicago  on  August  28,  1856,  and  in 
18.57  went  to  work  in  the  freight  office  of  the  Mer- 
chant's Despatch  (of  which  line  his  brother,  Mr. 
Hamilton  B.  Bogue  was  tin-  Chicago  agent  for 
man]  years),  where  he  continued  until  April  1859. 
He  then  returned  to  Xew  York  state  and  entered 
the  Cayuga  Lake  Academy  at  Aurora.  There  he 
received  all  academic  education,  and  in  July,  1861, 
returned  to  Chicago  and  was  again  taken  into  the 
office  of  the  Merchant's  Despatch,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  spring  of  1863.  In  June  of  that 
year  Mr.  Bogue  laid  the  foundation  of  his  present 
fame  as  an  expert  in  realty  by  obtaining  a  position 
in  the  land  department  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railway.  In  this  capacity  he  served  a  little  over 
four  years,  daily  accumulating  a  wider  knowdedge 
of  real  estate  matters,  ami  finally  in  October,  1867, 
he  withdrew  and  began  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count. He  was  then  only  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
but  he  quickly  secured  a  profitable  patronage,  and 
the  small  beginning  then  made  has  since  devel- 
oped into  the  immense  trade  now  controlled  by 
Bogue  &  Co.,  wdiich  consists  of  George  M.  Bogue, 


Hamilton  B.  Bogue  and  H.W.Christian.  Prom 
his  early  manhood,  Mr.  Bogue  has  been  a  busy, 
progressive  citizen.  In  1858  he  became  a  resident 
of  Hyde  Park  (then  only  a  small  suburb  adjoining 
Chicago  on  the  south,  but  now  a  part  of  thecity), 
and  in  1864  was  elected  town  clerk,  holding  the 
office  until  1867.  In  I860  Mr.  Bogue  was  elected 
treasurer  of  the  town  and  served  until  1872,  and 
in  November  of  the  latter  year  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Cook  county  board  of  commissioners, 
vice  Hon.  Chas.  Hitchcock,  resigned.  Mr.  Bogue 
filled  out  the  term,  which  expired  in  December, 
1874.  acting  in  the  meantime  as  chairman  of  the 
finance  committee,  and  being  also  a  member  of 
the  building  committee.  The  latter  was  an  es- 
pecially important  assignment,  as  it  was  during 
Mr.  Bogue's  incumbency  that  several  large  public 
buildings  wen'  erected,  including  the  county  hos- 
pital, criminal  court  and  county  jail  and  extensive 
additions  to  the  insane  asylum.  In  1874  In-  was 
elected  as  a  representative  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture from  the  second  senatorial  district,  and 
served  with  marked  distinction.  In  February, 
1S77.  Mr.  Bogue  was  appointed  by  Gevernor  Cul- 
lorn,  of  Illinois,  as  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Railroad  and  Warehouse  Commissioners,  andheld 
the  position  until  March,  1883,  when  he  resigned. 
In  June.  1870.  he  was  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Chicago,  to  the  Republican  National  Convention 
at  Cincinnati,  which  nominated  President  Hayes. 
Mr.  Bogue's  intimate  knowledge  of  railway  affairs, 
and  his  reputation  as  a  man  of  broad  conservative 
opinion  and  strict  impartiality  led  to  his  unani- 
mous election  in  January,  1883,  as  the  arbitrator 
of  the  western  railway  pools,  composed  of  the 
Southwestern  Traffic  Association,  the  Colorado 
Traffic  Association,  the  Northwesten  Traffic  Asso- 
ciation and  the  Central  Iowa  Traffic  Association. 
That  the  interests  involved  were  immense,  the 
following  list  of  roads  that  were  members  of  the 
various  associations  will  show:  Chicago  &  Alton; 
Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quiucy;  Chicago.  Milwau- 
kee a-  St.  Paul:  Chicago  &  North  western;  Chicago, 
Rock  Island  &  Pacific:  Chicago.  St.  Paul.  Minne- 
apolis tt  Omaha:  Hannibal  &  St.  Joe:  Kansas  City, 
St.  Joe  &  Council  Bluffs;  Minneapolis  A-  St.  Louis; 
Missouri  Pacific;  Rock  Island  A-  Peoria;  and  the 
Wabash.  St.  Louis  &  Pacific.  All  the  vast  and 
intricate  business  incident  to  Mr.  Bogue's  duties 
as  arbitrator  between  these  powerful  and  aggres 
sive  railways  was  performed  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all.  and  when  in  1887  he  resigned  that  he  might 
devote  his  time  exclusively  to  his  rapidly  growing 
realty  business,  there  was  universal  regret  among 


294 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


railway  nun.  In  making  his  awards  large  sums 
of  money  were  always  involved,  and  in  deciding 
the  hundreds  of  troublesome  ami  intricate  points 
submitted  to  him.  Mr.  Bogue's  fairness  was  never 
called  in  question.  Since  his  withdrawal  from 
railway  matters,  Mr.  Bogue  has  attained  a  simi- 
lar enviable  place  in  the  business  world.  His  con- 
nection with  the  Chicago  Real  Estate  Board,  of 
which  he  was  president  in  1889,  and  is  now  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  valuations,  has  marked 
hi  in  as  one  of  the  most  deservedly  prominent  and 
able  men  in  the  city.  Besides  these  interests 
which  have  absorbed  nearly  all  his  time  and  called 
him  into  the  hardest  and  most  exacting  of  active 
service.  Mr.  Bogue  has  quietly  filled  many  other 
positions  of  honor  and  trust  with  great  credit  to 
himself  and  profit  to  those  who  bestowed  them 
upon  him.  He  was,  for  instance,  for  many  years 
an  active  member  of  the  board  of  managers  and  of 
the  executive  committee  of  the  Home  for  Incura- 
bles; he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  mana- 
gers of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  since  it  was 
established  in  1883,  and  for  the  past  three  years 
has  been  president  of  the  board;  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  Lake  Forest  University; 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Pres- 
byterian League  of  Chicago,  an  organization 
which  conducts  the  mission  work  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  in  Chicago;  a  trustee  of  the  Hyde 
Park  Presbyterian  church  since  its  organization 
in  1864,  and  for  the  last  eight  years  the  president 
of  the  board.  Mr.  Bogue  was  married  on  January 
26,  1871,  at  Hyde  Park,  to  Miss  Catharine  M.  Van 
Doren,  daughter  of  A.  B.  Van  Doren  of  that  place. 
They  have  had  five  children.  Two  died  in  infancy, 
and  three,  Franklin  Ackerman,  Ruth  Van  Doren, 
and  ( leorge  Marquis  are  living. 


WILLIAM  F.  POOLE. 

WILLIAM  FREDERICK  POOLE,  LL.  D., 
an  eminent  American  librarian  and  historical 
writer,  recently  president  of  the  American  Libra- 
ry Association  and  of  the  American  Historical  As- 
sociation, also  librarian  of  the  Chicago  Public 
Library,  and  since  1SS7  librarian  of  the  Newberry 
Library  in  Chicago,  was  born  at  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts,  1> imber  24,  1821.    He  descended,   in 

the  eighth  generation,  from  John  Poole,  who  emi- 
grated from  Reading,  England,  to  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  in  1632,  and  three  years  later,  be- 


came the  leading  prnprieter  in  the  settlement  of 
Reading.  Massachusetts.  Ward  Poole,  the  father 
of  tin'  subject  of  this  sketch,  married  Eliza  Wild- 
er, a  daughter  of  Abel  Wilder,  of  Keene.  New 
Hampshire.  He  carried  on  the  leather  and  tan- 
ning business,  which  had  been  the  family  occupa 
tion  for  several  generations.  In  1835  the  family 
removed  to  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  William 
was  the  second  son  of  a  family  of  six  sons  and  one 
daughter.  The  third  son.  Henry  Ward  Poole 
(A.  M.  Yale  College),  born  September  13,  1825, 
was  professor  in  the  National  College  of  Mines  in 
the  City  of  Mexico,  where  hi'  died  October  21, 
1890.  He  was  an  eminent  mining  engineer,  geolo- 
gist, archaeologist,  linguist,  and  writer  of  articles, 
in  Silliman's  American  Journal  of  Science  (1850- 
67),  on  the  most  abstruse  questions  relating  to 
musical  science,  which  were  acknowledged  by 
Helmholtz  and  other  scientific  writers  in  Germany 
and  England;  to  be  of  the  highest  importance. 
The  house  in  which  they  were  born  is  still  stand- 
ing, and,  although  it  has  never  been  moved,  has 
passed,  by  changes  of  town  lim  s  and  names,  from 
Salem  to  Danvers,  from  Dauvers  to  South  Dan- 
vers,  and  from  South  Danvers  to  Peabody.  Until 
his  twelfth  year  William  attended  the  common 
public  school  at  Danvers.  Having  had  an  excel- 
lent teacher,  he  was  then  well  up  in  the  usual  Eng- 
lish branches,  and  had  some  knowledge  of  Latin 
and  advanced  mathematics  which  he  had  learned 
out  of  school.  He  then  went  to  Keene,  New 
Hampshire,  and  worked  in  a  jeweler's  shop  for 
one  year.  The  next  year  he  was,  with  his  father, 
engaged  in  farming  at  Worcester,  and  then,  going 
back  to  Danvers,  learned  the  ancestral  trade  of 
tanning.  With  this  varied  experience  as  a  boy 
he  was  contented;  but  not  yet  having  found  his 
right  groove,  his  mother  resolved  that  he  should 
return  to  his  books  which  had  been  laid  aside  for 
five  years.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  pre- 
paring for  college  at  Leicester  Academy,  and  in 
1842  he  entered  Yale  College.  Here  his  studies 
were  interrupted  at  the  close  of  the  freshman 
year,  and  during  the  ensuing  three  years  he  was 
engaged  in  teaching.  In  1846  he  returned  to  Yale, 
entering  the  sophomore  class,  and  in  1849  was 
graduated.  Among  his  classmates  were  Timothy 
Dwight,  now  the  president  of  the  college,  F.  M. 
Finch,  now  judge  of  the  New  York  Appellate 
Court,  and  Prof.  E.  D.  Morris,  D.  D.,  of  Lane 
Seminary.  Mr.  Poole's  life-work  began  even  be- 
fore he  had  completed  his  college  education.  Near 
the  close  of  his  sophomore  year  he  was  appointed 
assistant   librarian    of    his    college    society,    the 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


295 


•■  Brothers  in  Unity,"  which  had  a  library  of  about 
ten  thousand  volumes.  After  a  few  wicks  of 
practical  work  he  saw  the  need  of  some  kind  of 
an  index  to  the  bound  sets  of  periodicals  with 
which  the  library  was  well  supplied,  but  wen-  not 
used.  With  the  design  of  meeting  this  want  he 
began  the  preparation  of  an  index  of  their  con- 
tents for  use  in  the  library.  It  was  a  great  task, 
but  was  persevered  in  until  accomplished,  the 
work  being  done  at  night  and  in  spare  moments. 
The  index  proved  to  be  so  great  a  convenience  to 
students  that  it  was  Deeded  elsewhere  and  was 
printed.  The  tirst  edition,  an  octavo  volume  of  154 

pages,  appeared  in  1848,  and  was  3 1  exhausted. 

The  demand  continued  and  Mr.  Poole  devoted  his 
leisure  hours  during  Benior  year  and  the  year  sub 
sequent  to  his  graduation  to  the  preparation  of  a 
new  and  enlarged  edition  containing  six  times  as 
much  matter  as  the  fonner  work.  It  was  com- 
pleted and  published  in  1853.  It  made  a  volume 
of  531  pages  and  secured  for  its  author  a  fame 
which  extended  to  every  section  of  this  country 
and  to  Europe.  He  was  the  librarian  of  the  society 
in  his  senior  year,  and  remained  in  New  Haven 
some  months  after  his  graduation.  In  1851  he 
was  called  to  the  assistant  librarianship  of  the 
Boston  Athenaeum,  and  the  following  year  to  be 
the  librarian  of  the  Boston  Mercantile  Library. 
At  that  date  librarianship  had  hardly  risen  to  the 
dignity  of  a  profession.  "  Most  of  the  librarians" 
says  one  who  is  himself  an  ornament  of  the  pro- 
fession— "were  men  who  had  drifted  into  the  pur- 
suit from  some  other  occupation.  To  few,  if  any, 
was  it  the  chosen  life-work.  Few  of  the  libra- 
rians in  colleges  saw  in  the  work  which  was  giv- 
ing them  a  lift  in  their  income  the  promise  and 
potency  of  a  profession.  Now,  librarianship  has 
come  to  be  recognized  as  a  learned  profession,  de- 
manding and  compensating  first-rate  abilities,  and 
rivaling  almost  any  other  pursuit  for  college-bred 
men."  The  authority  quoted  justly  recognizes 
Dr.  Poole's  conspicuous  labors  in  creating  the  pro- 
fession of  librarianship,  saying  of  him  that  "  fen- 
have  done  more  to  elevate  and  dignify  this  pro 
fession,  and  at  the  same  time  by  the  application 
of  'uncommon  common-sense,'  to  develop  it  along 
the  lines  of  practical  utility."  Dr.  Poole  was  li- 
brarian of  the  Boston  Mercantile  Library  four 
years,  and  during  that  period — in  addition  to 
bringing  out  the  second  edition  of  his  Index  to 
Periodical  Literature  prepared  and  printed  a 
"dictionary  catalogue"  of  the  library. on  the  "tit le- 
a-line "  principle,  which  has  been  widely  followed 
since.     In  1856  he  accepted  the  position  of  libra- 


rian of  the  Boston  Athenaeum,  and  for  thirteen 
years  tilled  that  important  position  until  the 
close  of  180S,  when  he  resigned  it  to  engage  in  ex- 
pert library  work.  The  Athenaeum  was  then  the 
largest  library  in  Boston  and  was  one  of  the  best 
in  the  United  States,  but  has  since  been  over- 
shadowed by  the  phenomenal  development  of  the 
Boston  Public  Library.  During  his  administra- 
tion of  the  Athenaeum  Library,  he  with  the  able 
assistance  of  Mr.  Charles  Russell  Lowell,  began  the 
preparation  of  the  catalogue  now  in  use  in  that  in- 
stitution, consisting  of  five  large  volumes,  which 
were  completed  and  printed  by  his  successor.  On 
leaving  the  Athenaeum,  Dr.  Poole  was,  with  sev- 
eral assistants,  occupied  as  a  library  expert  in  the 
organization  of  the  Bronson  Library,  Waterbury, 
Conn.,  the  Fairbanks  Athenaeum  Library,  at  St. 
Johnsbury.  Yt..  and  in  similar  work  at  Newton 
and  Easthampton,  Mass..  and  in  the  library  of  the 
United  States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis.  Md. 
His  services  were  engaged  in  the  same  capacity 
for  the  Public  Library  of  Cincinnati,  in  the 
autumn  Of  the  year  1809;  and  soon  he  became  the 
librarian  and  remained  in  charge  for  four  years. 
In  October,  1873.  he  was  elected  librarian  of  the 
Public  Library  of  Chicago,  even  before  it  existed. 
Entering  upon  his  duties  there  in  January,  1874, 
In  selected  ami  purchased  the  books,  organized 
the  institution,  saw  it  safely  through  all  the 
troubles  and  perils  of  its  early  existence,  and  for 
fourteen  years  fostered  its  marvelous  growth  in 
usefulness  and  popularity.  During  these  many 
years,  he  has  constantly  been  called  on  for  advice 
and  assistance  in  the  formation  and  management 
of  libraries  throughout  the  country.  In  1882,  Dr. 
Poole  issued  the  third  edition  of  his  now  famous 
Index  to  Periodical  Literature,  a  royal  octavo  vol- 
ume of  1469  pages.  In  its  preparation  he  had  the 
co-operation  of  the  American  Library  Association. 
the  Library  Association  of  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  assistance 
of  Mr.  Win.  I.  Fletcher,  of  Amherst  College  Li- 
brary. It  is  now  in  use  in  all  public  and  many 
private  libraries,  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  a 
work  more  useful  to  students.  It  has  no  rival  in 
the  English  language:  and  no  one  in  France,  Ger- 
many or  Italy  has  attempted  to  make  a  similar 
index  to  their  reviews  and  magazines.  Ever  since 
adopting  his  profession,  Dr.  Poole  has  appreciated 
the  value  of  concerted  action  among  librarians; 
and  has  worked  with  excellent  results  to  bring 
about  a  co-operation  of  interests  on  the  part  of 
the  profession  and  public.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  hist  convention  of   librarians  in  this  coun- 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


try,  and  the  Brsl  in  the  world,  which,  wag  held  in 
New  York  City,  in  September,  1853.  He  took  a 
leading  part  in  the  organization  of  the  American 
Library  Association,  at  Philadelphia,  in  Isti;,  and 

was  one  of  its  \  Lee  presidents  from  that  year  un- 
til 1885,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  pn  sidency  of 
the  association,  and  in  the  following  year  was  re- 
elected. He  lias  attended  every  meeting  of  the 
society,  and  lias  contributed  many  papers  of  high 
value,  besides  participating  in  the  discussions  on 
everj  important  subject.  He  was  one  of  the 
Americans  who  attended  the  first  International 
Conference  of  Librarians,  in  London  in  1877,  and 
had  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the  vice-presidents. 
In  1882  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
iLL.D.i  was  conferred  upon  him  bj  the  North 
western  University.  In  the  summer  of  1887  Dr. 
Poole  was  appointed  librarian  of  the  Newberry 
Library  in  Chicago,  an  institution  named  after  its 
founder,  the  late  Mr.  Walter  L.  Newberry,  I >y 
whose  will  it  was  established  on  a  foundation  of 
nearly  three  millions  of  dollars.  The  institution 
is  and  will  lie  solely  a  reference  library  for  the  use  of 
scholars.  Its  foundation  was  then  by  far  the  largest 
of  any  library  in  the  United  States.  The  Crerar 
foundation,  of  about  the  same  amount  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  another  free  library  in  Chicago, 
has  since  been  left  by  the  will  of  the  late  John 
Crerar;  but  the  library  has  not  yet  gone  into 
operation.  Dr.  Poole's  position  at  the  head  of  the 
Newberry  Library  is  one  of  high  responsibility, 
and  has  opportunities  unequaled  in  his  profession. 
The  founding  of  two  such  magnificently  endowed 
institutions  as  the  Newberry  and  the  Crerar 
libraries  in  the  city  of  Chicago  must  operate  with 
marvelous  power  in  advancing  that  progressive 
city  to  a  chief  place  among  the  great  literary  cen- 
ters of  the  world:  and  in  this  work  the  experience 
and  zeal  of  Dr.  Poole  cannot  fail  to  act  a  memor- 
able part.  Among  the  special  subjects  to  which 
Dr.  Poole  has  given  attention  is  that  of  library 
architecture:  and  his  several  papers  upon  it  have 
attracted  much  attention,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe.  He  may  be  called  the  leader  in 
the  present  movement  for  securing  practical  util- 
ity and  convenience  in  library  buildings,  as  op- 
posed to  the  old  conventional  style,  in  which  both 
have  been  sacrificed  to  architectural  effect.  In 
the  latesl  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica 
his  papers  on  this  subject  are  accepted  as  the 
highest  authority.  In  the  new  building  of  the 
Newberry  Library,  now  in  process  of  erection,  his 
principles  of  construction  will  lie  fully  carried  out. 
In  other  departments  of    library   management  he 


has  manifested  no  less  originality  and  fertility  in 
devising  improved  and  practical  methods.  The 
"Report  on  Public  Libraries"  issued  in  1876, by  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  contains  sev- 
eral papers  by  him,  one  of  which  is  on  "The  Organ- 
ization and  Management  of  Public  Libraries,"  giv- 
ing practical  directions  on  all  essential  points 
connected  with  the  work,  and  is  generally  recog- 
nized as  the  standard  authority  on  the  subject. 
The  work  of  his  pen  has  not  been  limited  to  sub- 
jects pertaining  to  his  profession.  Being  inter- 
ested in  historical  studies,  first,  those  especially 
relative  to  New  England,  and  then  to  the  West, 
he  has  for  thirty  years  been  a  constant  writer  of 
critical  papers  relating  to  American  history.  Con- 
troverting tlie  chargi  s  brought  by  standard  histo- 
lians  against  the  New  England  clergy  of  foment- 
ing the  witchcraft  persecution  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury, he  published  several  articles  in  1868-81 
which  arrested  general  attention,  and  changed  the 
current  of  popular  belief  on  this  subject.  Chief 
among  these  was  the  one  on  "  Cotton  Mather  and 
Salem  Witchcraft"  in  the  Noriti  American  Re- 
rieio,  April,  1869.  The  same  theme  was  assigned 
to  him  by  the  editor  of  the  "Memorial  History  of 
Boston,"  and  he  wrote  the  chapter  on  "Witchcraft 
in  Boston."  In  the  North  American  Revieiv  also 
appeared  his  articles  on  "ThePopham  Colony." 
October,  18G8,  and  "The Ordinance  of  1787,"  April, 
1876.  The  former  disposed  of  the  claims  of  Maine 
to  priority  of  settlement  over  Massachusetts;  and 
the  latter  gave  for  the  first  time  the  secret  and  true 
history  of  the  famous  Ordinance  which  kept 
slavery  out  of  the  Northwestern  states.  His 
"Anti-Slavery  Opinions  before  the  year  1800," 
appeared  in  1872;  "The  Public  Library  of  our 
Time,"  in  1887.  and  "The  Early  Northwest."  in 
1889.  In  1874-5  he  edited,  in  Chicago,  a  literary 
monthly  called  the  Owl;  and  since  the  starting  of 
the  Dial  in  1880,  he  has  been  a  constant  contribu- 
tor, chiefly  in  historical  criticism.  While  in 
historical  criticism  his  pen  is  sharp  and  he  is 
always  on  the  alert  to  discover  and  expose  errors, 
his  style- on  the  whole,  is  constructive,  often  using 
an  author  and  his  book  simply  as  the  occasion 
for  treating  the  subject  from  his  own  point  of 
view,  and  from  materials  which  were  unknown  to 
the  author.  Dr.  Poole's  achievements  in  librarian- 
ship  and  bibliography  have  given  him  an  interna 
tional  reputation,  and  bis  advice  and  counsel  are 
sought  by  his  professional  co-workers  in  all  parts 
of  the  globe.  His  work  in  the  field  of  history  has 
led  to  his  becoming  president  of  the  American 
Historical  Society,  and  member  of   many  other 


Cktit^  &  <yl/^ 


y 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


297 


societies;  among  which  are  the  American  Antiqua- 
rian Society,  the  New  England  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Society,  the  Essex  Institute  all  in 
Massachusetts  —  and  corresponding  member  of 
the  Historical  Societies  of  Massachusetts,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Wisconsin  and 
several  other  states.  In  personality  Dr.  Poole 
is  about  six  feet  high,  and  will  turn  1 
at  two  hundred  pounds.  Endowed  with  great 
vitality,  he  has  the  physical  energy  requisite 
for  tasks  demanding  prolonged  application  and 
continuous  mental  effort.  His  address  is  affable 
and  few  men  exercising  executive  functions  so 
happily  blend  tact  and  suavity  in  the  management 
nf  subordinates.  His  heaviest  responsibilities  are 
lightened  by  the  cordial  co-operation  which  lie  in- 
variably receives  from  his  assistants  of  every 
grade,  all  of  whom,  inspire. 1  by  his  considerate 
and  generous  treatment,  labor  under  him  with 
loyal  earnestness  and  genuine  affection.  An  in- 
telligent and  impartial  observer  has  Eaid  of  him 
that  "he  has  imparted  his  own  enthusiasm  and 
his  eminently  practical  views  in  library  work  to  a 
large  number  of  persons  who  are  now  filling 
important  positions  in  the  library  profession, 
having  served  their  apprenticeship  under  him." 
November  22,  1854,  Dr.  Poole  married  Miss  Fanny 
M.  (ileason.  To  them  have  been  born  seven 
children  of  whom  four  are  living,  namely:  Alice, 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Z.  S.  Holbrook.  of  Chicago;  Anna. 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Charles  Clarence  Poole,  of  Chicago; 
Mary,  a  graduate  of  Wellesley  College,  and  mis- 
sionary of  the  American  Board  at  Osaka,  Japan, 
and  William  Frederick,  Jr..  a  graduate  of  Yale 
University,  class  of  1891. 


EDWIN   II.  SHELDON. 

EDWIN  H.  SHELDON,  one  of  the  pioneers 
and  a  leading  citizen  of  Chicago,  was  born  in  Wood 
stock,  New  York,  December  24,  1821.  At  the  age 
of  three  years  he  went  with  his  parents  to  Delhi, 
New  York,  and  in  1843  he  removed  to  Plattsville, 
New  York,  where  he  lived  until  181G,  when  hecame 
west  and  became  a  citizen  of  Chicago.  October 
19,  L846,  he  married  Miss  Frances  Ogden,  sister  of 
the  late  William  B.  Ogden;  four  years  later  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm  of  Ogden,  Jones  &  Co., 
real  estate  dealers,  which  was  succeeded  by  Ogden, 
Fleetwood  &  Co.,  and  upon  the  retirement  in  1868 
of  the  senior  member,  the  name  of   the   firm    was 


changed  to  Ogden,  Sheldon  &  Co.,  he  remaining  an 

active  member  until  April,  1890,  when  lie  retired 
on  account  of  ill  health.  For  many  years  Mr. 
Sheldon  was  senior  warden  of  St.  James"  church, 
was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  managers  of 
Graceland  cemetery,  was  president  of  the  Chicago 
Historical  Society  from  1870  to  ]S7.">,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Hahne- 
mann Medical  College;  he  was  appointed  a  mem 
ber  of  the  school  board  by  Mayor  Medill,  holding 
the  position  three  years.  In  1871  he  was  appointed 
on  the  commission  which  effecti  d  the  exchange 
between  the  city  and  National  Government  of  the 
old  Bridewell  lot  for  the  lot  whereon  the  First 
National  Bank  now  stands.  Governor  Cullom  ap- 
pointed him  on  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  North- 
ern Asylum  for  the  Insane,  of  Illinois,  and  he  was 
president  of  the  Chicago  Dock  &  Canal  Company 
from  1871  to  1887.  His  wife  died  June  20,  1870. 
The  surviving  members  of  his  family  are  Mrs. 
William  Fitzhugh  Whitehouse,  of  New  York,  and 
Mr.  Edwin  1!.  Sheldon,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Ogden,  Sheldon  A-  Co.,  of  Chicago.  At  thetimeof 
his  death  Mr.  Sheldon  was  one  of  the  executors 
and  trustees  of  the  estate  of  the  late  William  B. 
Ogden,  the  value  of  which  is  estimated  at  ten  mil- 
lion dollars.  His  health  began  to  fail  in  1888:  in 
October,  18! K>,  he  went  to  Newport  to  visit  his 
neice,  Miss  Caroline  Ogden  Jones,  and  from  there 
accompanied    her  to  her  home  in  New  York  City. 

where  he  died.   I  )eri ■  niber  IS.  1890. 


CHARLES  HENROTIN. 

CHARLES  HENROTIN,  banker  and  broker, 
was  born  in  Brussels,  Belgium,  April  15,  1843. 
His  parents  were  l>r.  Joseph  F.  Henrotin  and 
Adele  iKinsoen)  Henrotin,  both  natives  of  Bel- 
gium. Mr.  Henrotin's  father  was  an  officerinthe 
Belgium  army,  during  the  revolution  in  Europe, 
and  in  1818  was  made  consul  to  the  United  States. 
When  he  came  to  this  country  Mr.  Henrotin 
brought  his  family  with  him.  In  1856,  Charles 
was  sent  back  to  Tournay,  in  his  native  Belgium, 
to  be  educated  and  to  be  fitted  for  entrance  to  the 
Belgium  Polytechnic  school,  where  it  was  intended 
he  should  study  military  engineering.  Upon  com- 
ing to  the  United  States,  Mr.  Henrotin  had  been 
stationed  at  Chicago  as  consul,  and  it  was  there 
the  young  man  returned  after  graduating  at  the 
Belgium  University.     Charles  Henrotin    was  not 


IflOOKAI'HY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


destined  to  become  a  civil  engineer.  Theknowl- 
edge  be  acquired  of  mathematics  probably  aided 
li  i  in  materially  in  the  field  in  which,  he  has  since 
earned  a  national  reputation.  He  has  become  one 
of  the  best  known  financiers  in  Chicago.  It  was 
in  L861  he  returned  from  bis  studies,  and  he-  then 
entered  the  sen  ice  of  the  Merchants  Loan  &  Trust 
Company.  There  be  first  began  to  develop  thai 
remarkable  sagacity  in  monetary  affairs  which  has 
sine  •  made  him  known  in  the  financial  world. 
Lyman  J.  Gage,  now  the  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  was  in  1SGS  cashier  ofthat  banking 
institution,  ami  in  that  year  Mr.  Henrotin  suc- 
ceeded him  in  that  position,  and  for  ten  successive 
years  he  ably  performed  its  duties.  Believing  he 
could  better  serve  his  own  interests,  he  opened,  in 
ls;s.  ;,  banking  and  brokerage  business  on  his  own 
account,  thereby  laying  the  foundation  of  the  suc- 
cessful enterprise  In-  now  controls.  -Mr.  Henrotin 
made  a  specialty  of  railroad  and  first  mortgage 
bonds,  together  with  city  ami  county  securities. 
'I'le-  condition  of  Chicago's  finances  was  very  bad 
about  the  time  Mr.  Henrotin  started  his  inde- 
pendent business,  ami  therein  he  found  a  field 
which  later  proved  not  only  lucrative  to  himself. 
but  he  placed  the  city  under  obligations  to  him  it 
can  never  repay.  The  city  was  badly  in  debt,  ami 
its  paper  on  the  market  was  si  depreciated  that 
municipal  bankruptcy  seemed  imminent.  The 
city  serip  issue  had  been  declared  illegal,  and  the 
syndicate  of  capitalists  the  city  depended  upon  to 
take  it  refused  to  accept  any  more.  Its  value  had 
fallen  to  eighty-five  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  the 
employes  who  were  compelled  to  receive  it  in  pay- 
ment for  services,  were  seriously  inconvenienced. 
Their  predicament  also  naturally  affected  local 
business  interests  and  financial  matters  were  in 
pretty  had  condition.  Mr.  Henrotin  appeared  to 
be  the  only  man  in  the  financial  swim  who  had 
any  confidence  left,  and  he  came  to  the  rescue: 
and  for  the  very  substantial  aid  he  rendered  in 
this  crisis,  the  city  of  Chicago  owes  a  debt  of  last- 
ing gratitude.  Mr.  Henrotin  possessed  the  pluck 
ami  energy  necessary  to  buy  the  depressed  scrip. 
lie  took  everj  d  illar's  worth  that  was  offered,and 
putting  up  the  price  to  ninety-three  cents,  the 
tide  was  at  once  turned  in  favor  of  the  city.  No 
act  could  so  readily,  so  quickly  and  so  effectually 
have  restored  lost  confidence  and  re  establish  tin- 
city's  credit.  The  indebtedness  was  put  upon 
such  a  basis,  that  it  failed  to  appear  the  terrible 
bug-bear  it  had  been,  and  the  community  looked 
upon  Mr.  Henrotin  as  a  •■  friend  in  need."  Since 
those  dark  days  he  has  taken  nearly  every  issueof 


county    bonds    and    has    helped     negotiate    them. 

He  was  the  first  broker  to  do  so  at  a  low  rate  of 
interest.  He  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  best  judges  of  investment  securities  in  Chi- 
cago, and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful financiers  in  the  West.  Mr.  Henrotin  was  the 
foremost  spirit  in  the  organization  of  the  Chicago 
Stock  Exchange,  in  L880.  and  was  unanimously 
elected  its  first  president.  He  was  re-elected  for  a 
second  term,  but  declined  to  serve  a  third.  In 
1886  he  was  again  elected  president,  and  also  in 
18S9andl890.  Charles  Henrotin  has  interested 
himself  in  the  advancement  and  building  up  of 
Chicago  in  many  ways.  He  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal projectors  of  the  Chicago  Opera  House  Com- 
pany, and  is  now  its  vice-president.  He  is  heavily 
interested  in  the  street  car  systems  of  the  city. 
ami  is  a  director  in  one  of  the  companies.  He  has 
taken  a  great  interest  in  the  negotiation  of  \mer 
ican  securities  in  England,  and  acted  as  broker  in 
the  sale  to  English  parties  of  the  American  Brew- 
ing A'  Malting  Company  and  the  Union  Stock 
Yards C  impany.  The  aggregate  of  these  tales  has 
amounted  to  833,000,000.  Mr.  Henrotin  has  dis- 
played much  ability  also  as  an  organizer.  When 
on  a  recent  visit  to  Europe,  in  1890,  and  while 
passing  through  London,  he  assisted  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  Chicago  A  London  Contract  Coin 
pany,  and  of  the  London  A-  Western  Investment 
C  u-poration,  each  of  them  with  a  capital  of  $4,000,- 
000.  He  is  a  director  in  the  latter  and  is  the 
official  broker,  in  America,  of  the  City  of  London 
Contract  Corporation.  During  the  last  two  years 
he  has  made  conversions  of  American  properties 
i;i  i  above  corporation,  of  over  eighty  millions  of 
dollars.  In  1S7G.  Mr.  Henrotin  was  appointed 
resident  consul  for  If  ilgium,  and.  in  1S77.  to  the 
same  position  for  Turkey,  and  these  consulates  he 
holds  at  tic  present  time.  When  the  telephone 
was  first  introduc  •  1  and  b  'came  of  practical  utility, 
he.  in  c  mnection  with  the  French  consul  in  Chi- 
cago, mil-  a  length]  and  exhaustive  report  to 
the  French  government  on  its  application.  This 
report  attracted  a  great  ileal  of  attention,  and  led 
to  large  concessions  to  himself  and  others,  in  the 
introduction  of  telephone  instruments  into  France. 
Mr.  Henrotin  was  ultimately  interested  in  the  or- 
ganization of  a  telephone  company  in  Paris,  which 
is  now  the  largest  in  the  world.  His  business  con- 
nections have  enabled  him  to  make  interesting 
and  lengthy  reports  on  commerce  reports  that 
have  been  of  great  b  mefit  to  this  country  and  to 
others  interested.  He  has  done  much  to  en- 
courage the  emigration  of  skilled  labor    and    well- 


LluSft  : 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


■  to 


. 


^/cZ&alcici  ^S,  o^Z^r^ij^^ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


299 


to-do  artisans  from  Belgium  to  this  country,  a 
class  that  have  happily  superseded  the  pauper 
element.  Iu  every  sense  Mr.  Henrotin  has  been  a 
public  spirited  man.  and  when  he  inaugurated  the 
half  century  celebration  of  the  Belgium  govern- 
ment in  Chicago,  in  1881,  he  was  thanked  by  that 
government  for  his  fidelity  to  the  interests  he  rep- 
resented, ami  for  the  international  benefits  he  had 
secured.  In  1889 he  was  created  a  Knight  of  the 
Order  of  Leopold,  for  services  rendered  in  regard 
to  the  importation  of  meats  and  for  his  valuable 
commercial  reports.  In  politics,  Mr.  Henrotin 
has  been  a  life-long  Democrat,  but  his  business 
has  prevented  his  taking  any  active  interest  in 
political  affairs  or  accepting  any  office.  Mr.  Hen- 
rotin was  married  on  September  2,  1869,  to  Miss 
Ellen  M.  Martin,  of  Chicago,  and  has  an  interest 
ing  family  of  three  In . 


WILLIAM    II.    MOORE. 

WILLIAM  H.  MOORE,  a  prominent  lawyer  of 
Chicago,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Utica,  New  York, 
October  25,  1848.    He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Nathaniel 

F.  Moore,  formerly  a  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected merchant  of  Utica.  who  died  in  1890. 
Nathaniel  F.  Moore  was  also  a  native  of  the  state 
of  New  York-,  although  his  parents  were  from  near 
Pittsfield,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts.  The 
family  was  resident  in  New  England  in  early 
colonial  days,  and  has   always   been   one  of  high 

respectability.    Mr.  M -c's  mother,  whose  maiden 

name  was  Rachel  A.  Beckwith,  was  the  daughter 
of  George  Beckwith.  of  Triangle,  N.  Y.  She,  too, 
was  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  came 

of  a  well  known  family.     William  H.  M v.  being 

the  son  of  well-to-do  parents,  received  every  en 
couragement  ami  aid  possible  in  his  studies. 
Aft:  r  due  preparation  in  the  seminary  at  Oneida 
and  in  the  Cortland  Academy,  at  Homer,  New 
York,  he  entered  Amherst  College  in  L867.  Not- 
withstanding his  ambition   to   remain,   ill   health 

npelled  him  to  relinquish  study  previous  to  the 

graduation  of  his  cla^s.  While  in  search  of  health 
he  visited  Wisconsin  and,  finding  benefit  from  the 
climate,  he  settled  temporarily  at  Eau  Claire,  and 
in  1870  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  W. 
P.  Bartlett.  a  leading  lawyer  of  that  city.  In  1872 
he  was  admitted  to  the  liar  at  Eau  Claire.  His 
health  still  requiring  attention  he  spent  a  few 
months  on  th ■■  Pacific  coast,  and,  on  his  return  in 


the  fall  of  the  year  mentioned,  he  established  him- 
self in  practice  in  Chicago.  After  spending  about 
a  year  and  a  half,  as  managing  clerk,  in  the  office 
of  the  late  E.  A.  Small,  Esq.,  a  lawyer  whose 
business  was  largely  as  attorney  and  counsel  for 
corporations,  he  became  the  partner  of  that  gentle- 
man, and  the  firm  of  Small  &  Moore,  thusfounded, 
was  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Small 
in  the  winter  of  lss]  s-J.  Mr.  Moore  now  formed  a 
partnership  with  his  younger  brother,  Mr.  J.  II. 
Moore,  who  had  just  been  admitted  to  practice. 
In  1887,  Mr.  W.  J.  Pureed  became  a  partner,  and 
the  firm  took  the  style  of  W.H.  A-  J.H.  Mo,, re  & 
Purcell,  which  it  still  retains.  The  firm  is  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  successful  at  the  Chicago 
bar,  ami  has  a  strong  clientage,  composed  princi- 
pally of  large  business  houses,  trustees  of  exten- 
sive estates,  and  wealthy  corporations.  Mr.  Moore 
has  won  success  in  his  profession  by  devoting 
himself  to  it  without  reserve.  For  many  years 
during  his  earlier  career  he  was  the  chief  trial 
lawyer  of  the  firm,  and  was  in  court  continually. 
Combining  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  funda- 
mental and  statute  law,  great  natural  sagacity, 
and  constantly  exercising  the  most  scrupulous 
care  in  preparing  his  eases,  he  rarely  fails  of 
success.  Among  the  leading  clients  of  Mr. 
Moore  may  be  named  the  American  Express 
Company,  the  Adams  Express  Company,  and 
the  Merchants'  Dispatch  Transportation  Com- 
pany— the  Vanderbilt  Fast  Freight  Line— for 
each  of  which  he  is  western  counsel.  The  firm 
are  attorneys  for  the  Chicago  West  Division 
Railroad  Company  and  other  important  local  cor- 
porations. Mr.  Moore's  thorough  knowledge  of 
corporate  law  is  recognized  far  and  wide  in  the 
business  world,  and  his  professional  services  are 
in  constant  demand  in  the  framing  of  charters, 
bills  of  incorporation  and  other  legal  documents 
of  a  similar  import.  Personally  he  possesses  rare 
powers  of  organization,  and  has  achieved  a  number 
of  his  most  brilliant  successes  in  the  formation  of 
stock  companies.  He  was  one  of  the  principal 
projectors  of  the  Diamond  Match  Company. 
organized  in  1S89.  under  the  laws  of  Illinois,  with 
a  capital  of  £6,000,000,  a  large  share  of  which  was 
invest,  ,1  in  the   ehti  rprise    through    his   personal 

influence.    He  has  served  sine,-  il rganization 

of  this  company  as  a  member  of  its  executive  com 
mittee  and  in  the  board  of  management  of  several 
others  also,  of  large  capital,  and  has  proven  that 
in  addition  to  his  distinguished  talent  for  the  law, 
he  possesses  decided  abilities  for  business  opera- 
tions.   The  extent  to  which  his  services  have  been 


:<  h  » 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


called  into  requisition  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
the  capitals  "f  the  corporations  which  he  has 
organized,  and  in  which  he  is  a  managing  director, 
aggregate  upwards  of  $25,000,000.  In  the  success- 
ful combination  of  legal  practice  with  purely 
business  functions,  it  may  I n-  doubted  il'  h-  has  a 
rival  at  the  Chicago  bar.  Mr.  Moon-  was  married, 
in  1879,  to  Miss  Ada  Small,  daughter  of  E.  A. 
Small,  his  late  law  partner,  whose  biography  and 
portrait  appear  in  this  volume.  Their  family 
consists  of  three  sons,  William  Hobavt,  Edward 
Small,  and  Paul. 


WILLIAM  T.   BAKER. 

WILLIAM  T.  BAKER,  president  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  and  late  president  of  the 
Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  was  born  at  West  Win- 
field,  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  September  11. 
1841.  He  is  the  sou  of  William  and  Matilda 
(Peabody)  Baker,  his  father  being  a  farmer  who 
came  from  Bradford,  England,  in  1838.  Mr. 
Baker's  mother  is  a  native  of  Stonington,  Conn. 
His  early  youth  was  spent  uponthefarm,andall  the 
schooling  he  ever  had  was  obtained  before  he  was 
fourteen  years  old.  Mr.' Baker's  first  business  ex- 
perience was  as  clerkinthe  country  store  of  H.K. 
Clark,  at  Groton,  New  York,  after  which  he  served 
for  six  years  with  D.  B.  Marsh  &  Co.,  dry-goods 
merchants  at  McLean,  New  York.  Mr.  Baker  came 
to  Chicago  in  1SG1.  and  was  initiated  into  Board 
of  Trade  matters  as  bookkeeper  for  Hinckley  & 
Handy.  Mr.  Handy  retired  the  following  year  and 
Mr.  Baker  succeeded  to  an  interest  in  the  busi- 
ness, the  firm  becoming  Hinckley  &  Baker.  This 
partnership  was  dissolved  the  following  year,  and 
Mr.  Bak  sr  eon  lucted  the  business  alone  until  186?, 
when  the  firm  of  Knight.  Baker  &  Co.  was  formed 
by  the  co-operation  of  C.  A.  Knight  and  W.  F. 
Cobb.  In  1878,  Mr.  Knight  withdrew  and  Messrs. 
Baker  and  Cobb  continued  the  business  under  the 
name  of  W.  T.  Baker  *  Co.  Immediately  after 
the  greal  fire  of  1871,  Baker  &  Co.  established 
themselves  in  the  building  known  as  the  ■•Wig- 
wam" on  the  West  Side,  afterwards  moving  to  86 
La  Salle  street.  Here  they  remained  seven  years, 
and  then  took  offices  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
building.  On  the  completion  of  the  new  Hoard 
of  Trade-  building,  the  firm  moved  to  240  La  Salle 
street,  an  I  from  there,  in  L888,  went  to  their  hand- 
som    qua  t   rs  in  the Phenix building.    Mr.  Baker, 


while  genial  and  pleasant  in  his  intercourse. 
especially  in  social  matters,  is  a  man  of  strong  and 
advanced  opinions.  His  perceptive  faculties 
are  unusually  clear,  and  his  great  earnestness 
which  is  perhaps,  the  most  marked  trait  in 
his  character — leads  him  to  take  radical  views  on 
all  subjects  in  which  he  interests  himself.  Mr. 
Baker  has  the  courage  of  his  opinions  and  ex- 
presses them  without  fear  or  favor.  As  with  all 
men  of  strong  character,  this  has,  in  a  measure, 
prevented  the  general  public  from  viewing  him  in 
his  true  light,  as  one  whose  heart  is  kind,  whose 
sympathies  are  broad,  and  who  would  prefer  uni- 
versal happiness  to  self-aggrandizement.  It  is 
said  that  Mr.  Baker  is  extremely  tenacious  and 
combative  in  argument.  This  is  true;  but  he  also 
admires  justice  and  fair  play,  and  few  men  know 
better  than  he  how  to  accept  defeat  gracefully 
when  its  comes,  and  retire  to  await  abetter  oppor- 
tunity. He  does  not  "  sulk  in  his  tent."  He  will 
contest  a  point  with  all  the  vigor  and  emphasis  of 
his  mental  and  physical  power,  but  if  overborne 
by  contrary  opinion,  has  a  hearty  handshake  and 
the  best  of  good  wishes  for  his  opponents.  Mr. 
Baker  is  in  some  respects  a  very  peculiar  man. 
While  at  times  he  is  a  great  operator  on  the 
Board  of  Trade,  he  never  loses  his  self-possession, 
or  the  cool,  level-headed  judgment  which  is  so 
marked  in  him.  He  dislikes  to  change  his  tactics 
when  he  has  once  embarked  in  a  "trade" — and  be  has 
probably  conducted  as  many  as  any  other  member 
of  the  Board — but  when  convinced  that  it  is  for  the 
best  to  abandon  the  line  of  operation  he  has  started 
on.  there  is  no  hesitancy  in  his  movements.  Mr. 
Baker  has  been  very  successful  is  his  business  and 
enjoys  a  large  clientage,  built  up  entirely  by  his 
own  labors.  He  was  for  many  years  the  largest  indi- 
vidual shipper  of  grain  from  Chicago.  It  is  amat- 
ter  of  much  comment  among  the  buyers  of  grain 
that  Mr.  Baker  is  always  in  favor  of  higher  prices. 
He  believes  that  the  producers  are  entitled  to  a 
fair  price  for  their  crops,  and  that  there  is  a  gen 
eral  benefit  to  the  world,  when  values  are  firmly 
held.  Mr.  Baker  has  been  twice  elected  president 
of  the  Board  of  Trade.  His  first  term  began  in 
January,  1890.  The  business  of  the  Board  was, 
at  that  time,  paralyzed  by  the  aggressive  opera- 
tions of  the  •■bucket-shop"  men,  who  had  nearly 
monopolized  all  the  speculative  trade.  There  had 
been  for  years  a  desultory  warfare  waged  upon 
them,  but  without  result,  and  each  year  found 
them  growing  more  bold.  It  was  at  last  decided 
to  make  a  war  of  extermination  upon  these 
"bucket-shop"  keepers  and  their  pernicious  meth- 


. 


UBRAffy 

OF  THE 

UNWKS/TV  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


;oi 


ods,  and  Mr.  Baker  was  selected  as  the  man  most 
competent  to  direct  it.  Great  executive  ability 
and  unflinching  courage  were  needed  in  the  man 
who  should  lead  the  fight,  and  these  qualities 
were  found  in  Mr.  Baker.  He  signalized  his  elec- 
tion as  president  by  opening  a  vigorous  assault  on 
the  "bucket-shops,"  and  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  the  Board,  they  were  routed.  To  ac- 
c  implish  this,  heroic  measures  had  to  be  resorted 
to,  but  Mr.  Baker  used  them  without  hesitation. 
The  powerful  telegraph  companies,  which  for 
years  had  enjoyed  the  undisturbed  privileges  of 
sending  instantaneous  quotations  from  the  floor 
of  the  Board  wen-  driven  out;  prominent  brokers 
who  were  found  to  be  in  alliance  with  the  "bucket- 
shop"  men.  were  sternly  disciplined,  and  such 
other  action  taken  as  was  necessary  to  cut  off  the 
secret  communication  with  the  Board,  by  which 
the  "bucket-shops"  were  enabled  to  do  business. 
One  by  one  these  parasites  on  the  trad 
killed  off,  and  tlie  close  of  Mr.  Baker's  first  term 
foil  ml  the  illegal  business  pretty  well  stun  ; 
The  progress  was  so  gratifying  that  he  was  unan- 
imously re-elected,  and  the  good  work  undertaken 
in  L890,  was,in  l-'.'l.  still  further  fortified,  with 
the  result  of  a  greatly  enlarged  and  much  cleaner 
business.  Although  always  prominent  in  Board 
of  Trade  matters,  and  at  times  a  leader  in  specula- 
tion, both  for  himself  and  others,  Mr.  Baker  has 
given  most  of  his  time  anil  attention  to  what  is 
known  as  the  "shipping  business"  the  buying  of 
actual  grain  from  country  shippers.  Mr.  Baker 
is  equally  as  pronounced  in  his  political  views,  as 
he  is  in  those  In-  holds  on  business  and  other 
topics,  and  always  fakes  an  advanced  position  on 
the  leading  economic  questions  of  the  times.  He 
is  keenly  interested,  as  a  citizen,  in  good  govern 
nient,  and  does  his  part  to  secure  it.  Mr.  Baker 
has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition  from  the  begin- 
ning. In  1890  he  became  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Directors,  and  was  made  chairman  of  the  coin- 
mittee  on  foreign  exhibits.  April  14.  1891,  the 
appreciati  in  of  his  colleagues,  for  his  energy  and 
ability,  was  shown  by  his  election  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition.  To 
the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  office  he 
has  di  voted  all  his  energies,  and  here  brought  to 
hear  the  saine  ability  that  he  displayed  in  bison  n 
private  business  and  as  president  of  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade.  Mr.  Baker  has  been  twice  married. 
In  1862,  he  was  wedded  to  Miss  E.  Annie  Dun- 
ster,  ol'  Attleboro,  Mass.,  who  died  in  1873.  In 
1879     lie     married     Mis-;     Anna     P.     Morgan,    of 


Troy.  New  York.  Mr.  Baker  is  a  life  member  of 
Apollo  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar  of  Chi 
cago.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Commercial,  the 
Chicago,  the  Calumet,  the  Iroquois  and  the  Un- 
ion League  Clubs. 


EDWARD  T.   JEFFERY. 

EDWARD  TURNER  JEFFERY,  president  of 

the  Denver  a-  Rio  Grande  Railway,  was  born  in 

Liver] 1,  England,  on  April  6,  1*4:>.     He  is  a  son 

of  William  S.  and  Jane  (McMuIlen)  Jeffery,  of 
English  descent,  although  his  father  was  bom 
at  Greenock-on-the-Clyde,  in  Scotland,  and  his 
mother  at  Downpatrick,  in  Ireland.  The  senior 
Mr.  Jeffery  followed  tin-  sea.  and.  when  not  en- 
gaged in  his  nautical  avocation,  resided  in  the 
cities  of  Liverpool,  Portsmouth  and  Woolwich,  in 
the  order  named,  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
when  Edward  was  six  years  of  a u;e.  Iii  1850  the  fam- 
ily emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  first  in  Wheel 
ing,  West  Virginia.  Here  the  following  six  years 
of  Edward's  boyhood  were  passed  in  minor  occu 
pations  and  in  gaining  the  rudiments  of  an  educa- 
tion. He  was  but  thirteen  when  the  family  re- 
moved  to  Chicago,  in  1856,  and  in  September  of 
that  year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  probably  not  dreaming 
of  the  distinction  that  awaited  him  as  the,  future 
superintendent  and  manager  of  that  gnat  corpo- 
ration. His  ambition  at  that  early  day  did  not  ex- 
tend beyond  reaping  the  rewards  of  faithful  and 
honest  work  in  the  humbler  duties  of  his  calling. 
He  entered  the  office  of  Samuel  J.  Hayes,  super- 
intendent of  machinery,  where  he  was  employed 
as  general  errand  and  chore  boy  for  about  two 
months,  when  he  was  put  to  work  in  the  tin  and 
coppersmith  shops,  where  he  served  three  or  four 
months,  and  then  entered  the  machine  shops  of  the 
company  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  machinist.  He 
served  in  this  latter  capacity  till  July 5,  1858,  v,  hen 
he  was  given  a  place  by  Mr.  Hayes  in  the  depart- 
ment of  mechanical  drawing.  From  this  time,  en- 
couraged by  the  warm  heart  and  good  counsel  of 
Mr.  Hayes,  he  developed  the  ambition  to  fit  him- 
self for  the  complete  mastery  of  both  the  science 
and  the  art  of  mi  chanical  drawing  and  engineer- 
ing. He  entered  upon  a  course  of  systematic  stud- 
ies which  he  continued  for  ten  years,  with  such 
marked  results  that  the  privilege  was  accorded 
him  of  alternating  study    with   his  work  as  his 


;o2 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


duties  permitted  and  be  might  feel  inclined.  At 
tlir  age  of  eighteen  he  was  on  the  rolls  of  the 
company  as  one  of  the  regular  mechanical 
draughtsmen.  At  twenty  he  was  placed  in  full 
charge  of  the  department  of  mechanical  drawing. 
It  is  worthy  of  notice  here  that  young  Jclfery.  at 
this  early  stage  of  his  career,  had  perceived  and 
applied  in  his  own  self  training  the  principle  now 
advocated  by  the  most  advanced  educators,  viz., 
that  of  combining  the  labor  of  the  hand  and  the 
brain,  the  work-shop  and  the  study  in  the  attain 
nil  ii t  of  an  education  that  shall  meet  the  practi- 
cal demands  of  an  industrial  calling.  In  this  Mr. 
Jeffery  anticipated  most  of  our  polytechnic  and 
manual-training  schools  by  tlic  force  of  his  own 
original  mind.  It  does  not  appear  that  he  took 
an}  suggestions  from  any  of  these  schools  or  their 
founders.  He  continued  his  work  and  studies 
with  such  profit  that  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  he 
was  in  possession  of  the  entire  range  of  sciences 
adapted  to  the  highest  efficiei.ey  in  his  occupation, 
and  had  also  gained  a  wide  breadth  of  general  cul- 
ture. Few  men  can  be  found  whose  talents  or 
acquirements  are  more  versatile  than  his.  At  the 
time  he  was  placed  over  the  department  of 
mechanical  drawing  he  was  also  made  private  sec- 
retary to  the  superintendent  of  machinery.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  was  appointed  assistant 
superintendent  of  machinery,  by  John  Newell. 
then  president  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company.  Mr.  Newell  was  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  Mr.  Jeffery's  capabilities,  and  being  a  typical 
self-made  railroad  man.  was  not  slow  to  open  the 
way  for  promotion  to  deserving  and  energetic  em- 
ployes. During  the  six  years  of  his  service  in 
this  position,  Mr.  Jeff  cry  was  one  of  the  most 
active  and  efficient  officers  of  the  road.  His  long 
experience  combined  with  his  practical  work  and 
study  had  not  only  rendered  him  familiar  with  the 
mechanical  departments  in  all  their  branches  and 
details,  but  he  had  also  acquired  much  knowledge 
of  general  railroad  operations  and  management. 
Accordingly,  in  fsTT,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office 
of  general  superintendent  of  the  entire  Illinois 
Central  Railroad -system,  lie  held  this  responsi- 
ble position  till  January  1.  1885,  at  which  time  he 
was  appointed  general  manager  of  all  the  depart 
mints  of  the  road,  a  position  which  he  held  till  he 
resigned,  in  September,  1889,  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  needed  rest,  .'liter  so  long  and  arduous  a 
Service  in  the  interests  of  the  company.  While  he 
maj   be  called  a  self  made  man    in   the    best    sense 

of  that  phrase,  yet  the  company  was  liberal  in  the 
recognition  of   his  genius  and  in  affording  him  a 


fair  opportunity  for  its  development.  Thus  from 
an  office  boy  he  rose  by  successive  stages  to  the 
management  of  a  great  corporation,  and  every 
promotion  he  received  was  fully  earned  by  hard 
and  faithful  work,  and  was  conferred  upon  him 
unsolicited.  In  1885.  when  the  international 
railway  congress  was  held  at  Brussels,  he  was  the 
representative  in  that  body  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company,  and  the  only  Americau  dele- 
gate present.  In  his  younger  days  he  was  presi- 
dent for  several  years  of  the  Young  Men's  Liter- 
ary Society  of  Chicago,  an  institution  which  did 
much  to  foster  a  literary  spirit  among  a  large 
number  of  citizens,  and  which  carried  on  its  roll 
of  membership  some  of  the  brightest  young  men 
of  the  city.  He  was  a  frequent  though  anonymous 
writer  in  prose  and  verse  and  several  of  his  poems 
were  very  generally  copied  by  the  press  of  the 
country.  The  following  lines  written  and  pub- 
lished by  him  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  have  been  reprinted  from  time  to  time. 

OUR  DUTY. 

The  heart  that  is  sad  where  a  heart  should  he  light, 

Or  false  wliero  a  heart  should  be  true, 
Let  us  guide  through  thedarkness  obscuring  tholight, 

And  point  to  the  future  eternal  and  bright, 

And  teach  it  to  dare  and  to  do. 
The  soul  that  is  darkened  by  passion  and  crime 

Let  us  win  from  its  idols  of  clay, 
And  lead  to  the  heroes  and  sages  sublime, 
Whose  names  are  inscribed  on  the  records  of  time, 

Unfading.    Immortals  are  they  ! 
Let  us  fight  for  the  right,  though  the  struggle  be  long, 

With  firm  and  unswerving  desire, 
Let  us  manfully  battle  oppression  and  wrong 
With  hearts  that  are  earnest  and  trusty  and  strong  ; 

Witli  God  and  the  truth  to  inspire. 
Let  us  dare  to  lie  noble  men,  nature's  own  pride, 

And  dare  to  be  true  to  each  other. 
For  the  earth  is  a  homestead  so  fruitful  and  wide 
Wo  can  live,  we  can  love,  we  can  toil  side  by  side, 
And  each  unto  all  be  a  brother, 

Mr.  Jeffery  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
American  Railroad  Master  Mechanics"  Assi  iciation, 
a  member  of  the  Chicago,  Iroquois  and  Calumet 
Clubs,  being  vice-president  of  the  latter,  and 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  Fraternity.  Socially  as 
well  as  intellectually  he  is  held  in  high  repute. 
In  his  political  affiliations  he  is  democratic,  but 
takes  no  active  part  in  political  affairs.  The  three 
principal  ideas  which  governed  Mr.  Jeffery  in  his 
official  railroad  career  were:  First,  to  establish 
mutual  confidence  and  kindly  relations  between 
the  corporation  and  its  employes.  Second,  to 
gain  the  respect  of  the  general  public,  and  bring 
about  a  clearer  and   more    intelligent   comprehen- 


. 


LU 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


sion  of  the  relations  between  the  people  and  the 
carriers,  and  of  their  obligations  to  each  other. 
Third,  to  so  conduct  corporate  affairs  as  to  secure 
and  retain  the  confidence  of  investors  and  the 
financial  world.  It  is  believed  by  those  who  are 
qualified  to  judge,  that  he  met  with  a  large 
measure  of  success  in  carrying  out  these  ideas. 
With  the  people  and  with  working  men  Mr. 
Jeffery  lias  always  been  in  close  fellowship,  and 
few  men  have  been  capable  of  exerting  a  stronger 
influence  over  railway  employes.  One  instance 
may  be  cited.  Soon  after  the  strike  occurred  on 
tin-  Chicago.  Burlington  A-  Quincy  road,  in  1883, 
and  a  general  tie-up  on  all  the  roads  of  the  country 
was  threatened,  he  was  requested  by  a  few  con- 
servative labor  men  to  use  his  influence  with  those 
who  favored  a  general  strike,  a  large  mass-meet- 
ing of  whom  were  in  session  in  Turner  Hall  on 
Twelfth  street,  ready  to  take  radical  action  in  the 
matter  of  a  general  suspension  of  work  which 
wovdd  have  been  disastrous  to  all  the  industrial, 
commercial  and  financial  interests  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Jeffery  met  the  excited  multitude,  gained 
their  attention,  addressed  them  for  over  two 
hours,  and  by  his  powerful  and  conciliatory  argu- 
ments succeeded  in  averting  the  impending  disas- 
ter. For  this  timely  service  he  received  public 
recognition  and  many  letters  of  congratulation 
and  thanks  from  the  leading  merchants  and  busi- 
ness men  of  the  country.  As  soon  as  it  was  km  iwn 
that  he  had  resigned  his  p  isition  in  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company,  Mr.  Jeffery  was 
i  by  the  mayor  and  leading  citizens  inter- 
ested in  promoting  tin-  World's  Columbian  Expo- 
sition, to  visit  the  Exposition  iu  Paris,  study  it 
and  make  a  report  upon  it.  and  at  the  same  time 
to  promote,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  claims  of 
Chicago  as  the  site  of  the  Columbian  Exposition. 
He  went  to  Paris  and  was  entirely  successful  in 
his  mission,  remaining  in  that  city  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  to  gather  and  condense  a  vast 
amount  of  invaluable  information  respecting  the 
Paris  Exposition,  which  he  published  in  one  of  tin- 
ablest  and  most  concise  reports  ever  prepared 
upon  that  subject.  This  report  furnished  all  the 
data  which  has  been  so  freely  used  by  the  directors 
and  officers  of  the  Columbian  Exposition.  It  was 
published  in  London  and  has  been  translated  into 
the  French  and  other  European  languages.  Mr. 
Jeffery  declined  to  accept  any  compensation  for 
these  and  other  services  in  connection  with  the 
Exposition.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
directory  Mr.  Jeffery  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
board.     He  was  strongly  urged  to  accept  at  a  high 


salary,  the  position  of  director  general,  but  he  re- 
fused the  honor.  He  also  declined  to  have  his 
name  used  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  of 
the  board  of  directors,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused 
by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Lyman  J.  Gage  II 
was  for  a  year  and  a  half  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  grounds  and  buildings,  and  was  in  every 
way  efficient  and  influential  in  organizing  and 
constructing  the  great  international  exposition  of 
1892  •'!.  giving  his  time  ami  energies  to  it  without 
pay.  Chicago  is  very  much  indebted  to  his  in- 
fluence for  securing  the  location  of  the  enterprise 
in  this  city.  In  January,  1890,  he  was  sent  to 
Washington,  ami  made  an  unanswerable  argu- 
ment before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in 
behalf  of  Chicago  as  the  site  for  the  Exposition. 
Mr.  Jeffery  is  a  close  student  and  a  fluent  writer 
and  a  ready  speaker.  He  has  delivered  various 
addresses  on  transportation  and  other  public 
questions  before  state  legislatures,  municipal 
councils,  boards  of  state  and  inter-state  railroad 
commissions  and  other  bodies,  which  rank  among 
the  best  literature  of  their  class.  For  nearly  a 
year  and  a  half  he  was  connected  with  a  new 
enterprise  having  in  view  the  construction  of 
large  locomotive  works  iu  the  city  of  Chicago. 
Many  of  the  leading  citizens  were  associated  with 
him  in  the  undertaking  and  he  accepted  the 
presidency  of  a  company  which  was  organized  for 
the  purpose  stated.  It  was  natural. however,  that 
his  inclinations  and  the  associations  and  habits  of 
life  formed  through  thirty-three  years  of  continu- 
ous railway  service  would  lead  him  to  return  to 
his  old  profession.  Many  lucrative  offers  were 
madetohim  by  railway  companies  after  he  retired 
from  thelllinois  Central  road,  but  all  were  declined 
until  October.  1891,  when  he  accepted  his  present 
distinguished  position  as  president  of  the  Denver  & 
Rio  Grande  railway,  with  headquarters  at  Denver, 
Colorado,  where  he  now  resides.  The  circum- 
stances under  which  this  important  change  in  Mr. 
Jeff  cry's  affairs  was  made,  were  as  follows:  Having 
been  solicited,  in  September,  1891.  to  act  as  arbitra- 
tor in  a  controversy  at  Denver,  he.  while  there  in 
such  capacity,  was  proffered  by  the  directors  of 
the  Denver  A  Rio  (Irande.  the  presidency  of  that 
road,  and  with  such  a  warmth  and  heartiness 
that  he  accepted  it.  When  this  became  known  in 
Chicago,  the  press  of  the  city  were  unanimous  in 
expressions  of  sincere  regret  at  the  loss  the  com 
munity  were  to  sustain  at  the  removal  of  so  valua- 
ble and  popular  a  man.  though  at  the  same  time 
rejoicing  at  his  new  and  deserved  honors.  Tin- 
following  editorial  which  appeared  in   one   of  the 


3°4 


IMOCKAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


leading  papers,  is  typical  of  the  many  that  voiced 
the  public  sentiment: 

"The  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railway  Company 
is  to  be  congratulated  on  securing  tor  the  difficult 
office  of  president  and  general  manager,  so  able 
and  amiable  a  man  as  E.  T.  Jeffery.    The  city  of 

Denver  is  happy  in  the  accession  of  a  g i  citizen. 

But  Chicago,  though  extending  its  felicitations  to 
the  fortunate  company  and  the  no  less  fortunate 
city,  cannot  let  the  occasion  pass  without  an  ex- 
pression  of  regret  at  the  loss  we  experience  in 
I  »enver's  gain.  Mr.  Jeffery  has  lived  in  Chicago 
from  boyhood.  Here  he  made  that  wonderful  race 
from  tin'  work-shop  to  the  general  superintendencj 
of  a  great  railroad.  In  all  stays  of  advancement 
he  has  been  found  mine  than  equal  to  the  respon- 
sibilitiesof  his  position,  and  a  loyal  and  patriotic 
citizen.  Mr.  Jeffery's  public  spirit  has  best  been 
illustrated  by  his  services  to  the  Columbian  Fair. 
Asa  member  of  the  directors  and  especially  as 
chairman  of  the  vastly  important  committee  <>n 
grounds  and  buildings,  he  has  been  alert,  indefat- 
igable, invaluable.  It  is  no  disparagement  to 
other  members  of  the  directory  to  say  that  Mr. 
Jeffery  has  led  them  all  in  the  value  of  his  services. 
bestowed  freely  and  with  no  other  motive  than  an 
admirable  public  spirit.  It  will  not  be  easy  to  till 
the  place  Mr.  Jeffery  will  leave  vacant,  it  will  be 
harder  still  to  efface  the  traces  which  his  master 
mind  has  left  on  the  records  of  the  fair." 

Mr.  Jeffery  was  married  April 'J.  1S77,  to  Miss 
Virginia  O.  Clarke  of  Frederick.  Maryland.  They 
have  two  children  James  Clarke  and  Edna 
Turner  Jeffery,  aged  thirteen  and  eleven  years 
respectively. 


WILLIAM  C.  GOUDY. 

WILLIAM  C.  GOUDY,  one  of  the  most  famil- 
iar figures  to  be  seen  around  the  halls  of  justice 
in  the  city  of  Chicago,  was  born  in  Indiana  on 
the  15th  of  May.  1824.  He  comes  from  a  mixture 
of  Scotch  Irish  and  English  stock.  His  father 
was  a  native  of  Ireland,  where  some  of  the  family 
still  live;  but  for  several  generations  collateral 
branches  of  the  same  family  have  lived  in  Scot- 
land, whence  no  doubt  the  progenitors  of  Mr. 
Goudy  moved  into  the  sister  island  at  the  settle 
ment  of  that  country,  which  dates  from  the  time 
of  Cromwell.  The  name  is  Scotch  and  is  com- 
monly spelled  "Goudie. "  The  readers  of  Burns 
will  remember  the  apostrophe  to  "Goudie,  terror 
o'  the  Whigs,"  whose  political  mantle  must  have 
fallen  upon  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  as  he  has 
always  been  distinguished  among  the  opponents 
of  that   party  in  America,  to  whom   the  name  of 


Whigs  was  applied  in  the  early  days  of  the  Re- 
public. His  mother  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
of  English  descent.  At  the  time  of  his  birth  Mr. 
Goudy's  parents  were  in  humble  circumstances; 
his  father  was  a  carpenter,  but  later  on  became 
interested  in  a  printing  and  book  binding  business 
in  Indianapolis.  Thence  he  moved  to  Illinois  in 
the  hope  of  better  prospects,  settling  first  at  Van- 

dalia,  then  the  capital,  and  afterwards  at  Jackson- 
ville and  Springfield.  In  1833  he  began  the  pub- 
lication «  f  "Goudy's  Farmer's  Almanac,"  the  first 
of  its  kind  cv.r  published  in  the  Northwest, 
which  soon  gained  a  wide  circulation  and  made 
the  name  of  Goudy  a  household  word  in  central 
Illinois.  The  elder  Mr.  Goudy  was  a  strict  Dem- 
ocrat and  reared  his  son  in  the  same  political 
faith,  from  which  the  hitter  has  never  swerved. 
Out  of  the  publication  of  the  "Farmer's  Almanac" 
there  grew  a  weekly  Democratic  newspaper. 
which  was  started  in  1834  by  Mr.  Goudy  in  con- 
junction with  SamuelS.  Brooks,  in  Jacksonville! 
and  through  which  Stephen  A.  Douglas  was  first 
introduced  to  public  notice.  Mr.  Goudy  senior  died 
in  1845.  William's  early  home  life  and  associations 
were  such  as  to  develop  the  intellectual  faculties 
of  the  boy.  He  received  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, and,  like  Benjamin  Franklin,  enjoyed  the 
practical  training  of  his  father's  printing  office, 
becoming  an  expert  compositor  and  pressman. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  in  the  country 
newspaper  office  he  acquired  that  habit  of  precise 
and  exact  statement,  and  of  close  logical  reason- 
ing which  lay  at  the  foundation  of  his  success  as 
a  lawyer.  He  had,  however,  no  inclination  to- 
wards literature,  and  made  earl)  choice  of  the  law 
as  a  profession.  With  this  end  in  view  he  entered 
the  Illinois  College,  at  Jacksonville,  and  gradu- 
ated from  that  institution  in  1845.  He  had  just 
attained  his  majority,  but  in  strength  of  purpose 
and  fore  of  character  he  was  far  ahead  of  most 
young  men  at  that  age.  He  had  already  formed 
his  plan  of  life,  and  had  the  persistency  to  follow 
it  out  tosuccess.  Recognizing  the  fact  that  what- 
ever he  was  to  become  depended  only  upon  him 
self,  and  that  hard,  steady  work  was  required  to 
gain  the  mark  of  his  ambition,  he  began  a  regular 
system  of  economizing  his  time,  making  every 
minute  count  to  some  advantage.  To  add  to  his 
pecuniary  resources  he  taught  school  at  Decatur 
for  a  time,  employing  his  leisure  hours  in  reading 
elementary  law  books.  He  then  entered  the  office 
of  Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan,  at  Springfield.  Judge 
Logan  had  been  for  some  time  in  partnership 
with    Abraham    Lincoln,  but  a  dissolution  took 


■ 


■>F  THE 


UMlVLKSnYof>LUHO\S. 


BIOOUAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


305 


place  just  admit  the  time  young  Goudy  began  his 
studies  with  the  Judge.  In  1847  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  in  the  following  year  began  prac- 
tice in  Lewiston,  the  county  seat  of  Pulton 
county,  in  partnership  with  Hun.  Hezekiah  M. 
Wead,  then  a  prominent  lawyer.  Success  attend- 
ed him  from  the  start,  and  clients  seemed  to  flock 
to  him.  His  cautious,  deliberative  methods 
gained  for  him  the  reputation  of  a  safe  counselor, 
and  he  came  to  be  looked  upon  with  a  confidence 
rarelj  extended  to  so  young  a  man — a  confidence 
which  has  always  continued  to  be  reposed  in  him 
throughout  his  long  professional  career.  From 
ls.VJ  to  1855  he  was  State's  Attorney  for  the  tenth 
judicial  district,  and  from  1857  to  1861  a  member 
of  the  State  Senate  of  Illinois.  During  his  term 
of  legislative  office  he  took  part  in  the  noted  con- 
test for  the  United  States  Senatorship  between 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  which 
resulted  in  the  election  of  Douglas  in  1859.  In 
that  year  he  moved  t"  Chicago,  where  his  profes- 
sional labors  have  Keen  crowned  with  distinction 
and  fortune.  In  1862  he  was  an  unsuccessful  can- 
didate for  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  to  lill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Douglas. 
The  choice  of  the  majority  id  the  Legislature  fell 
upon  William  A.  Richardson.  Since  that  time 
Mr.  Goudy  has  not  been  a  prominent  actor  in  po- 
litical affairs,  but  has  always  been  influential  in 
the  councils  of  the  party.  It  is  as  a  lawyer  that  Mr. 
Goudy  is  chiefly  known,  and  in  that  profession  lie 
stands  in  the  foremost  rank.  He  has  built  up  a 
very  large  and  lucrative  practice  at  the  Chicago 
bar.  and  it  may  almost  be  said  that  in  all  the  liti- 
gations involving  interests  and  property  of  great 
magnitude  which  have  come  before  the  Chicago 
courts  in  the  last  thirty  years.  Mr.  Goudy  has  been 
a  leading  counsel.  An  examination  of  the  Illinois 
Supreme  Court  reports  would  give  some  idea  of 
the  immense  volume  of  business  lie  has  conducted 
since  he  argued  his  Hist  case  in  that  court  in  1855. 
Since  that  time  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  vol- 
umes of  these  reports  have  been  issued,  and  Mr. 
Goudy 's  name  appears  as  counsel  in  every  one  of 
them.  In  the  higher  courts  of  other  western 
states,  and  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
Stales,  can  be  found  a  record  of  his  connection  for 
the  past  forty  years  with  many  important  cases. 
involving  questions  of  commercial  and  constitu- 
tional law.  Not  less  remarkable  than  the  magni 
tude  and  importance  of  the  causes  in  which  he 
has  been  engaged,  is  the  almost  continuous  victo- 
ry which  has  attended  his  advocacy.  This  has 
been  due  not   more   to  the  soundness  of  his  posi- 


tions than  to  the  clear  and  convincing  logic  with 
which  he  argues  them.  Other  lawyers  have  out- 
shone him  in  eloquence  and  brilliancy;  for  rhe- 
torical embellishments  Mr.  Goudy  cares  very  little; 
his  main  strength  as  an  advocate  lies  in  the 
plain,  business-like  way  in  which  he  states 
his  points  in  language  that  cannot  be 
misunderstood,  and  the  wide  range  of  judicial 
learning  with  which  he  is  able  to  fortify  his  posi- 
tions. Among  the  numerous  cases  reported  in 
the  books  which  stand  as  landmarks  of  his  pro- 
fessional fame,  the  limits  of  this  sketch  permit  of 
a  few  being  merely  noticed  as  illustrative  of  his 
laborious,  successful  and  honorable  career.  One 
of  these  was  the  celebrated  Munn  case,  which 
was  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  and  forcibly  argued  there  by  Mr.  Goudy. 
In  this  case  it  was  ultimately  established  that 
the  state  had  power  through  its  Legislature 
to  fix  maximum  rates  to  be  charged  by  ware- 
houses, railways  and  other  corporations  or  per- 
sons whose  business  wasof  a  character  affecting  the 
public  interest.  Another  notable  case  involving 
an  important  question  of  constitutional  law  was 
the  Bowman  case,  which  arose  out  of  the  prohibi- 
tory statute  of  the  state  of  Iowa,  regarding  the 
importing  of  intoxicating  liquors  into  that  state. 
The  Supreme  Court  held  that  a  statute  which 
prohibited  railways  from  bringing  intoxicating 
liquors  into  a  state  was  in  conflict  with  the  com- 
mercial clause  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Probably  the  most  interesting  casein 
which  Mr.  Goudy  appeared  as  counsel  was  the 
litigation  over  the  Kingsbury  property  in  Chicago, 
which  included  the  Ashland  block,  on  the  north 
east  corner  of  Clark  and  Randolph  streets.  This 
suit  was  carried  through  the  Illinois  courts,  and 
after  a  long,  protracted  litigation  was  finally  de- 
rided by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  May.  1890,  in  favor  of  Mr.  Goudy's  client,  <  }ov- 
ernor  Buckner  of  Kentucky.  This  property  had 
been  bought  in  1833  by  Major  Kingsbury,  of  the 
regular  army,  for  a  few  hundred  dollars.  The 
Major  had  two  heirs,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  the 
latter  of  whom  became  the  wife  of  Governor 
Buckner.  Some  time  in  18G1  Mrs.  Buckner  con- 
veyed by  deed  her  share  of  the  property  to  her 
brother,  who  had  entered  the  Union  arnn  and 
was  an  officer  on  General  Burnside's  staff.  Hav- 
ing a  presentiment  that  he  would  never  return 
North  alive.  Kingsbury  made  a  will  at  Richmond 
bequeathing  the  property  she  had  deeded  to  him 
back  to  his  sister.  The  young  officer  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  and  a  contest  over  the 


3°6 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


property  ensued.     The  birth   of  a   posthumous 
child  revoked  the  will   by  operation  of  law,  but 
the  Buckners  claimed  that  the  deed  executed  by 
Mrs.  Buckner  was  merely  a  deed  of  trust,  whereby 
her  brother  was  to  hold  her  share  of  the  property 
in  trust  for  her,  and  that  upon  his  death  it  should 
revert  to  her.    The  deed,  however,  was  absolute, 
and  it  was  necessary  for  the  claimants  to  produce 
some  writing  signed  by  the  brother  in  which  the 
trust  was  acknowledged.      All  search  for  such  a 
paper     had    been    ineffectual  ;    but    at   last  Mr. 
Goudy  learned  that  the  officer   had   been   in   the 
habit  of  writing  letters  to  his  mother,  then  living 
in  Connecticut.     He   went   there   with   Governor 
Buckner  and  saw  the  old  lady,  and   succeeded   iD 
finding   a    letter   from   Henry   W.   Kingsbury   in 
which   he   acknowledged   the   trust.      With   this 
paper  Mr.  Goudy  went  into  court  and  established 
Mrs.   Buckner's   claim.     The   Ashland  block  was 
afterwards    sold     by    Governor    Buckner    to   Mr. 
Alexander  of  Kentucky,  w-ho  has  just  built   upon 
its  site  a  new  office  building  eighteen  stories  high 
— one  of  Chicago's  -sky  scrapers."     Mr.  Goudy's 
fee  for  services  in  this  case  is  said  to  have  been  the 
largest    ever    paid    to    any    lawyer    in    the    West. 
Scarcely  less  notable  for   the   general    interest    it 
excited  in   the  public  mind  was  the  great  Storey 
will  case,  in  which  Mr.  Goudy  was  counsel  for  the 
heirs.     Wilbur  F.  Storey,  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Chicago  Times,  left  two  wills,  tin  last  of  which 
was  contested  by  his  natural  heirs,  because  by  it 
the  bulk  of  the  estate   was   left   to   Mrs.   Storey. 
The  heirs  retained  Mr.  Goudy.  and  Lyman  Trum- 
bull   was    counsel    for    Mrs.  Storey.     When    the 
will  in  favor  of  the  widow  was  presented  for  pro- 
bate, the  witnesses  to  the  signature,   Mr.   Patter- 
son the   business  manager  of  the  Times,  and  Mr. 
A.  S.  Trude.  the  attorney,  testified  that  when  he 
signed  it  Mr.  Storey  was   insane.    A  long  litiga- 
tion ensued,  which  was  ended  by  the  purchase    ,  if 
the   whole   estate   by   outside  parties,  and  an  ad- 
justment of  interests  by  which   Mr.   Goudy's  cli- 
ents were  fully  satisfied.     As  counsel  for  railroad 
corporations,  Mr.  Goudy  has  long  been   conspic- 
uous in   the   courts,   and  has  added  more  largely 
to  his  fame  and  fortune  than  in  any  other  branch 
of  litigation.     He  was  associated  with   Chief  Jus 
tice  fuller  ;i>  counsel  for  F.  H.  Winston  in  a  rail- 
road   case     involving    some    53,000,000.     In    Mr. 
Winston's  interest   he    fought    the    Southwestern 
road,  an  Iowa  corporation,  and  won  his  ease.     He 
also  represented  important   railroad    interests   in 
a  series  of  eases  involving  the  constitutionality  of 
a    Minnesota    statute,    authorizing    the    fixing   of 


rates  absolutely  by  the  state  railroad  commission. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  at  a  re- 
ei  nl  session,  announced  its  decision  in  these  cases 
which    further    circumscribes    the     rate-making 
powers  of  the  States,  the  declaration  of  the  court 
being   that   the  question  as  to  what  constitutes  a 
reasonable  rate  to  be  charged  and   received   by   a 
railroad  company  is   a  judicial  question,  and  not 
one  in  which  the  action  of  a  state  legislature,  or 
of  a  commission  appointed  by  state  authority,  is 
conclusive;  that  the  Minnesota  statute  was,  there 
fore,    in    conflict   with   fhe   constitution    of   the 
United  States,  and  for  that   reason  invalid.     Nu- 
merous clients  had  retained  Mr.  Goudy  in  suits 
against  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad,  in 
which    he    had  been   generally   victorious.    That 
corporation  came  to  the  conclusion  that   it   \\;is 
advisable  rather  to  have  him  for  them  than  against 
them.     In  January,  188C,  therefore,  negotiations 
to  this  end   were  concluded  and  Mr.  Goudy   be- 
came  the  general   counsel  for  that   company — a 
position  which  he  now  holds  and  in  which  he  is 
invaluable   to   the  corporation.     He  still  retains 
his  membership  in  the  law  Arm  of  Goudy.  Green 
A-    Goudy,    and  is   the   controlling   spirit  of  their 
great   legal  practice.      One   high    in  the   profes- 
sion,  speaking  of    him   shortly  after  his   accept- 
ance of  his  present  position  in  connection   with 
the  Northwestern   road,  said:      "He  is  the  only 
man    who    ever    graduated    from    a    large  legal 
practice  to  become  the  counselor  of  a  large  corpo- 
ration and  at  the  same  time  retained  his  practice." 
Although  taking  no  active  or  visible  part  in  polit- 
ical affairs,  it  is  well  understood  that  Mr.  Goudy 
wields  a  potent  though  unobtrusive  influence  in 
the  councils  of  his  party,  and   during   four   brief 
years,   at   least,   was   in  a  position  to  "  shape  the 
whisper  of  a  throne."     A  seat  on  the  bench  of  the 
United   States    Supreme   Court   was   w  ithin   the 
scope   of  his  honorable  ambition,  and  when  Chief 
Justice  Waite  died,  his  chances  for  the  highest  dig- 
nity in  his  profession    were   considered  excellent. 
But  on  learning  that  Melville  W.  Fuller,  between 
whom  and  himself  a  warm  friendship  existed   was 
in  the    held,   he   put   his  own   claims   aside   and 
worked  successfully  for  his  friend.     He  is  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Iroquois  Club,  the  senior  organization 
of  the  Democrats  of  Cook  county,  and  also  of  the 
Union  Club.     His  activity  in  his   profession   has 
precluded   his  figuring  to  any  extent  as  a  man  of 
society,  or  participating  in  measures  for  the  gen- 
eral improvement  of   the   city.     He  was,  however, 
I  he  lirst  to  suggest  the  formation  of  one  of  the  most 
attractive   of  our  parks,  and   may  claim   not    re- 


^ 


L/V&  A-  <_^±  ^  Yc 


sf  A-- 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


3°7 


motely  to  have  been  a  pioneer  of  our  present  mag- 
nificent park  system.  He  was  among  the  most 
active  in  securing  the  land  and  having  Lincoln 
Park  laid  out  as  it  now  is.  and  is  at  present  the 
president  of  the  Lincoln  Park  board  of  commis- 
sioners. He  is  the  owner  of  valuable  real  estate, 
and  is  largely  interested  in  Argyle  Park,  a  beauti- 
ful suburban  village  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan,  the  entire  site  of  which  was  formerly 
his  property.  Mr.  Goudy  married,  in  1819,  Miss 
Helen  Judd,  sister  of  S.  Corning  Judd,  a  distin- 
guished Democratic  lawyer,  and  postmaster  of 
Chicago  under  President  Cleveland's  administra- 
tion. They  have  two  children, — "William  Judd 
Goudy,  a  partner  in  his  father's  law  linn,  and 
Clara,  now  Mrs.  Ira  J.  Geer.  The  son  is  married 
to  Carolyn  Walker,  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel 
J.  Walker.  Through  his  son's  marriage  Mr.  Goudy 
has  a  bright  and  beautiful  granddaughter,  in 
whom  he  takes  great  delight,  and  through  Lis 
daughter  he  has  an  active  grandson,  in  whom  he 
is  quite  as  much  interested.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goudy 
are  members  of  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  church, 
the  latter  being  very  active  in  church  work,  and 
interested  in  various  charitable  organizations, 
among  them  the  Half  Orphan  Asylum,  of  whose 
board  of  managers  she  is  president.  Mr.  Goudj 
is  still,  as  he  has  always  been,  a  hard  worker. 
Both  at  home  and  in  the  city  he  works  early  and 
late.  Strictly  abstemious,  and  of  a  robust  and 
hard]  constitution,  he  is  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  as 
capable  of  undergoing  great  intellectual  or  phys- 
ical exertions  as  at  any  period  of  his  career. 


FREDERICK  S.   WINSTON. 

FREDERICK  SEYMOUR  WINSTON,  a  lead- 
ing lawyer  of  Chicago,  director  in  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  president  of  the  Chicago 
West  Division  Railway  Company,  and  director  of 
the  Michigan  Central  Railway  Company,  late  cor- 
poration counsel  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  prom- 
inently connected  as  counsel  and  director  with  a 
numlier  of  large  corporations,  was  born  in  Frank- 
fort, Kentucky.  October27,  1856.  The  progenitors 
of  the  American  branch  of  the  Winston  family 
came  originally  from  England  and  settled  in  Yir 
ginia  at  an  early  period  in  colonial  history.  Since 
the  Revolution  their  descendants  have  spread  to 
Kentucky,  Illinois.  Xew  York  and  other  states, 
in  all  of   which   they  have   flourished   and   main- 


tained a  position  of  high  respectability  and  honor. 
The  founder  of  the  Eastern  branch  of  the  family 
removed  from  Virginiato  Saratoga  county,  New 
York,  about  the  close  .  if  the  last  century,  and  there 
married  Miss  Susan  Seymour.of  a  good  Xew  Eng- 
land family.  A  son  of  this  marriage,  Frederick  Sey- 
mour Winston,  the  first  of  this  name,  was  the  pater- 
nal great  uncle  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  was  named  after  him.  Making  his  home  in 
Xew  Voik.  he  founded  in  that  city  the  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  Xew  York,  which  be- 
came under  his  able  management,  the  largest  life 
insurance  company  in  the  world.  For  many  years 
preceding  his  death  he  was  president  of  this  com- 
pany. He  w  as  a  man  of  distinguished  ability  and 
of    the  highest  character,   and  during   nearly    half 

a  century  ranked  among  the  leading  citizens  of 
the  business  metropolis  of  America.  The  pater- 
nal grandfather,  Rev.  Dennis  M.  Winston,  was  a 
native  of  Xew  York,  but  when  a  young  man.  he 
settled  in  Georgia,  and  later  lived  and  died  in 
Kentucky.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Mcintosh, 
daughter  of  General  Mcintosh,  of  Georgia.  Of 
the  children  born  to  them,  the  Hon.  Frederick  H. 
Winston,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
the  eldest.  As  a  biographical  sketch  of  this  gen- 
tleman appears  in  the  preceding  pages  of  this  vol- 
ume, it  is  unnecessary  in  this  place  to  make  more 
than  a  passing  reference  to  him.  The  mother  of 
Frederick  S..  who  was  befme  her  marriage,  Miss 
Maria  G.  Dudley,  of  an  old  family  in  Kentucky, 
was  a  descendant  of  two  early  governors  of 
that  state-  -Talbot  and  Canard.  Frederick  S. 
Winston,  the  eldest  son  of  the  foregoing,  spent 
the  first  sixteen  years  of  his  life  in  Chicago, 
where  he  obtained  his  early  education.  In  his 
seventeenth  year  he  entered  Yale  College.  Pur- 
suing the  classical  curriculum  with  far  more  than 
ordinary  zeal,  he  achieved  the  remarkable  feat  of 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  upon 
three  years  study.  Leaving  college  at  the  com- 
mencement of   his  senior   year,   he   was    voted   his 

degree  by  the  faculty  on  account  of  the  high 
standing  taken  by  him  during  the  first  threi 
of  the  college  course.  Deciding  to  follow  the 
legal  profession,  he  entered  the  rjaw  School  of 
Columbia  College,  in  Xew  York  City,  and  later 
supplemented  his  studies  by  practical  work  in  his 
father's  office  in  Chicago.  In  1S78,  at  the  June 
term  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois, he  was  admitted  to  practice  and  immediately 
became  the  partner  of  his  father,  the  newly  organ- 
ized firm  taking  the  style  of  F.  II.  &  F.  S.  Winston. 
Young  Mr.   Winston  came  to  the  practice  of  his 


v  »8 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


profession   not  only  well-grounded   in  the   princi- 
ples of  the  law,  but  with  bis  natural  acuteness  of 
intellect   trained  and  disciplined  by  a  thorough 
course  in  the  classics  and  mathematics.    In  addi- 
tion to  bis  other  qualifications  be  had  the  habit  of 
study,  and  altogether  was  splendidly  equipped  to 
begin  his  life-work.    A  brief  practice  sufficed  to 
draw  general  attention  to  his  superior  ability,  and 
in    L881  his  talents  were  officially   recognized  by 
his  appointment    as  assistant    corporation  coun- 
sel  of  the  City  of  Chicago.    In   November,   1883, 
I,,,    became   acting    corporation   counsel,   and   in 
this  position  displayed   such  conspicuous  ability 
that  in  April.  1884,  be  was  confirmed  in  the  office 
by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Chicago  City  Coun- 
cil, the  Hon.  Carter  Harrison  being   mayor.    He 
was  the  youngest  man  ever  appointed  to  this  of - 
Bce.     Hi>  promotion   to   this  important   position, 
occurring    when    he   was   but    little    more   than 
twenty-seven    years  of    age,    has    been    rightly 
termed  "an  extraordinary  tribute  to  his  legal  at- 
tainments and  maturity   of   character."     Subse- 
quent results  proved   this   tribute    to    be    a    well- 
merited   one.  tor   during    the   period   that  he  re- 
mained at  the  head  of  the  law  department  of   the 
city   government,  he  met    the    requirements   of 
tin'  position  with  a  degree  of  skill,  confidence  and 
success   which  has  seldom  been  equalled  by   any 
incumbent  of  that  office.     A  number  of  the  ques- 
tions with  which  he   was  required  to  ileal  in  his 
official  capacity  were  of   an   exceedingly   compli- 
cated nature.    Among  the  cases  argued  by  him, 
which  especially  attracted  public  attention,  were 
the  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
establishing  the  power  of   the  city  to  close  the 
bridges  over  the  Chicago  river  against  vessels  en- 
gaged  in    inter-state  commerce;  the  special   cases 
confirming  the  right  of  the  municipality  to  license 
and  regulate  trades  and  occupations;  the   decis- 
ions of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  construing 
various   provisions  of  the  city  charter,  and   those 
sustaining  the  divers  enactments  of  the  city  coun- 
cil.    In  May,  1SS6,  Mr.  Winston  resigned  the  office 
of   corporation  counsel  to  accept  the  position   of 
counsel  of  the  Michigan   Central   Railway   Com- 
pany, which  he  has  ever  since  retained.     He   was 
later   elected   the  Chicago  director  of  that  com- 
pany.    The  following  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Win- 
ston on  the  occasion  of  his  resignation,   bespeaks 
the  estimation  in  which  his  services  to  the   city 
were  held: 
"  Mb.  P.  S.  Winston: 

'■Mv  Dear  Sn:     I  have  delayed  until  the  last 
moment  giving  you  a  formal  answer  to  your  tender 


of  resignation  of  the  position  of  corporation 
counsel  tor  this  city.  You  have  performed 
the  duties  of  that  office  so  beneficially  to  the 
city,  and  so  satisfactorily  to  me,  that  it  is  a  really 

disagreeable  task  to  aeeept  your  resignation,   and 
thus  finally  sever  your  connection  with  tin-  city's 
administration.    The  public  has  seen  the  value  of 
your  services  in  the  many  suits  you  have  won  for 
the    city,    whereby    large    sums     of   money    were 
directly  saved  or  important  principles  settled   in 
the  interest  of  the  municipality.     Hut  the  public 
cannot  know  how  often  your  opinions  have   been 
a  safe  guide  to  the  councilor  have  upheld  the  ex- 
ecutive   department,    enabling    it    to    act     with 
promptness  and  decision.     In  losing  your  services 
the  municipality  will  lose  an  able  counsel  and   a 
safe  friend.     It  is  some  consolation  to  me  that  you 
have  promised  during  the   remainder  of  my  term 
Of  office  to  aid  your  successor  by  your  free  advice, 
and  to  attend  to  the  important  causes  now  in  the 
courts,  which  you  understandso  much  better  than 
any  new  attorney  can.  and  that  you  will  not  accept 
a  retainer  in  opposition  to  the  city.     Five   years 
ago  you  accepted  from  me  a  subaltern  position  in 
the  Law  Department.     You   were  young  and  un- 
tried.    I  thought  1  saw  the  stuff  that  was  in  you. 
I  made  no  mistake,  and  it  will  always  be  to  me  a 
source  of  unalloyed  pleasure  that  I  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  enable  you  to  show  the  mettle  of  which 
you   "were   made.      In   the   performance    of   your 
duties  you  have  been  unbending  in  the  right,  and 
yet   so  courteous  that  no  sting  remained  after  the 
right  was  done.     During  my   seven  years  in  the 
service  of  the  city  I  have  necessarily  made  enemies 
and  received  much  obloquy.     No  firm   man  could 
do  his  duty  in  such  an  office  and  escape  this.     The 
absolute  conviction  that  I  have  done  my  duty   to 
the  best  of  my  ability  enables  me  patiently  to  await 
the  righting  which  time  will  bring;  I  know   what 
the   verdict   will  be  and  am  content.     An  immedi- 
ate source  of  pleasure  is.  however,  always  present 
to  me.     That  is,  that  I  have  been  enabled  to  place 
so  many   true  men  in  position  to  serve  the   city 
well,  and  to  enable  them  to  merit  and  to  win   the 
encomiums  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago-  you  are  one 
of  the  foremost  of  these.   In  accepting  your  resigna- 
tion, I  can  only  add  that  I  hope  that  every  success 
may  attend  you  in  your  new  field  of  duties,  and  I 
feel  sure  that  I  can'extend  to  you  the  best  w  isles 
of  the  people  whom  you  have  so  well  served.     Sin- 
cerely vour  friend, 

"  Cakter  H.  Harrison.  Mayor. 

Mr.  Winston's  practice  is  entirely  confined  to  cor- 
porations, and  he  represents  as  officer  and  counsel 
about  twenty  large  companies,  having  probably 
the  largest  corporation  practice  in  the  West.  He 
has  a  large  English  clientele,  and  is  the  represen- 
tative of  nearly  all  the  English  capital  recently 
invested  in  Chicago  enterprises.  It  was  at  his 
suggestion  that  the  floating  of  industrial  enter- 
prises was  made  through  international  issues,  in 
place  of  the  former  method  of  American  concerns 
being  purchased  by  English  capitalists  and  offered 
exclusively  to  British  investors.     Among  the  com- 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  1LUK01S. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    ILLINOIS. 


309 


panics  in  which  he  is  a  director  may  be  named 
the  Chicago  Breweries,  Limited;  the  Chicago 
Consolidated  Brewing  and  Malting  Company;  tin- 
Chicago  Gas  Light  and  Coke  Company,  and  the 
People's  fins  Light  and  Coke  Company.  Mr. 
Winston's  distinguished  success  as  a  lawyer  is 
rendered  all  the  more  striking  by  the  fact  that 
it  has  been  achieved  so  early  in  life.  But  al- 
though the  victory  has  been  great,  the  labor  by 
which  it  has  been  won  has  been  even  greater.  Dil- 
igence, thought,  close  study,  unusual  activity  and 
manly  self-reliance  have  all  had  a  share  in  the 
work,  ami  the  best  powers  of  the  man  have  been 
put  forth  simultaneously  with  the  best  skill  of 
the  lawyer  in  attaining  the  results.  His  brilliant 
es  have  made  Mr.  Winston  one  of  the  best 
known  men  in  his  profession,  in  Chicago,  ami  his 
ability  and  honorable  conduct  have  won  for  him 
the  cordial  esteem  of  the  entire  community.  A 
Democrat  by  inheritance  as  well  as  by  conviction 
Mr.  Winston  has  faithfully  adhered  to  the  fortunes 
of  that  party,  although  having  no  desire  for  polit- 
ical office  and  but  little  time  to  spare  from  profes- 
sional duties  to  do  more  than  give  his  assent  and 
vote  to  party  candidates  and  measures.  From  the 
inception  of  the  project  for  holding  a  great  inter- 
national fair  in  America  in  commemoration  of  the 
quadri-centennialof  the  discovery  of  the  new  world 
by  Columbus,  he  has  taken  a  lively  interest  in  the 
great  enterprise  and  has  labored  with  great  earn- 
estness in  its  behalf.  Upon  the  organization  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  board  of  directors  and  has  served  ever 
since  on  the  committee  on  legislation  and  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  reference  ami  control. 
Socially  Mr.  Winston  is  of  a  genial,  hospitable  dis- 
position, and  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  society  and 
club  life  in  Chicago.  He  was  married,  on  June  26, 
1876,  to  Miss  Ada  Fountain,  daughter  of  Gideon 
Fountain,  of  New  York  City.  Mis  Winston  is  a 
highly  accomplished  lady,  of  rare  personal  attrac- 
tions, and  great  amiability  and  kindness  of  heart. 
She  is  well-known  in  a  wide  circle  for  her  benevo- 
lence and  is  a  recognized  favorite  and  a  leader  in 
the  highest  social  circles  of  Chicago. 


CHARLES    L.   HUTCHINSON. 

CHARLES  L.  HUTCHINSON  was  born  in 
Lynn.  Massachusetts.  March  i.  1851.  When  only 
two  years  of  age  he  came  west  with  his  parents, 
Mid    was   educated    in    the    schools  of   Chicago. 


Graduating  from  the  high  school  in  1873.  he  im- 
mediately entered  upon  his  business  career  with 
his  father.  B.  P.  Hutchinson,  whose  fame  as  one 
of  the  most  prominent  and  successful  busi- 
ness men  of  Chicago,  is  national.  While  attend 
ing  school.  Charles  developed  in  a  marked  de- 
gree those  habits  of  industry  and  close  applica- 
tion to  whatever  tasks  that  were  assigned  him, 
that  have  been  conspicuous  characteristics  of  his 
business  life.  A  class-mate  has  remarked,  in 
speaking  of  the  secret  of  Mr.  Hutchinson's  success 
in  the  business  world,  that,  •'  while  at  school,  he 
never  had  time  or  inclination  to  join  in  the  boyish 
sports  and  frivolities  of  the  play  ground.  He 
found  a  keener  delight  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
and  so  devoted  was  he  to  his  books,  but  for  the 
demands  of  his  father's  large  commercial  enter 
prises  upon  him— which  drew  him  into  business 
pursuits  it  is  likely  that  he  would  have  become 
famous  in  the  world  of  science  or  of  literature. 
In  any  calling  his  splendid  intellect  and  peculiar 
characteristics  would  have  carried  him  into  the 
foremost  ranks."  Nature  richly  endowed  him 
with  the  elements  of  success  in  whatever  direction 
he  might  have  chosen  to  exert  his  powers.  His 
business  training  has  been  of  the  most  thorough 
character.  At  first  he  spent  oneyear  in  the  grain 
business  and  then  a  year  in  the  packing  house. 
After  that  he  entered  his  father's  banking  house, 
the  Corn  Exchange  Bank,  passing  through  every 
department,  with  great  credit  to  himself,  until  he 
finally  became  president  of  the  bank,  which  posi- 
tion he  still  holds,  and  is  also  vice-president  of 
the  Northern  Trust  Company  Bank.  He  is  uni- 
versally recognized  as  being  among  the  ablest, 
most  energetic  and  successful  young  business  men 
of  Chicago — where  the  man  who  rises  above  the 
level  must  possess  sterling  worth  and  unquestioned 
ability.  Although  a  child  of  fortune,  his  father's 
wealth  being  always  behind  him.  and  furnishing 
him  with  every  advantage,  lie  has  always  been 
thoroughly  democratic  in  his  tastes,  detesting 
nothing  so  much  as  affectation  and  snobbery.  In 
a  word,  he  is  a  manly  man.  and  that  is  the  highest 
compliment  that  can  be  bestowed  upon  an  indi- 
vidual. Mr.  Hutchinson  is  a  lover  of  art  and  has 
one  of  the  finest  private  collections  in  Chicago. 
He  is  president  of  the  Chicago  Art  Institute,  and 
has  occupied  that  position  for  twelve  years. 
Probably  no  other  man  has  done  so  much  for  the 
development  and  advancement  of  the  interests  of 
this  institution,  as  has  Mr.  Hutchinson.  He  has 
been  abroad  several  times,  and  has  spent  much 
time  in  the  art   centers   of   Europe   in    procuring 


3io 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


additions    to    the   Institutes  eleganl   collection. 
In  the  organization  of  the  World's  Pair  directory 
of  which  Mr.  Hutchinson  has  been,  from  thefirst, 
one  of  the  most  useful  and  influential  members 
he  was  placed,  verj  appropriately,  iit  the  head  of 

tin- 1 nittee  on  fine  arts  and  also  placed  <m  the 

committee  on  liberal  arts.  In  these  capacities  and 
as  president  of  the  Art  Institute,  he  lias  been  in- 
defatigable in  his  efforts  to  secure  for  the  Art 
Institute,  a  new  and  magnificent  home,  and  at  the 
same  time  have  it  serve  as  the  place  to  hold  all 
arl  and  other  congresses  of  learned  bodies  which 
shall  assemble  in  Chicago  during  the  World's 
Fair.  For  this  privilege  the  Fair  directory  have, 
through  his  efforts,  appropriated  8200,000  to- 
wards the  enterprise,  while  the  Art  Institute  is 
to  furnish  the  balance,  $400,000,  needed  fen-  the 
completion  of  the  building.  Perhaps  the  most 
notable  of  Mr.  Hutchinson's  victories  in  this 
undertaking,  was  his  securing  from  the  city  the 
site  on  the  Lake  Front  for  this  permanent  Art 
Institute,  which  shall  stand  as  a  lasting  monument 
to  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  and  his 
coadjutors.  Mr.  Hutchinson's  home  on  Prairie 
avenue,  near  Twenty-seventh  street,  is  brilliant 
with  the  evidences  of  his  artistic  taste.  He  isone 
of  those  men  -and  the  number  is  only  too  small — 
who  believe  that  there  are  other  duties  devolving 
upon  men  besides  the  requirements  of  business. 
He  has  never  permitted  his  business  affairs  to 
harden  his  heart  or  warp  the  nobler  side  of  his 
nature.  It  is  impossible  to  make  of  a  man,  with 
his  strong  mind,  broad  sympathies  and  keen 
appreciation  of  the  duties  and  privileges  of  life, 
simply  a  money-making  machine.  While  not 
neglecting  business  he  finds  time  to  think  of  the 
beautiful  and  elevating.  He  is  an  active  and 
prominent  member  of  St.  Paul's  Universalist 
Church,  of  Chicago,  and  has  been  superintendent 
of  its  Sunday  School  for  the  past  ten  years.  He, 
in  connection  with  Mr.  II.  X.  Higinbotham,  erected 
tin-  chapel  building  connected  with  this  church 
in  L886-7,  each  contributing  an  equal  amount  for 
this  purpose.  In  this  age,  when  there  seems  to  be 
an  increasing  tendency  among  young  men  to 
throw  the  entire  energy  of  their  being  into  business 
activity,  and  to  neglect,  and  perhaps  despise,  as 
unworthy  of  a  business  man's  attention,  the 
gentler  duties  of  life,  the  habits  and  tastes  of  this 
prominent  young  business  man,  are  an  earnest 
protest  and  beautiful  example.  Mr.  Hutchinson 
is  possessed  i  ,l'  u  i  ,n,  brl'i  1 1  executive  ability  and 
whatever  he  undertakes  he  accomplishes  by 
throwing  into  the  enterprise,  his  entire  energy  and 


masterly  executive  power.  The  general  recogni- 
tion of  his  ability  would  burden  him  with  official 
position  in  the  management  of  corporate  and 
other  enterprises  if  his  private  business  would 
permit  him  to  devote  much  time  in  that  direction. 
He  is  frequently  called  upon  by  rich  and  pooralike 
for  advice  in  the  management  of  their  financial 
affairs:  and  he  devotes  much  time  and  energy  to 
the  affairs  of  those  who  thus  seek  his  aid.  He  is 
public-spirited  and  takes  a  lively  interest  in 
questions  that  affect  the  community.  When 
called  before  public  assemblies  to  address  them 
upon  such  questions  or  upon  any  question,  he  never 
fails  to  interest,  and  his  arguments  upon  public 
topics  upon  which  there  is  a  diversity  of  sentiment, 
are  always  so  logical  and  fair  as  to  command  uni- 
versal respect.  This  active  life  has  been  a  great 
strain  upon  his  physical  strength.  With  large 
interestsof  a  private  character,  constantly  demand 
ing  his  attention,  and  with  more  or  less  out- 
side demands  pressing  upon  him,  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that  hi'  finds  it  necessary  of 
late  years,  to  seek  that  rest  and  recreation  of 
which  he  felt  no  need  in  his  early  career.  But 
however  worn  and  weary  he  may  lie,  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson is  always  the  same  genial  gentleman,  eon- 
cealing  from  the  public  the  effects  of  the  wear  and 
tear  of  business  upon  him.  beneath  a  pleasant 
exterior  and  kindly  manner.  In  1881,  Mr.  Hutch- 
inson married  Miss  Frances  Kinsley,  daughter  of 
H.  M.  Kinsley,  of  Chicago,  and  his  home  is  not 
only  a  bower  of  beauty,  but  a  place  of  sweet  ci  in 
tentment. 


NORMAN  T.   GASSETTE. 

NORMAN  THEODORE  GASSETTE,  a  dis- 
tinguished citizen  of  Chicago,  county  clerk  of 
Cook  county,  from  1868  until  1872,  and  widely 
known  as  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Ma- 
sonic Fraternity  in  America  and  as  the  projector 
of  the  great  Masonic  Temple  now  building  in  the 
"  Metropolis  of  the  West,"  was  born  at  Townsend, 
Vermont,  on  April  21,  1839,  and  died  at  his  home 
in  Chicago,  on  March  26,1891.    His  earlier  boy - 

h 1  was  spent  at  the  place  of  his  birth  and  at 

Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  from  the  latter 
place  he  removed  with  his  parents,  Silas  li.  and 
Susanna  1'.  Gassette,  to  Chicago,  in  December, 
1849.  He  was  for  a  short  time  a  student  in  the 
Garden  City  Institute,  and  later  in  Professor 
Hathaway's  Academy — both  excellent  schools  in 


/rS-rT-, 


'zc<2*<:  yy.  ya^uJZf 


L.u.in. 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


311 


Chicago;  and  afterwards  was  a  private  pupil  of 
Professor  Alonzo  J.  Sawyer.  In  his  seventeenth 
year  he  entered  Shurtleff  College,  at  Alton.  Illi- 
nois, where  he  spent  a  year.  He  then  attended 
for  a  twelvemonth  the  Atwater  Institute  at  Roch- 
ester. New  York,  and  completed  his  education  by 
taking  the  entire  curriculum  of  Harvard  College, 
under  private  tutelage.  The  outbreak  of  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  found  him  an  enthusiastic 
supporter  of  the  stand  taken  by  the  Federal  au- 
thorities, and  on  June  17.  1861.  he  voluntarily  took 
up  arms  in  defense  of  his  imperilled  country,  en- 
listing as  a  private  soldier  in  Company  -A.  "  Nine- 
teenth Regiment  Illinois  Volunteers,  which  took 
til'-  field  in  July  following.  Throughout  his  long 
service  he  was  distinguished  for  his  personal 
bravery  and  fortitude.  In  1862  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant  and  aid.' 
His  bravery  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  bo 
conspicuous  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  his  su- 
periors, and  he  was  recommended  for  the  brevet 
rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  by  several 
officers  under  whom  he  served,  including  General 
George  H.  Thomas,  who  commanded  his  division. 
In  October.  1864,  In-  was  honorably  mustered  out 
of  the  United  States  service.  lb-  then  entered 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Chicago 
— supporting  himself  by  clerical  labor  while  pur- 
suing his  studies — and  being  graduated  there  in 
1866,  was  shortly  afterwards  admitted  to  the  Illi- 
nois bar.  and  at  once  began  the  active  practice  of 
In-  profession.  An  enthusiastic  Republican,  he 
had  no  sooner  finished  his  legal  studies  than  he 
plunged  into  the  turbulent  sea  of  local  politics. 
He  soon  assumed,  as  if  by  natural  right,  the  place 
•  >f  a  leader  and  as  one  was.  in  1866,  appointed 
deputy  county-clerk,  of  Cook  county,  under  ( ien 
eral  Ed.  S.  Salomon  who  was  then  the  incumbent 
of  the  county  clerk's  office.  In  this  capacity  he 
had  charge  of  the  county  records.  In  186S,  while 
still  holding  this  position  he  was  nominated  by 
the  I;,  publicans  for  the  office  of  county  clerk,  and 
■ted  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  As 
the  holder  of  this  office  he  was  ex-officio  regis- 
ter of  deeds  for  the  county  -and  as  the  fee  system 
was  then  in  vogue  the  position  was  very  remuner- 
ative. Dming  his  term  of  office  he  was  a  power 
in  politics  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most 
efficient  workers  in  the  Republican  party.  He 
was  chairman  of  seven  campaign  committees  and 
as  such  conducted  the  affairs  of  his  party  in  his 
district  with  great  vigor  and  success.  In  Decem- 
ber. lsTJ.  his  term  of  office  closed  and  he  did  not 
afterwards   take   any   decidedly  active  part  in  po- 


litical matters — although  continuing  a  staueh 
Republican  till  his  death.  With  his  fortune, 
which  was  then  said  to  be  considerably  in  excess 
of  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars,  he  embarked  in 
extensive  real  estate  operations,  which  made  the 
firm  of  Xorman  T.  Cassette  A  Co.  one  the  best 
known  in  the  state.  He  owned  a  large  amount  of 
real  estate  just  after  the  great  tire,  but  he  had  dis- 
posed of  it  all.  with  the  exception  of  four  houses, 
at  the  time  of  the  panic  in  1873  and  had  invested 
his  means  in  Government  bonds  and  other  stand 
aril  securities.  Later  he  made  some  very  profita- 
ble investments.  He  was  president  and  manager 
of  the  Van  de  Poele  Electric  Lighting  Company 
for  some  time,  and  also  a  large  stockholder  in  the 
Lakeside  Publishing  Company,  but  he  withdrew 
from  the  latter  before  it  was  overtaken  by  disas- 
ter.  For  several  years  previous  to  his  death  he 
was  the  partner  of  his  son.  Mr.  Wirt  K.  Gassette, 
in  a  very  large  real -estate  and  loan  business  in 
Chicago.  Although  Mr.  Gassette  was  well  known 
by  reason  of  his  prominent  official  position  and 
through  his  military  service,  extensive  real-estate 
operations  and  active  connection  with  a  number 
of  important  business  enterprises,  his  celebrity 
came  to  him  as  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order. 
He  became  a  Master  Mason  in  1864,  affiliating 
with  Blair  Lodge.  Xo.  393,  of  Illinois.  Later  he 
joined  Home  Lodge.  No.  508,  in  the  same  juris- 
diction. There  was  for  him  a  great  charm  in  the 
mystic  work  of  the  fraternity,  and  he  made  a 
close  study  of  it.  becoming  eventually  one  of  the 
most  erudite  Masons  in  the  country.  He  worked 
with  ardor  to  build  up  the  Order  and  rose  to  the 
highest  rank  in  it.  In  1869  he  was  made  a  Royal 
Arch  Mason  in  Lafayette  Chapter,  in  Chicago; 
and  in  the  same  year  became  a  life  member  of 
Apollo  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  in  that 
city.  Some  of  his  most  notable  Masonic  work 
was  done  as  a  member  of  and  through  this  Com- 
mandery. In  1*74  he  was  chosen  "prelate"  serv- 
ing two  terms;  he  then  became  "generalissimo" 
and  subsequently  "  eminent  commander. "  In  the 
latter  capacity  le-  served  six  years,  in  the  course 
of  which  time  the  commandery  became  the  largest 
body  of  Masonic  Knights  Templars  in  the  world. 
As  eminent  commander  of  Apollo  Commandery. 
Mr.  Gassette  was  chairman  of  the  joint  committee 
of  management  of  the  twenty-first  triennial  con- 
clave of  the  grand  encampment  of  Knights  Temp- 
lar held  in  Chicago  in  1880,  and  in  this  capacity 
became  the  controlling  and  directing  power  in  de- 
vising and  executing  the  plans  necessary  to  render 
the  immense  conclave  a  success.     Thus  the  chief 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


responsibility  rested  upon  his  shoulders;  and 
that  he  was  eminently  successful  in  bearing  it 
unci  in  performing  the  gigantic  task  thai  fell  to 
him  is  now  freely  acknowledged  by  all,  although 
at  the  time  he  was  harshly  criticised  in  some 
quarters.  Masonic  history  upholds  his  course 
throughout;  ami  this  is  a  sufficient  refutation  of 
his  would-be  critics.  Mr.  Gassette  was  in  com- 
mand of  Apollo  Commandery  whin  it  made  its  fa- 

us  trip  to  Europe,  in  1883.  The  party, consisting 

of  one  hundred  and  forty  "Sir  Knights"  and 
twenty  ladies     their  wives  Or   relatives     left    New 

York  mi  the  "  City  of  Rome  "  in  July  of  the  year 

mentioned,  and  after  visiting  nearly  all  the  princi- 
pal cities  of  Europe,  returned  in  September.  The 
Commandery  received  many  honors  from  their  for- 
eign brethren,  and  the  trip  was  in  many  ways  a  verj 
remarkable  one.  In  1874,  also,  Mr.  Gassette  was 
admitted  tn  membership  in  the  Chicago  Consistory 
oi  the  Scottish  Elite,  and  having  taken  all  the  de- 
grees leading  thereto  was.  on  September  17.  1889, 
advanced  to  the  highest,  or  33d  degree,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Sepreme  Council  of  this  Rite,  held  in 
the  City  of  New  York.  As  a  Knight  Templar  he 
was  elected  Eminent  Commander  of  the  Illinois 
(or  State)  Commandery  in  1888,  and  during  1889 
he  was  Grand  Commander  of  the  Grand  (or 
National)  Commandery— and  head  of  the  Knights 
Templar  of  the  United  States.  In  1889,  he  took 
the  Templars  of  Illinois  to  the  triennial  conclave 
in  Washington,  having  under  him  the  largest  bat- 
talion of  uniformed  Knights  Templar  ever  sent  to 
a  conclave.  Three  full  trains  of  cars  were  required 
to  transport  them.  "Mr.  Cassette  "  says  one  who 
was  closely  intimate  with  him — "  was  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  the  councils  of  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, and  his  name  was  known  to  every  member  of 
that  organization  in  the  country  as  that  of  one  of 
the  leading  lights  in  the  order.  He  devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  to  the  interests  of  the  or- 
der and  gave  freely  to  any  of  its  projects.  He  was 
an  orator  of  no  common  ability  and  frequently 
contributed  poems  and  essays  to  the  order."  As 
previously  stated  he  found  a  great  charm  in  the 
stud}  of  Masonic  subjects.  His  reading  was  re- 
markably extensive  and  probably  covered  every 

li i  research  bearing  upon  them.     "Ho  was  a 

man  of  the  widest  culture."  said  a  noted  Chicago 
book-seller  and  publisher;  "  he  must  have  had  one 
of  the  largest  libraries  in  the  city.  *  *  *  *  * 
He  bought  books  to  read,  not  for  show  or  orna- 
iN'  in.  I  le  read  everything — history, 

science,  literature  and  poetry.  *  *  *  *  * 
Whal  he  read  became  his  own.     If  tin-re  was  any 


line  of  reading  he  pursued  more  systematically 
and  thoroughly  than  any  other  it  was  the  history 
of  early  and  oriental  religions.  He  was  thoroughly 
conversant  with  all  that  has  been  written  con- 
cerning the  various  forms  of  religion  and  relig- 
ious worship  that  have  been  taught  or  practiced 
in  India.  China.  Persia.  Egypt— or  in  fact  anywhere 
in  the  Orient.  He  was  especially  interested  in  the 
symbolism  and  mystic  elements  of  these  religions." 
Mr.  Gassette  was  a  valued  contributor  to  Masonic 
literature.  He  was  one  of  the  ripest  Masonic  schol- 
ars in  the  country  and  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  history  and  legends  of  the  order  from  its  birth 
down  to  the  present  day.  He  wrote  the  last  ritual 
of  the  Knights  Templar,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  engaged  in  revising  it.  The  ritual  of 
the  Scottish  Rite  read  in  the  burial  service  of  its 
members  was  entirely  his  composition.  Several 
of  the  songs  are  works  of  great  merit,  and  the  rit- 
ual as  recently  revised  by  him  is  now  the  standard 
for  every  lodge  in  English-speaking  countries.  Of 
all  his  Masonic  works  it  is  probable  that  the 
Masonic  Temple  in  Chicago  will  remain  his  great 
est  monument.  It  may  be  said  to  have  had  its  in 
ception  in  his  mind.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to 
broach  the  subject,  and  when  it  was  taken  up  the 
active  work  devolved  upon  him.  The  two  years 
preceding  his  death  were  devoted  to  it  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  almost  every  other  work.  This  mam- 
moth architectural  pile,  eighteen  stories  of  granite 
and  steel,  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble buildings  in  the  world,  may  not  unjustly  lie 
called  his  Masonic  monument.  He  was  president 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity 
Temple  Association  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  also  at  that  time  Grand  Senior  Warden  of  the 
Grand  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar  of  Illi- 
nois. As  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War  he  was  on 
terms  of  close  friendship  with  the  ex-Union  sol 
diers  of  Chicago,  and  was  an  influential  comrade 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  was  instru- 
mental in  effecting  a  great  deal  of  good  for  the 
members  of  that  military  order  and  for  the  wid- 
ows and  orphaned  children  of  deceased  soldiers. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  commander  of 
Columbia  Post,  No.  700,  Department  of  Illinois.  G. 
A.  R.  There  was  a  deep  religious  vein  in  Mr. 
Cassette's  character.  In  the  enterprises  of  all 
churches  he  took  a  sincere  interest  and  rendered 
active  service  willingly  whenever  called  upon.  For 
eight  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee of  Immanuel  I'.aptist  church,  of  which  he 
was  a  regular  attendent.  and  of  whose  pastor,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lorimer,  he  was  an  intimate  and  trusted 


jbRARY 

OF  THE 

^SlTYoflLLlNL 


CAAA^J® 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


friend.  His  personal  traits  of  character  were  most 
manly  and  agreeable.  There  was  a  quiet  strength 
and  great  dignity  in  his  character  and  bearing. 
Hi-  conversed  with  great  fluency  and  was  an  ad- 
mirable story-teller.  He  was  fond  of  study,  yet  he 
never  gratified  himself  selfishly  in  this  regard, 
having  too  high  a  conception  of  duty.  He  loved  the 
-  of  the  home  circle  and  was  a  model  hus- 
band and  father.  As  an  employer  he  was  kind  and 
just,  and  made  the  humblest  subordinate  perfectly 
at  ease  by  the  engaging  cordiality  of  his  demeanor. 
He  gave  loyal  allegiance  to  the  city  of  Chicago, 
and  worked  faithfully  at  all  times  to  advance  its 
interests.  His  death,  which  was  the  unlooked  for 
sequence  of  a  severe  attack  alt  "la grippe" — the 
dreaded  epidemic  disease  of  Eusian  origin,  now 
so  prevalent  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world- 
occasioned  wide-spread  grief  and  drew  forth  the 
most  sincere  expressions  of  regret  from  many 
quarters,  and  his  funeral  was  one  of  the  most 
notable  that  ever  took  place  in  Chicago.  Mr. 
Gassette's  wife,  nee  Amelia  L.  Boggs,  survives 
him,  also  two  children,  —Mr.  Wirt  Knickerbocker 
Gassette,  already  a  prominent  business  man  of 
Chicago,  and  Miss  Grace  Gassette. 


JOHN  J.   HEER1CK. 

JOHN  J.  HERRICK  was  born  on  the  25th  day 
of  May,  1845,  at  Hillsboro,  Illinois.  His  father. 
William  B.  Herrick,  M.  I).,  was  a  physician  of  note, 

who  practiced  in  Chicago  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  was  professor  of  anatomy  and  materia  medica 
in  the  Rush  Medical  College  from  1844  to  1847, 
but  on  account  of  failing  health,  returned  to 
Maine,  his  native  state,  where  he  died  in  1865.  His 
mother  was  Martha  J.  Seward,  daughter  of  John 
B.  Seward,  of  Montgomery  county,  Illinois.  Mr. 
Herrick's  early  school  days  were  spent  in  Chicago, 
in  the  public  and  private  schools,  and  afterwards, 
on  his  father's  removal  to  that  state,  at  Auburn. 
Maine.  He  prepared  f<  >r  ci  illege  at  Lewiston  Falls 
academy,  and  then  entered  Bowdoin  College, 
Maine.  He  took  the  regular  classical  course, 
graduating  in  1866.  He  then  came  west,  and 
taught  school  in  Hyde  Park,  at  that  time  a  suburb 
of  Chicago,  now  included  in  the  city  limit- 
year.  At  the  end  of  that  period  lie  entered  the 
C)  i( !ag0  law  school,  graduating  in  1SC8.  During 
tin-  first  year  of  the  law  school  course,  he  entered 
the  law  office  of  Higgins,  Swett  A-  Quigg,   with 


whom  he  remained  as  student  and  clerk  until  the 
spring  of  1871,  when  he  began  the  practice  of 
law  in  Chicago.  In  1878  he  became  associated 
with  the  late  Wirt  Dexter,  and  in  1880  the  firm 
of  Dexter.  Herrick  &  Allen  was  formed,  its  mem- 
bers being  Mr.  Dexter,  Mr.  Herrick,  and  Charles 
L.  Allen.  This  firm  continued  up  to  the  time  of 
Mr.  Dexter's  death,  in  May.  1890.  They  had  a 
large  clientage,  both  nt  individuals  and  corpora- 
tions; the  suits  entrusted  to  their  management 
involved  property  "f  large  amount,  and  tin-  volume 
of  business  which  passed  under  their  hands  from 
year  to  year  was  not  exceeded  by  that  of  any  other 
law  firm  in  Chicago.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Dexter, 
the  firm  of  Herrick  A-  Allen  was  formed,  succeeding 
to  the  business  of  the  old  firm  of  Dexter.  Herrick 
&  Allen.  Among  the  men  of  his  age  Mr.  Herrick 
has  perhaps  no  equal,  certainly  no  superior  at  the 
Chicago  liar.  In  the  recent  stock  yards  litigation, 
where  the  conflicting  interests  of  Chicago.  East 
ern  and  English  capitalists  were  represented  by 
the  highest  legal  ability  that  could  be  employed 
in  this  country,  tin-  briefs  of  John  J.  Herrick. 
who  represented  the  Chicago  interests,  were 
spoken  of  in  terms  of  unqualified  praise  by  the 
great  lawyers  that  took  part  in  the  case.  Hi-  has 
distinguished  himself  as  an  attorney  in  sunn-  of 
tin-  most  important  cases  the  West  has  ever  known, 
involving  large  private  and  corporate  interests. 
He  is  a  man  who  thoroughly  loves  his  profession. 
lb-  is  eminently  gifted  with  the  rapacities  of  mind 
which  an-  indispensable  to  success  at  tin-  bar. 
lb-  is  an  indefatigable  worker,  ami  labors  as  much 
for  th'-  love  of  his  profession  as  In-  does  for  pecu- 
niary success.  Quick  and  keen  in  perception,  he 
has  the  faculty  of  grasping  all  the  details  and  in- 
tricacies of  a  case,  and  not  losing  sight  of  tin1 
essential  facts  and  considerations  involve  1  in  it. 
upon  which  the  decision  of  every  case  finally 
turns.  In  the  diligence  and  care  with  which  he 
sifts  and  marshals  the  facts  and  investigates  the 
law  applicable  to  them,  he  is  unsurpassed  in 
his  profession.  In  preparing  a  case  for  trial,  everj 
fact,  however  insignificant,  is  carefully  studied, 
and  its  possible  relevancy  to  the  merits  of  the  case 
weighed  and  considered.  Tin-  principles  of  law 
applicable  to  the  case  are  studied  and  thought  out 
with  equal  industry  and  care,  and  Mr.  Herrick 
has  always  been  noted  as  a  living  encyclopedia  of 
authorities  wherewith  to  fortify  his  positions. 
His  knowledge  "f  cases  in  point,  and  his  readiness 
and  facility  in  referring  to  them,  amount  almost 
to  a  specialty  with  him.  A  member  of  tin-  bar, 
who  has  had  many  opportunities  of  observing  Mr. 


3>4 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


Herrick'e  methods,  has  given  us  the  following  ac- 
count of  him  in  this  regard: 

"Perhaps  one  of  his  most  striking  character- 
istics is  his  manner  of  studying  and  using  the 
decisions  of  courts  and  authorities.  In  the  lirst 
place  he  is  possessed  of  unwearied  industry  in  the 
search  for  authorities;  In- wishes  to  have  before 
him  all  thai  courts  have  Baid  or  decided  cm  a  dis- 
puted or  doubtful  question  of  law  involved  in  any 
of  his  cases.  The  amount  of  labor  which  he  thus 
takes  upon  himself  can  be  appreciated  only  by 
lawyers  familiar  with  the  enormous  number  of 
reports,  and  their  rapid  increase  of  recent  years. 
In  the  next  place,  his  mind  seizes  with  great 
rapidity  on  the  facts  and  essential  points  of  decided 
cases,  and  almost  by  intuition  grasps  the  grounds 
on  which  the  decisions  rest,  and  the  distinctions 
between  them  and  the  particular  ease  upon  which 
he  is  at  work.  Nor  is  he  misled  by  authorities,  as 
so  many  lawyers  are.  The  fact  that  one  or  two 
eases  may  be  found,  supporting  a  particular  view 
of  the  law.  does  not  lead  him  into  the  error  of  sup 
posing  that  such  is  the  law.  even  if  no  contrary 
eases  ha ve  conn-  to  his  knowledge,  or  can  be  found; 
the  reasoning  of  decisions  is  just  as  important  in 
his  eyes  as  the  fact  that  such  decisions  have  been 
made,  and  if  such  reasoning  does  not  seem  to  him 
legally  sound,  they  have  little  weight  in  his  judg- 
ment. When  lie  comes  to  the  practical  use  of 
authorities  in  court,  one  of  his  greatest  merits 
appears.  He  never  cites  a  case  which  can  be 
turned  against  him  by  his  opponents.  He  never 
cites  eases  which  rest  on  distinctions  that  his  ad- 
versaries can  avail  themselves  of.  Nor  does  he 
burden  a  court  with  tie'  labor  of  examining  a 
large  number  of  authorities  which  have  no  real 
application  to  the  controversy  before  them.  His 
authorities  are  carefully  selected,  and  they  are  in 
point.  But  his  reasoning  as  to  the  law.  independ- 
ent of  authorities,  and  on  the  facts  of  his  case, 
is  perhaps  his  pre-eminent  merit  as  a  lawyer.  He 
is  broad-minded,  free  from  the  fault  of  laying  to., 
much  stress  on  technical  points  and  of  wasting 
his  energies  on  minor  questions  of  fact  or  law, 
and  his  positions  follow  one  another  with  convinc- 
ing force.  Much  the  same  may  be  said  of  his 
briefs  and  arguments  before  courts  of  review.  As 
a  brief  writer  he  has  no  superior,  and  perhaps  no 
equal,  at  the  Chicago  bar.  The  order  and  arrange- 
ment of  his  briefs  is  thought  out  and  planned  as 
a  general  plans  a  battle.  He  sees  what  the  real 
and  fundamental  questionsare  in  a  record,  and  he 
devotes  his  strength  of  argument  to  those  ques- 
tions, while  not  failing  to  press,  with  all  their 
propi  i-  force,  the  other  points  in  his  case." 

Although  a  good  advocate  before  a  jury,  stating 
and  arguing  his  cases  to  them  with  clearness, 
force,  and  in  a  persuasive  manner,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  Mr.  Berrick's  forte  is  as  counsel 
out  of  court,  and  as  a  trial  lawyer  before  I  lie 
bench  without  a  jury,  in  chancery  eases,  and  in 
eases  on  appeal.  Asa  counsel  he  is  painstaking 
mservative,  and  his  judgment  on  what 
is  the  best  tliinur   to  be  done  in  the   matters  sub- 


mitted to  him  can  safely  be  depended  upon.  He 
never  gives  opinions  without  the  fullest  investi- 
gation both  of  the  facts  and  the  law  applicable  to 
them,  and  never  advises  his  clients  to  take  a 
course  of  action  which  may  be  doubtful  in  result 
without  fully  explaining  to  them  the  possible 
consequences.  As  a  trial  lawyer,  either  in  a  law 
court  or  in  a  chancery  case,  he  is  a  most  careful, 
alert,  forcible,  and  energetic  advocate.  Mr.  Her 
rick  has  an  intuitive  perception  and  love  of  justice, 
and  he  has.  as  a  consequence,  an  instinctive  ap- 
preciation of  what  courts  can  be  persuaded  to  hold 
as  law.  He  has  therefore  the  great  and  con- 
spicuous merit  of  never  attempting  to  support 
positions  as  to  law  or  facts  which  an- in  conflict 
with  the  probable  predispositions  of  the  court 
whom  he  is  addressing.  He  has  also  the  gift  of 
caution  in  argument;  that  is,  he  does  not  seek  to 
establish  principles  or  rules  of  law  unnecessary 
for  the  decision  of  his  particular  case,  or  to  carry 
a  rule  of  law  further  than  the  decision  of  his  case 
in  his  favor  requires.  If  there  is  a  limitation  on 
his  merits  as  a  lawyer,  it  lies  in  the  fact  that 
owing  to  his  great  natural  sense  of  justice,  he  is  a 
stronger  antagonist  when  clearly  on  the  right  side 
of  a  controversy  than  at  other  times.  He  does 
not  confine  his  attention  to  corporation  law, 
although  very  frequently  employed  in  corporation 
cases.  He  is  a  lawyer  in  general  practice,  engaged 
in  a  very  extensive  and  varied  line  of  business, 
and  who  has  had  the  experience  in  nearly  all  varie- 
ties of  legal  practice,  and  is  equally  proficient 
in  them  all.  Mr.  Herrick  married,  in  1883.  Miss 
Julie  A.  Dulon,  of  Chicago.  Three  daughters 
have  been  born  to  them.  He  is  a  man  thoroughly 
domestic  in  his  tastes.  Though  a  member  of  sev- 
eral clubs,  he  is  seldom  seen  at  any  of  them.  He 
seems  to  find  more  congenial  enjoyment  in  his 
own  home.  He  has  the  refined  nature  and  the 
amiable  qualities  that  win  friends  everywhere, 
though  not  what  is  commonly  known  as  a  society 
man.  The  University  Club  and  the  Chicago  Lit- 
erary Club  count  him  as  one  of  their  most 
valued  members.  He  and  his  family  attend  the 
pulpit  ministrations  of  Professor  Swing.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  a  Republican  until  the  presidential 
election  of  1884,  when  he  voted  for  Grover  Cleve- 
land. In  this  he  had  the  companionship  of  a  con- 
siderable number  of  citizens  who  had  theretofore 
acted  with  the  Republican  party,  most  of  whom 
were  dissatisfied  with  the  tariff  policy  of  the  ad- 
ministration. In  municipal  politics  he  has  always 
been  independent;  since  1884,  he  has  voted  with 
the  Democratic  party  on  national  issues. 


LIBRAE 

OF  THE 

UWVtRSlTY»f«AAHO\S. 


£M/, 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLIMHS. 


5l5 


CHARLES  L.  ALLEN. 

CHARLES  LINN.EUS  ALLEN  was  born  al 
Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  on  the  22d  of  October,  1849. 
He  is  the  son  of  Dr.  J.  Adams  Allen,  whose  biog- 
raphy appears  elsewhere  in  this  work,  and  Mary 
Marsh  Allen.  When  he  was  ten  years  of  age,  his 
parents  removed  to  Chicago.  Here  he  went 
through  the  usual  course  at  the  high  school,  and 
afterwards  attended  the  Chicago  University.  His 
uncle,  Professor  Marsh,  was  at  that  time  a  mem- 
ber of  the  faculty  of  Dennison  University,  at  <  »ran- 
ville,  <  thio,  the  greal  Baptist  seminary  from  which 
many  eminent  clergymen  of  the  Baptist  church 
have  graduated;  and  after  he  had  studied  forsome 
time  at  the  Chicago  University.  Mr.  Allen  pro- 
ceeded  to  Granville,  and  completed  Ins  college 
course  there,  graduating  in  1870.  In  September 
of  that  year  he  entered  the  law  office  of  Walker, 
Dexter  &  Smith  as  a  taw  student,  and  remained 
with  that  firm,  after  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
until  1879,  when  the  firm  was  reorganized.  Mr. 
Walker  and  Mr.  Smith  retired,  and  Mr.  Dexter 
associated  with  himself  in  a  new  partnership,  John 
J.  Herrick  and  Mr.  Allen,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Dexter,  Herrick  &  Allen.  Of  this  firm  Mr.  Allen 
became  the  business  manager,  taking  charge  of 

the  financial  interests  of  the  firm.  Si tin- death 

of  Mr.  Dexter,  in  .May.  1890,  the  firm  has  been 
known  as  Herrick  &  Allen.  The  firm  .if  Dexter. 
Herrick  &  Allen,  and  its  successor,  Herrick  & 
Allen,  have  been  engaged  in  much  of  the  most  im- 
portant litigation  which  has  been  carried  on  in 
Chicago  since  the  earlier  firm  was  formed.  They 
have  acted  as  the  chief  attorneys  of  some  of  the 
largest  railroad  and  other  corporations  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  city  and  state.  During  Mr.  Dexter's 
life  he  was  the  general  solicitor  of  the  Chicago. 
Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad  Company,  aud  the 
firm  was  engaged  in  nearly  all  the  important  legal 
business  of  that  road.  Some  of  the  eases  which 
thus  occupied  their  attention  have  become  land 
marks  in  our  western  jurisprudence,  such  as  the 
eases  relating  to  the  validity  of  the  Iowa  and 
Illinois  railroad  rate  laws,  and  to  the  validity 
of  the  Iowa  statute  forbidding  foreign  railway 
companies  to  remove  cases  from  the  State  to 
the  United  States  courts.  During  the  cele- 
brated strike  of  engineers  and  other  employes 
of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  railroad 
a  few  years  ago,  when  dynamite  was  employed 
as  a  means  of  wrecking  trains,  and  several  of 
the  ringleaders  of  these  riotous  proceedings  were 
brought  to  trial  and  sentenced  to  a  long  imprison- 


ment in  the  penitentiary,  the  railroads  connecting 
with  the  Burlington  system,  intimidated  by  the 
attitude  of  the  men,  and  fearful  that  the  strike 
would  extend  to  their  mails,  refused  to  receive  and 
carry  the  freight  from  the  Burlington  line.  Consid 
erable  litigation  grew  out  of  their  refusal  to  handle 
this  freight,  in  which  the  firm  of  Dexter,  Herrick 
A-  Allen  weie  employed  as  the  representatives  of 
the  Burlington  Railroad  Company.  The  firm  were 
also  concerned  in  the  celebrated  W.  P.Storey  will 
case,  and  the  well-known  Spalding  case  as  to  what 
constituted  a  voluntary  assignment  for  the  benefit 
of  creditors.  They  now  represent  the  Union  Stock 
Yards  and  Transit  Company  and  the  Chicago 
Junction  Railroad  Company  in  the  litigation  they 
are  now  carrying  on  with  some  of  the  packers.  To 
enumerate  the  persons  and  corporations  forwhom 
the  firm  has  acted  as  counsel  and  attornej  s.  either 
in  all  or  the  principal  part  of  their  litigation, 
would  be  to  name  very  many  of  the  most  promi- 
nent people  and  corporations  doing  business  in  the 
state.  Their  business  in  the  main,  is  one  involv- 
ing very  large  amounts  of  money,  and  much  of  it 
is  advisory  business,  that  is.  giving  counsel  to 
clients  with  large  interests,  in  matters  which  never 
come  into  court  at  all.  Mr.  Allen  is  well-known 
in  his  profession,  and  has  already  achieved  an 
enviable  reputation  for  so  young  a  man.  He  rarely 
appears  in  court,  anil  has  never  been  what  is 
termed  a  court  lawyer,  but  has  devoted  himself 
chiefly  to  general  chamber  practice,  the  trial  of 
cases  in  which  the  firm  are  engaged  devolving 
mainly  upon  his  partner,  Mr.  Herrick.  He  is  prin- 
cipally occupied  in  the  management  of  negotia- 
tions and  advising  as  to  the  law  applicable  to  sub- 
mitted facts,  and  the  proper  course  of  procedure 
to  be  undertaken  in  regard  to  them.  As  an  advis- 
ory counsel,  giving  his  legal  opinion  on  matters 
brought  before  him,  he  has  evinced  an  accuracj  of 
knowledge  and  a  sagacity  of  judgment  that  have 
won  the  confidence  of  numerous  clients.  As  a 
business  lawyer  he  has  in  fact  few.  if  any,  superi 
ors  at  the  Chicago  bar.  He  is  thoroughly  well 
read  in  the  law,  with  a  firm  grasp  of  its  principles 
and  an  ability  to  apply  those  principles  quickly  to 
cases  as  they  are  presented  to  him.  and  this  fac- 
ulty in  applying  his  knowledge  and  experience  en- 
ables him  to  dispose  very  rapidly  of  a  largeamount 
of  business,  and  makes  him  a  most  valuable  ad- 
viser in  all  business  matters.  He  is  very  quick  to 
comprehend,  and  his  mind  grasps,  retains  and  ar- 
ranges the  most  intricate  details  with  unfailing 
clearness  and  accuracy.  Hence  he  displays  a  re- 
markable aptitude  in  laying  out  the  detail  work 


3.6 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


and  to  him  much  of  the  err. lit   is 
due  tor  the  thoroughness  of  preparation  aoticeable 

in  all  the  cases  which  this  firm  bring  int urt. 

Coupled  with  tins  alertness  of  perception,  he  pos- 
sesses  a  sagacious  judgment,  which  leads  him  to 
jivil  little  faith  in  technicalities,  but  looks  to  the 
essential  points  involved  in  all  controversies  or 
problems  with  which  he  lias  to  deal.  Quick  as  he 
is  to  apprehend  legal  points,  he  is  conservative  in 
advice,  preferring  to  be  guided  himself  and  to 
guide  others  by  the  line  of  well  established  gen- 
eral principles  rather  than  by  novel  or  doubtful 
views  of  the  law.  On  account  of  these  qualities, 
in  im  gotiations  and  as  a  confidential  adviser,  he  is 
held  in  tin-  highest  esteem  by  those  who  have  had 
occasion  to  consult  with  him  in  important  trans- 
actions; and  in  this  line  of  professional  work  he 
has  had  very  large  experience,  the  enterprises  in 
relation  to  which  his  advice  and  services  have  been 
in  request  being  often  of  great  magnitude.  In 
addition  to  advising  and  negotiating,  he  has  fre- 
quently been  called  upon  to  act  as  an  arbitrator. 
—  a  fact  which  shows  the  implicit  confidence 
placed  in  him  not  only  for  his  judgment  but  his 
honesty.  In  all  his  business  and  professional  re- 
lations he  is  a  gentleman,  he  attracts  people  by  his 
ability  and  the  charm  of  his  manners,  and  inspires 
confidence  by  the  fairness  and  integrity  which 
characterize  every  action  of  his  professional  life. 
He  has  for  years  attended  to  all  the  financial  busi- 
ness, both  of  the  old  firm  and  of  the  present  firm  of 
Herrick  *  Allen.  In  1S73  Mr.  Allen  married  Miss 
Lucy  E.  Powell,  daughter  of  General  William  H. 
Powell,  of  Belleville.  Illinois.  General  Powell 
commanded  an  Ohio  regiment  of  cavalry  during 
the  war.  and  while  on  service  in  the  Shenandoah 
valley  attracted  the  hatred  of  the  Confederates  on 
account  of  the  reprisals  he  took  for  the  picking  off 
of  Union  soldiers  by  the  inhabitants  of  a  neighbor- 
ing town,  who  were  ranked  as  non-combatants. 
but  who  took  every  opportunity  to  kill  any  of  the 
Union  soldiers  who  fell  in  their  way.  He  had  the 
misfortune  to  be  captured  by  the  rebels  and 
thrown  into  Libby  prison,  and  would  have  been 
shot  hut  lor  the  prompt  interference  of  President 
Lincoln,  who  threatened  a  like  fate  to  a  leading 
Confederate  general,  a  relation  and  namesake  of 
General  Lee.  who  was  held  as  a  hostage  for  Gen- 
eral Powell's  safety.  In  the  course  of  events 
Genera]  Powell  was  exchanged,  and  at  the  close 
of  the  war  settled  in  Belleville.  By  his  marriage 
with  Miss  Powell.  Mr.  Allen  has  one  daughter. 
Dora  Alice.  While  attracting  many  friends  by 
his  amiable   manners,  he  is  of  a  modest  and  retir- 


ing disposition,  and  though  a  member  of  Dearly 
all  the  leading  clubs  of  the  city,  he  is  rarely  seen 
at  any  of  them.  His  membership  in  the  Univer- 
sity Club,  the  Chicago  Literary  Club,  and  the 
Sunset  Club  is  indicative  of  his  literary  tastes. 
rather  than  of  any  active  participation  in  their 
proceedings,  ami  pretty  much  the  same  may  lie 
said  of  his  relations  to  the  Union  League  Club. 
He  is  too  busy  a  man  in  his  profession  to  be  able 
to  spare  much  time  for  club  life,  and  is  thoroughly 
devoted  to  his  own  home,  where  all  his  leisure  is 
spent  He  is  very  genial  in  the  domestic  circle, 
where  he  is  seen  to  the  best  advantage.  He  is  a 
great  lover  of  the  beautiful  in  art.  in  music,  and 
in  literature.  He  is  especially  fond  of  music,  anil 
has  one  of  the  finest  musical  libraries  in  the  West. 
In  politics  he  has  always  been  independent,  be- 
lieving more  in  men  than  in  party,  and  giving  his 
support  to  that  candidate  or  set  of  candidates 
whom  he  regards  as  most  likely  to  serve  the  best 
interests  of  the  city,  state  and  nation.  He  is  very 
liberal,  always  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to 
those  who  need  it  and  m  private  lit'.'  exempliti:  s 
the  best  qualities  of  a  man  and  a  citizen. 


MELVILLE   E.    STONE. 

MELVILLE  E.  STONE,  vice-president  of  the 
Globe  National  Bank,  and  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Chicago  Daily  News,  was  born  in  the  village 
of  Hudson,  near  Bloomington.  in  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois, in  ISIS.  His  father  the  Rev.  Elijah  Stone, 
was  a  member  of  the  Rock  River  Methodist  Con- 
ference from  1818  till  1804.  and  in  pursuance  of 
the  itinerary  system  of  that  church,  was  appointed 
to  the  pastorate  of  what  is  now  the  Centenarj 
church  in  this  city,  when  Melville  was  about 
twelve  years  old.  The  congregation  of  the  Cen- 
tenary church  .at  that  time  worshipped  in  a  frame 
building  on  Desplaines  street,  and  after  their  new 
church  edifice  was  built,  on  Monroe  street,  near 
the  corner  of  Morgan  street,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stone 
continued  to  net  ;is  assistant  pastor  for  some  years. 
He  retired  from  the  ministry  in  1804.  Melville 
received  his  education  mainly  in  the  public  schools 
of  Chicago,  and  when  he  came  of  age  in  1860,  his 
father  assisted  in  starting  him  in  business  as 
proprietor  of  a  foundry  and  machine  shop.  Two 
years  later  his  property  was  destroyed  hi  the 
great  lire  of  1871,  and  the  young  man  was  left  with 

nothing  but  several  good  sized  debts   to   paj    oil'. 


^*LjL<£lh^£&^    C~.     j^^o-^j2_ 


LiLfto;?> 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSE  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


3*7 


Among  those  who  were  prominent  in  devising 
measures  of  relief  for  the  sufferers  by  the  fire  was 
Mr.  Stone,  who  was  himself  a  sufferer  to  a  con- 
siderable  extent.    His  acts  in  furtherance  of   the 

relief  measures  are  recorded  in  the  histories  of 
thai  terrible  time.  They  gave  evidence  of  the  ex- 
uberant energy  and  fertility  of  resource  which 
have  distinguished  him  in  all  his  subsequent  enter- 
prises. The  great  tire  having  left  him  without 
occupation,  Mr.  Stone  at  once  began  to  look  about 
him  for  new  opportunities,  and  settled  down  for  a 
time  as  a  newspaper  man.  On  his  mother's  side 
he  comes  of  a  literary  family,  of  which  several 
members  have  made  a  reputation  as  writers  fi>r 
newspapers,  and  in  general  authorship.  He  had 
acquired  a  taste  for  newspaper  work  during  school 
vacations,  when  he  was  em]. loved  in  the  Tribune 
oil  ice.  in  set  ting  type,  reading  proofs,  and  ".picking 
up  items."     He  now  joined   the   staff  of  the   old 

can,  which  soon  after  became  the  Inter 
Ocean,  with  Melville  E.  Stone  as  city  editor.  Hi- 
health  failed  a  year  later,  and  he  traveled  in  the 
South  for  six  months.  On  his  return  he  helped 
to  bring  about  the  consolidation  of  the  Post  and 
Mail,  and  became  managing  editor  of  the  new- 
paper.  In  this  capacity  his  originality  of  method 
and  his  spirit  of  pluck  and  enterprise  began  to 
attract  attention.  Some  months  later  he  went  to 
Washington  as  correspondent,  and  while  there 
became  a  member  of  the  New  York  Herald's  con- 

;il  staff.  He  returned  to  the  Past  and 
Mail  in  the  summer  of  1S75.  In  the  meantime  he 
had  conceived  au  ambition  to  found  and  control  a 
cheap  evening  paper,  and  on  Christmas.  lsTo.  the 
first  number  of  the  Daily  News  was  issued,  with 
a  circulation  of  six  thousand  copies.  Mr.  Stone 
associated  with  himself  as  partners  Percy  Meggy 
and  William  E.  Dougherty— the  latter  a  versatile 
newspaper  man  whose  daughter  has  acquired 
celebrity  on  the  stage  under  the  name  of  May 
Waldron.  and  lately  married  Mr.  Stuart  Robson, 
the  well  known  comedian.  The  total  capital  of 
the  new  concern  was  about  $5,000,  which  was 
several  thousand  dollars  short  of  what  was  needed. 
Dougherty  and  Meggy  soon  retired  from  the  enter- 
prise and  left  Mr.  Stone  in  sole  possession.  He 
was  still  embarrassed  by  old  debts  and  the  neces- 
sary expenses  of  his  family,  and  as  a  desperate  re- 
source he  sought  his  old  time  friend  and  school- 
mate, Victor  F.  Lawson,  and  offered  him  an 
interest  on  pretty  nearly  his  own  terms.  Under 
Mr.  Lawson  as  business  manager  and  Mr.  Stone 
as  editor-in-chief,  the  Daily  News  continued  on 
its    unprecedentedly    prosperous    and  successful 


career,  until  in  May.  1S8S.  Mr.  Stone  sold  out  his 
interest  to  Mr.  Lawson.  His  retirement  from  the 
editorship  of  the  journal  he  had  founded,  at  a 
time  when  its  position  was  secure  as  one  of  the 
foremost  of  American  newspapers,  and  when  he 
himself  was  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  manhood, 
was  a  startling  event  in  newspaper  circles  for  a 
time,  and  there  was  an  abundance  of  gossip  on  the 
part  of  "well  posted"  correspondents  as  to  Mr. 
Stone's  reasons  for  relinquishing  a  business  for 
which  he  was  so  eminently  well  fitted.  The 
simple  explanation  was  that  thirteen  years  of 
newspaper  work  had  brought  him  enough  of 
wealth  to  maintain  his  family  in  comfort,  and 
educate  his  boys  and  start  them  in  life,  and  he 
was  beginning  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  physical 
strain  that  the  responsible  and  arduous  work  of  a 
newspaper  editor  entails.  He  could  pursue  fortune 
as  successfully  in  less  laborious  fields,  and  he  now 
felt  the  need  of  rest.  His  retirement  therefore 
was  simply  the  act  of  a  thoughtful  man.  Many 
remarkable  stories  have  been  told  to  account  for 
the  phenomenal  success  of  the  Daily  News  under 
Mr.  Stone's  editorial  management.  The  secret  of 
his  success  lay  in  his  intensity  of  pur] 
sleepless  activity,  his  fertility  of  resource,  and  his 
invincible  courage.  No  such  word  as  "fail"  has 
ever  found  a  place  in  his  lexicon.  From  its  first 
beginning,  the  Daily  News  was  noted  for  the 
originality  of  its  enterprises  in  the  way  of  gather- 
ing news,  and  to  Mr.  Stone  belongs  the  credit  of 
having  introduced  into  newspaper  work  the 
detective  methods  which  have  done  so  much  to 
unravel  the  mysteries  of  Chicago  crime,  and  to 
bring  wrong  doers  of  all  grades  to  the  bar  of 
justice.  Not  content  with  advocating  obedience 
to  the  law.  he  scoured  continents  at  his  own  ex- 
pense to  bring  the  disobedient  to  judgment.  In 
1877.  when  he  was  an  editor  two  years  old,  he  be- 
came convinced  that  a  number  of  the  savings' 
banks  of  Chicago  needed  looking  after.  They 
were  scheduling  their  real  estate  and  other  tangi- 
ble property  away  above  its  value:  they  were  offer- 
ing six  per  cent,  on  deposits  when  money  was  worth 
less  than  five  per  cent.;  they  were  amending  their 
articles  and  by-laws  to  the  extent  of  altering  the 
contract  with  depositors  to  the  disadvantage  of 
tie- hitter.  Mr.  Stone  proclaimed  the  necessity 
of  a  law  for  a  system  of  rigid  supervision  of  these 
banks  by  the  state.  The  banks  pooled  their  in- 
terests, secured  the  election  of  a  member  of  the 
Legislature,  got  him  appointed  chairman  of  the 
banking  committee,  and  when  bills  providing  for 
a  stricter  regulation  of  the   savings   banks   wen' 


3i8 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


introduced,  their  representative  managed  to 
Bmother  them  in  the  committee.  Mr.  Stum-  kepi 
up  his  exposure  of  th<'  savings  bank  management 
until  a  run  upon  them  resulted.  The rottenest  of 
these  concerns  was  the  State  Savings  Bank,  and 
it  was  the  firsl  to  collapse.  Its  president,  1».  D. 
Spencer,  disappeared  one  morning,  and  in  the 
vault  of  the  bank,  instead  of   money,   was  found 

Silencer's  note  of  hand  for  £C>I KUK.H ),  not  worth  the 
paper  it  was  written  upon.  The  "Beehive"  was 
the  next  to  fail,  and  one  after  another  four 
of  these  institutions  closed  their  doors,  while 
thousands  of  hardworking  and  frugal  depositors 
had  to  bewail  the  loss  of  the  entire  accumulation 
of  years  of  thrift,  and  were  literally  ruined.  The 
efforts  made  by  Mr.  Stone  to  track  the  fugitive, 
Spencer,  and  bring  him  to  justice  would  read  like 
a  romance  were  it  possible  within  our  limits  to 
set  forth  the  story,  lie  started  out  on  a  detective 
hunt  himself,  and  soon  struck  Silencer's  trad,  fol- 
lowed him  across  Canada,  and  telegraphed  the 
chief  of  the  Chicago  police  authentic  information 
of  the  steamer  on  which  the  absconding  embez- 
zler had  sailed.  Scotland  yard  was  notified,  but 
Spencer  landed  at  an  obscure  port,  and  escaped 
to  German)  beyond  the  reach  of  extradition.  Mr. 
Stone  never  relaxed  his  efforts  until  he  discovered 
where  the  fugitive  had  taken  up  his  abode,  and 
sent  a  correspondent  to  Stuttgart,  in  the  kingdom 
of  Wurtemberg,  who  walked  in  upon  Spencer  one 
daj  and  interviewed  him.  The  revelations  of  Mr. 
Spencer  occupied  a  page  of  the  Daily  News,  and 
were  decidedly  interesting  reading,  not  only  to  the 
depositors  in  the  State  Savings  Bank,  but  to  the 
community  at  large.  It  appeared  that  Spencer 
had  carried  away  very  little  of  the  bank's  funds. 
Most  of  the  cash  had  gone  into  the  pockets  of  lob- 
byists at  Springfield.  The  result  of  Mr.  Stone's 
exposures  has  been  that  Illinois  today  has  a  sav- 
ings bank  law  securing  the  amplest  protection  to 
depositors;  and  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
which  was  slow  to  revive  toward  these  institu- 
tions, is  now  placed  on  a  trustworthy  foundation. 
The  terrible  railroad  riots  of  1877,  starting  at 
Pittsburgh  and  spreading  to  Chicago,  gave  him 
another  opportunity,  and  he  rose  to  the  situation 
in  a  way  entirely  characteristic  of  him.  Mount- 
ing a  corps  of  disguised  reporters  on  horseback, 
hi'  was  able  In  get  instantaneous  reports  from  all 
tin-  meetings,  and  issued  extras  hourly,  thereby 
trebling  the  circulation  of  the  paper,  and  coni- 
inensurately  enlarging  its  influence.  He  was  also 
very  largely  instrumental  in  unearthing  the  ballot- 
box    fraud    in    the     eighteenth    ward,   for    which 


Joseph  C.  Mackin,  secretary  of  the  Cook  county 
democratic  committee,  suffered  punishment  at 
Joliet.  It  is  said  that  during  the  whole  of  that 
investigation  the  private  secretarj  of  Mackin  was 
in  the  pay  of  Mr.  Stone,  and  furnished  that  irre- 
pressible gentleman  with  daily  reports  of  Mackin's 
doings.  The  evidence  which  chiefly  convicted 
August  Spies  of  guilty  knowledge  of  the  anarchist 
conspiracy  resulting  in  the  Haymarket  massacre 
of  May.  1886,  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Stone,  who  had 
sent  a  reporter  in  January  preceding  to  interview 
Spies,  and  obtained  a  full  exposition  of  the  plans 
and  purposes  of  the  conspirators.  The  reporter 
carried  back  to  the  office  of  the  Daily  Ncus  a 
blank  bomb  which  Spies  had  given  him.  of  the 
pattern  afterwards  used  with  such  murderous 
effect.  From  that  interview  down  to  the  fateful 
hour  in  May  the  A7eirskept  up  its  warning,  which 
was  unheeded  by  the  authorities,  and  after  the 
arrest  of  Spies  and  his  associates,  furnished  im 
portant  assistance  to  the  state.  In  like  manner 
Mr.  Stone  worked  up  the  case  against  the  "Dood- 
ling" county  commissioners  in  1SS7.  and  not  only 
enabled  the  state  to  convict  them,  but  saved  the 
county  from  further  plunder  by  disclosing  the 
frauds  in  connection  with  contracts  which  were 
successfully  pleaded  in  defense  of  suits  brought 
by  the  contractors.  Space  forbids  even  a  refer- 
ence to  all  the  many  instances  of  Mr.  Stone's 
somewhat  novel  and  singular  conception  of  the 
proper  functions  of  an  editor  and  his  pecular 
adaptation  to  detective  work.  Yet  it  was  all  done 
with  becoming  modesty  and  without  attempt  at 
posing;  nor  has  he  ever  incurred  the  charge  of 
being  either  a  sensationalist  or  a  crank.  Of  course 
his  paper  had  its  full  share  of  libel  suits,  but  with 
one  exception  these  have  all  been  dismissed  before 
trial.  The  exception  was  the  famous  Wiltshire 
case,  which  resulted  in  a  verdict  for  Mr.  Stone, 
who  then  turned  round  and  had  Wiltshire  arrested 
for  perjury.  Mr.  Stone  hoped  to  be  able  to  say 
that  the  only  man  who  ever  had  the  hardihood  to 
prosecute  a  libel  suit  against  him  landed  in  the 
penitentiary;  and  Wiltshire  was  convicted  and  sen- 
tenced to  two  years  in  the  state  prison,  but  was 
granted  a  new  trial,  and  the  matter  is  still  pend- 
ing. Immediately  after  his  retirement  from  the 
News,  Mr.  Stone  went  to  Europe  with  his  family, 
and  traveled  all  over  the  continent,  and  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Holy  Land.  He  returned  to  Chicago  in 
August,  1890,  after  an  absence  of  over  two  years, 
his  health  being  much  improved  by  the  vacation. 
Almost  as  soon  as  he  arrived,  he  was  invited  by 
Col.  George  R.  Davis  to  take  charge  of  the  bureau 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


OC^C^jc^Ly       / .       &^-^^y 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    ILLINOIS. 


.19 


of  Promotion  and  Publicity  of  the  World's  Pair, 
but  declined  the  appointment,  and  recommended 
Mr.  Moses  Handy,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  that  department.  In  the 
summer  of  1891,  Col.  Davis  again  sought  his  aid, 
offering  him  the  post  of  chief  of  the  department 
^f  foreign  affairs,  bul  again  Mr.  Stone  was  obliged 
by  the  pressure  of  private  business  to  decline  the 
proffered  honor.  In  the  fall  of  1890,  Mr.  Stone 
joined  in  the  organization  of  the  Globe  National 
Bank,  the  other  incorporators  being  Messrs.  G.  I'. 
Swift.  O.  I).  Wethefell,  Morris  Rosenbaum,  Wil- 
liam H.  Harper.  James  L.  High,  ami  ex-Senator 
Eckert.  The  presidency  of  the  hank  was  tendered 
to  him.  but  he  declined  in  favor  of  Mr.  Wetherell, 

and  accepted  instead  tl fflce  of  vice-president, 

which  he  still  holds.  During  the  brief  period 
since  its  organization,  the  business  of  the  bank- 
has  grown  very  rapidly,  it  now  having  deposits 
amounting  to  two  millions  of  dollars.  On  the  re- 
signation, a  few  months  ago. of  Mr.  Byron  L.Smith 
from  the  treasurership  of  the  Drainage  Board.  .Mr. 
Stone  was  unanimously  elected  by  the  board  of 
trustees  as  his  successor,  and  is  now  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  that  office.  As  we  have  said, 
Mr.  Stone  comes  of  a  literary  family.  Several 
of  his  cousins  on  the  mother's  side  are  well 
known  newspaper  writers.  They  include  Mr. 
John  M.  Dandy,  editor  of  the  Saturday  Herald: 
Mr.  Arthur  Brisbane,  one  ,,f  the  editors  of  the 
New  York  Sun;  Mr.  Crawford,  of  the  Loudon 
Daily  News,  and  Mrs.  Emily  Crawford,  one  of  the 
brightest  newspaper  correspondents  in  either 
hemisphere,  who  is  now  the  Paris  correspondent 
of  the  London  D< lily  News,  and  of  Labouehere's 
celebrated  paper,  Truth.  Some  of  his  cousins  in 
the  same  line  of  descent  are  engaged  in  newspaper 
work  in  India  and  Australia.  Col.  Brough.  grand- 
son of  Archdeacon  Brough,  of  Toronto,  an  able 
newspaper  writer  and  author  of  some  successful 
novels,  resident  in  Madras,  is  his  cousin;  and  so 
also  is  Mrs.  Rickard,  who  as  Miss  Constance 
Neville,  acquired  some  reputation,  both  for  news 
paper  editorials  and  literary  sketches  and  tales 
contributed  to  the  press  of  San  Francisco.  On 
his  father's  side  he  is  a  cousin  of  the  late  Presi- 
dent Arthur.  Mr.  Stone  married  in  1869,  Miss 
Mattie  Jameson  McFarland,  niece  of  Hon.  John 
A.  Jameson,  late  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court 
of  Cook  county.  Three  children,  two  sons  and 
one  daughter,  have  been  born  of  this  uniou.  The 
elder  sen  is  now  now  at  Harvard,  the  younger  is 
at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  and  the 
daughter  is  with  her  parents  in  Chicago. 


ADLAI   T.   EWING. 

ADLAI  THOMAS  EWING  is  descended  from 

Scotch-Irish  ancestors.  His  parents,  John  Wallis 
Ewing  and  Maria  McCleland  Stevenson,  were 
natives  of  North  Carolina,  but  for  many  years 
resided  in  Christian  county.  Kentucky;  in  1833 
they  became  residents  of  McLean  county.  Illinois. 
where  Adlai  Thomas  was  born,  on  the  5th  day  of 
February,  1846.  Mr.  Ewing's  father  wasa  man  of 
marked  personality  and  great  force  of  character. 
His  mother  was  the  grand-niece  of  Doctor  Ephraim 
Brevard,  the  author  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  which  was  the  first  renunci- 
ation of  British  authority  by  American  colonists. 
Mr.  Ewing  is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  five  sons 
and  one  daughter;  and  is  a  splendid  illustration 
of  the  possibilities,  under  American  institutions, 
opened  to  every  young  man  of  intelligence,  integ 
rity  and  energy.  He  was  educated  at  the  Illinois 
State  University,  studied  law  in  Bloomington, Illi- 
nois, with  his  eldest  brother,  the  Hon.  Janes  S. 
Ewing,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1868;  the 
same  year  he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession  in  Chicago,  and  since  that  time  has  been 
an  active  and  able  member  of  the  Chicago  bar. 
Three  of  Mr.  Ewing's  brothers.  James  S..  William 
G,  and  Henry  A.,  arc  lawyers  of  acknowledged 
ability,  and  for  many  years  have  occupied  leading 
positions  at  the  bar  of  Illinois  and  Kansas. 
Although  Mr.  Ewing.  from  his  early  manhood, 
has  been  a  consistent  and  persistent  advocate  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  democratic  party  he  has  never 
sought  political  preferment.  He  assisted  in  or- 
ganizing the  Union  Club,  one  of  the  leading  social 
clubs  of  Chicago,  and  was  also  a  charter  member 
of  the  famous  Iroquois  Club,  of  which  he  has 
been  an  officer  almost  continually  since  it- 
ization,  having  served  successively  as  secretary. 
vice-president  and  president.  He  was  appointed 
by  President  Harrison  one  of  the  United  States 
commissioners  for  Illinois  to  conduct  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition;  and  at  the  request  of  the 
Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  Secretary  of  State,  called 
to  order  the  first  meeting  of  that  distinguished 
body.  Mr.  Ewing  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
committee  on  permanent  organization  of  the 
commission,  and  was  afterwards  made  a  member 
of  the  executive  committee  and  also  a  member  of 
the  committee  on  fine  arts.  He  was  one  of  the 
earliest  and  foremost  promoters  of  the  great  sani- 
tary and  commercial  enterprise  of  connecting  bj 
abundant  waterway,  Lake  Michigan  with  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico;  and  to  his  intelligent  and   untir- 


32° 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   [LLINOIS. 


ire  in  this  behalf,  as  much  as  to  those  of 
anj  other  man,  is  due  the  incalculable  advantages 
in  peace  and  war  that  will  result  to  Chicago  and 
the  country  at  large  from  this  stupendous  triumph 
of  engineering  skill.  He  was  the  promoter  of  the 
beautiful  boulevardnow  connecting  Union  Park 
with  Douglas  Park  in  the  city  of  Chicago  Mr. 
Ewingisaman  of  greal  energy  and  Eorce,  and 
although  he  has  given  much  time  and  thought  to 
matters  of  purelj  public  and  general  interest,  he 
has  been  provident  and  wise  and  has  accumulated 
a  handsome  fortune.  He  is  a  man  of  tine  ability, 
many  accomplishments,  equable  temperament 
and  genial  sunny  disposition.  He  was  married  in 
1879,  at  Buffalo,  Ni  w  York,  to  Miss  Kate  Hyde,  a 
lady  of  rare  intellectual  gifts  and  personal  graces. 
Four  children,  three  daughters  and  one  son.  have 
been  born  of  this  marriage. 


PHILIP   D.   ARMOUR. 

The  name  of  Armour  is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent. 
The  ancestors  of  Philip  I).  Armour,  both  lineal 
and  collateral,  were  American-born  for  genera- 
tions. There  is  evidence  on  the  paternal  side  of 
quick  perception,  wit  and  humor.  We  find  on  the 
maternal  branch  the  ear-marks  of  thrift  and 
economy;  also  meritorious  mention  of  heroic  acts 
of  bravery  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Mr. 
Armour  may  justly  be  called  an  American.  Dari- 
forth  Armour  and  Julianna  Brooks,  the  father 
and  mother,  left  Union,  Conn.,  in  September. 
L825,  and  settled  at  Stockbridge,  Madison  county. 
\i  ,\  York.  Here  Philip  Danforth  Armour  was 
born  M . i \  16,  1832.  There  were  eight  children — 
six  -.his  and  two  daughters.  Farming  was  their 
occupation.  The  children  while  thus  engaged, 
attained  their  majority.  Each  matured  amid 
humble  surroundings,  and  conditions  that  were 
favorable  for  physical  development;  simplicity  of 
life,  habits  of  frugality  and  industry  were  the 
teachings     and     hereditaments    of     the      parents. 

These  family  pn  cepts  were  maxims  that  were  in- 
fused in  the  young  hearts  by  a  mother's  joyous 
disposition,  never  to  be  eradicated.    They  were  all 

sent  to  the  local  red  school  house,  and  only  under 

able  conditions  could  they  go  to  the 

academy.     Philip  attended  this  institution. 

and  many  are  the  incidi  nts  related  of  him    by    his 

Bchoolmates.     He  was  uppermost  in  their  counsels; 

tiny    were    plele.d    to    be     with     his     set.       He     was 

endowed  with  will  power  and  courage  to  voice  his 


convictions.  These  personal  characteristics  made 
him  a  leader  among  his  associates.  The  discovery 
of  gold  in  California  in  1849,  had  permeated  everj 
nook  and  corner  of  the  country.  Fabulous  and 
extravagant  were  the  reported  findings.  The  air 
of  Stockbridge  was  impregnated  with  the  fever. 
A  company,  including  Philip,  was  organized  to 
make  the  over-land  trip.  The  wildest  dreams  of 
bis  youthful  ambition  to  get  out  into  the  world 
were  about  to  be  realized.  They  left  Oneida.  X. 
V..  in  the  spring  of  1S.V2,  and  arrived  in  California 
six  months  later,  passing  successfully  through  all 
the  dangers  besetting  similar  journeys.  The 
members  of  the  caravan  found,  on  arrival,  the 
country  full  of  adventurers:  they  individually  be- 
gan looking  about  for  favorable  locations;  every 
man  was  placed  on  his  own  resources,  and  was  soon 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  perils  and  iniquities 
common  to  a  country  where  laws  were  not  then 
recognized.  The  fumes  from  this  chaldron  of  vice, 
the  privations  and  hardships  endured,  were  not  to 
he  lived  in  vain;  they  were  necessary  attributes 
for  the  development  of  the  sturdy  character  we 
are  favored  to  review.  It  was  with  joy  and  rapture 
that  in  the  year  1856.  he  returned  to  the  East  to 
visit  his  parents;  their  attachments,  one  for  the 
other,  cannot  be  measuredby  our  conception.  He 
related  to  the  companions  of  his  youth  his  varied 
experiences,  but  reserved  for  his  parents  the  Eacts 
pertaining  to  his  moderate  financial  success.  His 
visit  of  some  weeks'  duration  ended,  lie  started 
once  more  for  the  West,  to  become  a  resident  of 
Milwaukee.  Here  soon  after  his  arrival  he  fi  irmed 
a  co-partnership  in  the  commission  business  with 
Frederick  B.  Miles.  It  was  carried  on  succesfully 
in  his  characteristic  and  spirited  manner  until 
1863,  when  the  co-partnership  was  dissolved.  The 
genial  disposition,  strength  of  mind  and  fit  business 
qualifications  displayed,  brought  him  with  favor 
before  the  most  prominent  commercial  firms.  It 
was  at  this  early  age  freely  predicted  that  his 
future  was  destined  to  be  one  of  achievement  and 
marked  success.  A  life's  foundation  had  been 
laid,  but  not  until  the  co-partnership  with  John 
Plankinton  in  the  spring  of  1863  was  formed,  had 
he  formed  the  cornerstone.  Mr.  Plankinton  was 
his  senior.  He  had  been  a  resident  of  Milwaukee  a 
long  time,  and  had  established  a  thriving  packing 
liusiness.  As  a  merchant,  his  standing  was  high; 
as  a  citizen,  he  was  powerful  and  influential,  for 
he  was  a  man  of  well  known  probity  of  mind. 
This  was  an  opportunity  of  a  life-time.  Every 
faculty  was  brought  into  play:  every  detail  was 
given  that  concentration  of  thought   and  system 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


12  I 


atic  scrutiny,  thai  has  characterized  him  through 
life.  Provisions  were  a  staple  commodity  of  life, 
and  were  enhanced  in  value  to  the  same  extent 
and  ratio  that  gold  was  affected  by  the  devasta- 
tion of  the  rebellion.  The  wide  fluctuations  in 
prices  caused  by  the  disappearing  clouds  of  the 
Civil  War  made  the  firm  a  fortune.  Herman 
O.  Armour,  a  brother  engaged  in  tie-  grain 
commission  trade  at  Chicago,  in  1862.  This  im- 
portant point  and  fast  growing  business  he 
entrusted  t«>  a  younger  brother,  Joseph  P. 
Armour,  in  1865,  ami  assumed  an  interest  in 
as  well  as  the  management  of  the  New  York 
house,  then  organized  under  the  tirm  name  of 
Armour.  Plankinton  A-  Co.  It  was  to  the  moneyed 
centres  of  the  East  that  the  Milwaukee  house 
had  to  turn  its  attention  for  the  accommodation 
necessary  for  a  season's  packing.  Mi  in-over.  New- 
York  was  the  headquarters  for  the  European  buy- 
ers of  provisions.  The  house  soon  became  well 
established  under  its  efficient  management,  ami 
bi  came  the  Eastern  financial  agent  of  the  Western 
houses  then  and  thereafti  r  to  l»-  established.  The 
tirm  of  H.  0.  Armour  &  Co.  continued  at  Chicago 
until  1870,  doing  a  grain  and  general  commision 
business.  The  packing  of  provisions  was  com- 
menced at  this  point  in  1868.  The  name  of  Ar- 
mour A-  Company  was  adopted  and  identified 
with  this  particular  line.  In  lsTnU.tli  branches 
of  the  business  were  assumed  by  Armour  A-  Co.. 
and  have  since  been  so  conducted.  Tie 
the  times  were  quickly  recognized  in  1871.  Cin- 
cinnati was  fast  declining  as  a  packing  center. 
It  was  evident  that  the  stock  producing  power  of 
the  country  was  moving  westward.  Hence,  with 
their  usual  keen  discernment,  they  inaugurated 
at  Kansas  City.  Missouri,  the  tirm  of  Plankinton 
A  Armour,  to  be  conducted  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  an  elder  brother.  Mr.  Simon  I;  Ar- 
mour. This  was  continued  until  the  fall  ol  1883, 
when  it  became  known  to  the  trade  as  the  Ar- 
mour Packing  Company,  with  Mr.  Kirkland  B. 
Armour  as  its  moving  spirit.  Physically  Joseph 
P.  Armour  was  not  strong:  mentally,  he  was  the 
equal  of  any  living  Armour.  In  1st:.,  it  became 
apparent  that  he  required  assistance.  Milwaukee, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  brains  to  spare.  Philip, 
therefore  removed  to  Chicago,  and  became  the 
central  figure  of  all  the  houses.  The  mariner 
governs  and  directs  his  barque  according  to  the 
variations  of  the  needle,  influenced  by  the  mag- 
netic north.  This  truism  was  applicable  to  the 
established  houses  at  Milwaukee.  New  York  and 
Kansas  City.     Tie  y  took  their  bearings  from  the 


California  pioneer  at  Chicago,  and  were  guided  tip 
fields  of  prosperity  and  renown,  The  business  of 
the  various  houses  grew  to  such  a  magnitude 
that  it  was  the  marvel  of  the  trade.  Their  brands 
were  well  ami  favorably  known  in  the  principal 
marts  of  the  world.  These  words  are  made  sig- 
nificant   by   the  fact  that  the  distributive  sales  of 

the      Chicago      house     alone,     are    in     excess    of    the 

gross   receipts  of  any  one  railway  corporation  of 

the  world.  With  a  feeling  almost  akin  to  revet 
ential  affection,  he  turned  once  more  to  the  East, 
and  invited  tl ly  remaining  Armour.  Andrew- 
Watson,  a  brother  on  the  old  homestead,  to  be- 
come the  president  of  the  Armour  Bros.  Banking 
Co..  organized  at  Kansas  City  inl879.  He  brought 
to  the  office  of  this  institution  the  same  unyield- 
ing qualifications  of  mind  that  had  marked  the 
efforts  of  all  his  brothers.  The  affairs  of  this  in- 
stitution were  well  conducted,  and  it  soon  became 
a  synonym  of  financial  strength  and  honor.  In 
taking  a  retrospective  view  of  a  person  who  has 
become  so  prominent  as  a  merchant,  we  find  that 
the  success  attained  in  this  character  is  marked 
and  founded  on  the  industrial  faculties  of  his 
mind.  When  a  person  follows  out  literally  tin- 
instinct  of  his  mind,  and  that  idea  is  what  he  be- 
lieves to  be  the  great  point  and  cardinal  virtue 
in  the  law  of  mankind — to  labor — then  man's 
achievements  an-  generallj  measured  onlj  by  his 
capacity.  Hack  of  this  dogma  is  Mr.  Armour's 
great  endowment  of  vital  force,  combined  with 
clearness  of  perception.  A  mind  that  is  a  mirror. 
b\  which  In-  instinctively  perceives  the  weak  and 
strong  points  of  human  character,  as  well  as 
records  indelibly  every  act  and  deed  bj  a  reten 
tive  memory.  lb- is  at  his  desk  by  seven  o'clock 
every  morning.  Hen-  tin- day  is  passed  surrounded 
by  the  heads  of  his  various  departments.  Every 
item  of  detail  in  connection  with  his  extensive 
business  is  here  passed  in  review  in  a  genial  and 
affable  manner.  His  personality  through  his  long 
business  career  has  been  closely  allied  with  the 
welfare  of  his  employes.  He  is  not  a  partisan, as 
accepted  in  politics,  though  generally  identified 
with  tin- highest  aims  and  principles  of  tie-  Re 
publican  party.  He  never  held  a  public  office 
The  only  digression  he  ever  made  on  his  business 
interests  was  at  the  request  of  his  life-long  friend, 
the  late  Alexander  Mitchell,  to  serve  as  a  director 
of  the  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Ry,  Mr  Armour  was  mar- 
ried at  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  in  October.  1862,  to  Belle 
Ogden.  the  only  daughter  of  Jonathan  Ogden. 
Tlie  underlying  principles  of  economy  were  as 
fixed  a    tenet    in    Mrs.    Armour's    composition    as 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


\),,-\  were  hereditary  precepts  of  her  husband's. 
The  grace  and  simplicity  of  their  home  life  has 
been  one  characterized  by  domestic  tranquillity, 
fraught  with  joj  and  contentment.  They  have 
two  sons,  Jonathan  Ogden  Armour  and  Philip 
Danforth  Armour,  jr.,  both  under  thirty  years  of 
aye  and  active  business  partners  of  their  father. 
Quiet  and  unostentatious  in  manner,  inspired  by 
the  well  known  name  that  has  preceded  their  ad- 
vent in  the  commercial  world,  an  analysis  of  their 
methods,  application  and  business  tact  clearly 
demonstrates  that  their  ability  to  carry  their  hon- 
ors is  by  no  means  wanting.  Mr.  Armour's 
travels  have  been  extensive.  Wherever  time  has 
found  him.  it  has  been  among  those  who  were 
consumers  of  his  products.  His  close  observation 
make  him  familiar  with  the  wants  and  require- 
ments of  the  people.  The  family  are  attendants 
of  the  Plymouth  Congregational  Church.  Here 
Joseph  P.  Armour  attended.  Both  brothers  were 
closely  identified  with  the  financial  history  of  this 
church.  In  connection  with  the  general  work  a 
small  mission  was  established,  which  was  fre- 
quently visited  and  aided  in  various  ways  by 
Joseph.  It  was  here  that  he  conceived  the  idea. 
bj  which  at  his  death  in  1881,  he  left  $100,000  for 
the  founding  of  a  mission  church  and  school. 
By  the  provisions  of  his  will,  Philip  was  empow- 
ered  to  carry  out  this  munificent  bequest  and  to 
this  amount  he  has  added  a  much  larger  sum. 
lie  has  not  only  fulfilled  his  brother's  desires  in  a 
magnanimous  manner,  but  has  given  and  contin- 
ues to  give,  a  large  share  of  his  time.  Every 
branch  of  the  work  receives  his  critical  considera- 
tion. The  environs  of  Armour  Mission  have  been 
made  secure,  and  nothing  has  been  left  undone 
to  ensure  a  permanent  work  for  the  intellectual 
character  and  moral  culture  of  children  and  youth 
in  their  midst.  The  traits,  the  principles,  and 
the  features  here  related  unite  in  contributing  to 
the  fame  of  a  man  who  has  not  only  reached  the 
zenith  of  his  power  and  distinction  as  one  of  the 
first  of  the  world's  merchants,  but  from  whose 
munificent  influence  and  bequests  posterity  will 
accord  the  character  of  a  benefactor  of  mankind. 


GEORGE  F.  KIMBALL. 

It  is  now  a  well  established  fact  that,  among 
tie'  i  .I  her  great  commercial  and  manufacturing  in- 
terests of  Chicago,  that  of  glass  has  become  one 
of  the    most    important.     That    city    has    become 


the  great  center  of   trade   in    that    material,   and 

(  ; ge  V.  Kimball  is  in  a  great  measure  responsi 

ble  for  the  volume  of  business  done  and  for 
the  importance  the  traffic  has  of  late  years 
assumed.  He  has  been  a  citizen  of  Chicago  for 
about  twenty  two  years  and  in  that  time  he  has 
accomplished  more  than  many  men  do  in  their 
entire  careers.  This  is  the  more  remarkable  since 
his  early  training  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
line  of  business  in  which  he  is  now  engaged.  In 
fact  his  entire  acquaintance  with  the  glass  busi- 
ness is  confined  to  the  space  of  a  few  years.  Mr. 
Kimball  was  born  at  Boston.  Massachusetts.  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1839.  His  father  was  Alvah  Kimball,  a 
prominent  print  manufacturer  of  Boston.  His 
mother  was  Ruth  (Woodbury)  Kimball,  who  was 
descended  from  the  old  Woodbury  family,  of  New- 
Hampshire.  His  early  education  was  received  at 
the  common  schools  of  Boston,  and  later  he  be- 
came a  pupil  at  Andover  College.  When  sixteen 
years  of  agi  young  Kimball  went  to  visit  an  uncle 
at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  who  was  a  dry-goods 
merchant  of  that  city,  and  while  there  he  sud- 
denly resolved  to  leave  college  and  begin  to  earn 
his  own  living.  He  remained  in  the  Kentucky 
city,  finding  employment  in  the  dry-goods  house 
of  Bent  &  Duvall,  and  when  only  nineteen  he  had 
shown  such  aptitude,  such  genuine  business  capa 
bilities  that  the  firm  made  him  their  New  York 
buyer,  a  position  of  great  responsibility,  as  the 
success  of  any  commercial  house  depends  as  much 
upon  judicious  buying  as  upon  the  selling  of 
goods.  Mr.  Kimball  remained  with  Bent  &  Du- 
vall for  five  years  when,  the  opportunity  offering 
itself  for  securing  a  business  of  his  own,  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Johnson  and  carried  on 
a  successful  dry-goods  business  in  Louisville, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Johnson  &  Kimball.  In 
1861,  Mr.  Kimball  retired  from  the  concern  to  en- 
ter the  pay  department  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  with 
headquarters  at  Louisville.  He  held  this  posi- 
tion for  a  year  and  was  then  made  chief  clerk  of 
the  quartermaster's  department  under  Colonel 
Thomas  Swords,  the  headquarters  of  the  assistant 
quartermaster  general  being  at  Cincinnati.  Mr. 
Kimball  remained  in  that  department  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  At  its  termination  he  went  to 
New  York  City  as  the  solicitor  for  consignments 
for  the  auction  and  commission  house  of  Ander- 
son &  Co.,  of  Louisville.  While  in  the  employ  of 
this  concern  he  came  to  Chicago  in  1869.  Mr. 
Anderson,  of  the  firm,  was  the  owner  of  a  patent 
sash  balance  and  Mr.  Kimball's  business  was  in- 
troducing this  to  the  trade.     In  1871  he  made  his 


7 


^"MSM 


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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

WHVE8SITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


first  acquaintance  with  the  glass  business  as  an 
employe  of  James  II.  Bice.  He  entered  this 
house  ;is  chief  clerk  and  remained  there  eighl 
years.  Since  then  he  has  become  his  old  employ- 
er's greatest  competitor,  hut  the  relations  between 
them  are  of  the  pleasantest  character  and  they 
bold  each  other  in  the  highest  esteem.  Mr.  Kim- 
ball's business  is  second  to  none  iu  the  west, 
ami  he  is  the  largest  buyer  of  American  window 
glass  in  the  United  States.  His  bold  specu- 
lations in  the  glass  trade  during  the  past  few 
years  have  placed  him  among  the  most  suc- 
cessful young  business  men  of  the  West.  After 
severing  his  connection  with  Mr.  Rice  he  estab- 
lished a  business  upon  his  own  account  in  1879, 
and  located  at  15  and  47  Jackson  street.  He  has 
since  that  time,  in  twelve  years,  built  up  a  busi- 
ness that  would  seem  phenomena)  in  any  other 
city  or  by  any  other  man.  He  deals  heavily  in 
German  and  French  mirror, polished  plate, andin 
dome  tic  and  foreign  window  glass.  The  trade, 
however,  in  foreign  importations  is  not  what  it 
used  to  be;  it  has  fallen  off  greatly  during  late 
years  owing  to  the  competition  of  American  man- 
ufacturers.    The  snobbery  which  induces  ] pie 

to  pay  a  high  price  tor  a  foreign  article  is  rapidly 
dying  out  and  it  is  now  seen  that  the  domestic 
glass  is  as  good  for  every  purpose  as  that  manu- 
factured abroad.  "American  g Is  for  Ameri- 
cans," is  becoming  every  year  a  more  popular 
idea.  There  are  in  the  United  States,  at  present, 
seven  plate  glass  factories.  One  is  located  at 
New  Albany,  live  in  Pennsylvania  near  Pittsburg, 
and  one  in  Crystal  City,  Missouri.  Of  the  latter 
factory.  Mr.  Kimball  is  the  sole  agent.  So  popu- 
lar has  the  glass  of  American  manufacture  be- 
come,  that  these  factories  are  at  present  unable 
to  supply  the  demand.  Should  this  demand  con 
tinue  to  increase  in  the  next  few  years  as  it  has 
in  the  past,  (and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  it 
will,)  it  will  take  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  facto 
ries  with  capacities  equal  to  those  already  in  ex- 
ist,    to  meet  the  want.     Fully  three  fourths  of 

all  the  glass  sold  in  the  United  States  today  is 
of  domestic  manufacture. and  seven-eighths  of  the 
glass  sold  in  Chicago,  which  has  come  to  be  the 
most  extensive  distributing  point  in  America,  is 
made  in  this  country.  The  sale  of  American 
glass  had  increased  fully  twenty  five  per  cent  an- 
nually in  Chicago  for  the  four  years  previous  to 
Ism;.  Since  then  the  percentage  has  been  largely 
increased  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
importation    of  glass  will  be  wholly  abandoned  I  ,y 

Chicago  dealers,  as  the  demand  for  it  is  growing 


less  and  less  each  year.  Mr.  George  F.  Kimball 
has  been  called  a  bold  young  speculator,  and  in 
the  term  there  is  nothing  meant  to  which  the 
most  rigid  and  conservative  business  man  might 
object.    His  speculations  have  been   based  upon 

purely    business    principles,    ami    have    I n    the 

outcome  ol  keen  foresight  and  of  the  soundest 
judgment.  His  grand  operation  in  HSJ  was  a 
coup  iV  etat,  ami  while  it  shook  the  glass  trade  to 
its  very  foundation,  it  gained  the  admiration  of 
the  Napoleons  of  finance  as  a  brilliant  stroke  of 
business  genius.  In  a  sense  it  was  not  a  specula- 
tion, but  a  shrewd  business  operation.  It  was  a 
bona  fide  purchase  by  which  he  secured  a  com- 
plete corner  on  the  glass  market    which   sent    the 

price  up  fifteen  per  cent.     So  c prehensive  and 

wide  spread  was  this  manipulation  that  the  ad- 
vance quoted,  ruled  tin'  market  all  over  the  United 
States.  It  was  a  bold  move  mil  was  only  possi 
hie  to  a  man  with  such  thorough  knowledg  of  all 
the  "  ins  and  outs  "  of  the  business  as  he  po 
It  created  great  excitement  and  Mr.  Kimball  was 
the  subject  of  press  comment  from  one  end  of  the 
nation  to  the  other  and  extended  even  to  the 
journals  of  foreign  countries.  Mr.  Kimball  wed- 
ded Mrs.  Lydia  Taft.  of  Waukegan,  Illinois,  in 
October.  1ST).  Mrs.  Taft  had  one  son  named 
Weston  Taft.  Mr.  Kimball  is  a  prominent  man 
in  social  circles  and,  though  not  much  of  a  club 
man  is  a  member  of  the  Union  League  and  the 
Washington  Park  Club.  Some  men  are  born  with 
careers  all  planned  and  laid  out  for  them,  while 
others  are  compelled  to  hew  a  pathway  through 
the  thick  wall  of  an  uncertain  future.  Such  was 
i  ieorge  i\  Kimball's  lot.  He  is  still  a  young  man. 
with  years  of  bright  prospects  ami  usefulness  be- 
fore him.  and  he  can  point  to  his  past  with  that 
glow  of  pride  any  man  is  entitled  to  feed  who  has 
made  a  success  of  life. 


william  s.  Mccormick. 

The  characteristics  of  the  late  William  Sander- 
son McCormick  arc  well  described  in  the  words  of 
a  prominent  Chicago  gentleman  who  knew  him 
long  and  intimately,  and  whose  opinion  is  of  high 
value.  Of  Mr.  McCormick  this  authority  says: 
'•  I  knew  him  intimately  for  several  years.  In  every 
respect  he  was  a  superior  man.  He  was  always 
ready  to  receive  suggestions  and  quick  to  act  upon 
them  when  they  commended  themselves  to  his 
judgment.     He  was  keenly  appreciative  of  therea- 


324 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


sons  i'ii  both  sides  of  any  controversy  in  which  he 
might  I"'  engaged.  In  shorthewas  eminently 
just  and  honorable  in  every  way."  Mr.  McCor- 
mirk  was  born  in  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia, 
November  2,  1815.  He  was  the  son  of  Robert  and 
Marj  Ann  (Hall)  McCormick,  and  a  brother 
of  Leander  J.  and  the  late  Cyrus  II.  McCormick, 
of  Chicago.  Mr.  McCormick's  father  was  an  ex- 
trusive farmer  ami  his  early  years  were  passed 
amid  the  surroundings  of  an  agricultural  life. 
His  father  was  not  only  the  owner  of  several 
large  Earms  and  closely  occupied  in  their  manage- 
ment, hut  was  a  man  of  remarkable  mechanical 
genius,  ami  for  many  years  gave  a  large  por- 
tion of  his  time  t<>  the  development  of  the  reaper, 
and  various  other  of  his  inventions.  William 
S.  McCormick,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
able  at  an  early  age  to  relieve  his  father  of 
1 1 1 ; 1 1 1 \  .it'  the  details  of  farm  management,  and  prac 
tically  operated  five  or  six  farms.  In  1837  his 
father  met  with  serious  financial  reverses  through 
tin-  mismanagement  of  a  partner  in  a  large  iron 
business,  and  the  success  of  the  family  in  regaining 
prosperity  was  in  no  small  degree  due  to  William's 
judicious  and  progressive  handling  of  the  agricul- 
tural interests.  He  was  an  earnest  and  intelligent 
worker  in  whatever  he  undertook.  He  was  never 
satisfied  with  any  thing  less  than  the  best  of  machin- 
ery and  methods,  and  his  farming  operations  were 
conducted  with  the  same  precision  and  regularity 
that  in  after  years  marked  his  wise  financial  man- 
agement of  the  enormous  and  pro  fit  able  reaper  busi- 
ness which  he  assisted  in  building  up  in  Chicago, 
and  in  which  he  was  interested  to  the  extent  of 
one-fourth.  On  the  death  of  his  father  in  1846, 
Mr.  McCormick  inherited  the  homestead,  which 
he  conducted  successfully  until  1849.  when  he  re- 
moved to  Chicago  and  united  with  his  brothers  in 
the  manufactureof  reapers.  Much  of  the  surpris- 
ing success  which  attended  this  great  business 
enterprise  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  is  due  to 
the  executive  ability,  sagacity  and  untiring  energy 
and  skill  of  William  S.  McCormick.  Mr.  McCor- 
miek  was  married  in  June.  1846,  to  Mary  Ann 
Qrigsby,  a  daughter  of  Reuben  Grigsby,  Esq.,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  planters  of  Rockbridge 
county,  Virginia,  'the  ( Irigsby  estate,  then  known 
as  Hickory  Hill,  was  situated  between  Lexington 
and  lie'  Natural  Bridge,  and  wasone  of  the  hand- 
somest farm  properties  in  Virginia.    Twosonsand 

three     daughters     were     born     to     Mr.    and    Mrs. 

McCormick.  The  eldest  Bon,  Robert  S.,  married 
Katherine  Medill,  daughter  of  Hon.  Joseph  Me- 
dill,   of  ( 'lii, -ago.      The  second   son.  William  G„ 


married  Eleanor  Brooks,  daughter  of  Walter 
Brooks,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore.  The  eldest  daughter, 
Emma  Louise,  is  the  wife  of  Perry  II.  Smith,  Jr., 
son  of  the  late  Hon.  Perry  H.  Smith,  of  Chicago. 
Anna  R.,  the  second  i laughter,  is  the  wife  of  Ed 
ward  Blair,  son  of  William  Blair,  Esq.,  of  Chicago. 
The  third  daughter,  Lucy  Virginia,  married  Sam- 
uel R.  Jewett,  son  of  Hon.  John  N.  Jewett,  of 
Chicago.  The  death  of  Mr.  McCormick,  which 
occurred  September '27,  1865,  was  the  indirect  re- 
sult of  a  too  laborious  and  sustained  application 
to  business.  He  was  incessant  in  his  supervision 
of  the  details  of  the  great  and  growing  interests 
in  his  care,  and  was  subjected  to  intense  nervous 
strain.  He  held  up  under  it  until  early  in  1865, 
when  the  pressure  became  too  great,  and  he  sought 
relief  in  retirement  from  business  cares.  He  was 
Hun  badly  broken  down,  but  it  was  hoped  that 
rest  and  recreation  might  restore  his  health.  He 
improved  for  a  time,  but  the  relief,  however,  came 
too  late,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  In-  passed 
away,  sincerely  mourned  by  his  family  and  by  a 
large  number  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


SIDNEY  A.  KENT. 

SIDNEY  ALBERT  KENT,  one  of  the  most 
successful  business  men  of  Chicago,  whose  enter- 
prise in  various  fields  has  given  him  wide  reputa- 
tion,—more  especially  in  the  Northwestern  and 
Western  States,  was  born  in  Suffield,  Hartford 
county,  Connecticut,  July  1(1,  1834.  He  is  a  son  of 
Albert  Kent  and  Lucinda  Gillette,  his  wife,  also 
natives  of  Connecticut,  whose  respective  families 
date  back  to  a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of 
the  New  England  colonics.  It  is  known  that  the 
founders  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Kent 
family  came  to  this  country  from  England  about 
the  year  1630,  being  among  the  first  English  set- 
tins  to  follow  •■the  Pilgrim  Fathers"  to  the  shores 
of  the  New  World.  The  Gillettes,  who  are  likewise 
of  English  origin,  arrived  in  America  at  a  some- 
what later  date.  Albert  Kent  was  a  farmer,  and 
his  son.  Sidney,  grew  up  amid  rural  surroundings, 
aiding  in  the  labor  on  the  home  farm,  upon 
which  he  remained  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of 
age.     At  the   district  schools  and   in  the  Suffield 

Academy   he  secured   a    g 1   English   education. 

and  before  leaving  home  was  amply  qualified   to 

Intake  the    instruction  of  pupils  in  the  usual 

grammar-grade   studies.      Actuated,  probably,  by 


■ 


UBRAfi 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


325 


that  larger  hope  which  has  been  such  an  effective 
factor  in  peopling  and  developing  the  western  sec- 
tion of  the  country,  young  Kent,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  left  home  to  seek  his  fortune.  His  oh 
jeetive  point  was  the  state  of  Illinois,  which  then 
had  a  population  of  about  one  million,  many  of 
whom  were  pioneers,  or  the  children  of  pioneers, 
who  had  left  comfortable  homes  in  the  Eastern 
and  Middle  states  to  reap  the  golden  advantages 
which  its  virgin  and  fertile  soil,  its  abundant 
mines  and  rapidly  growing  business  opportunities 
held  out  to  the  industrious  and  enterprising. 
Having  friends  in  Kane  county  he  proceeded 
thither  and,  while  awaiting  employment  more  in 
consonance  with  his  ambitious  spirit,  he  taught 
school  for  a  briaf  period.  F.arh  m  IS  A.  his  dili- 
gent efforts  to  engage  in  mercantile  affairs  secured 

him  ;i  minor  clerkship  in  the  wholesale  dry -g Is 

house  of  Savage,  Case  &  Co.,  of  Chicago.  This 
city  then  had  a  population  not  greatlyin  excess..!' 
fifty  thousand,  and  as  it  had  increased  more  rap 
idly  in  trade  and  importance  than  any  other  place 
in  "the  fiir  west"  it  was  universally  regarded  as 
onenf  the  best  localities  in  that  region  for  making 
a  start  in  life.  Thus,  certainly,  it  was  regarded  by 
young  Kent,  who,  in  the  spring  <>f  1854,  took  up 
his  residence  in  the  city  to  enter  upon  a  career, 
which,  through  his  pluck  and  energy,  was  to  lead 
to  distinguished  business  success  and  large  for- 
tune. In  1856,  Mr.  Kent  having  readily  adapted 
himself  to  his  new  circumstances,  cut  loose  from 
subordinate  employment  and  in  a  modest  way  en- 
gaged in  a  general  commission  business.  Pushing 
his  infant  enterprise  with  an  energy  which  never 
abated,  he  was  soon  in  a  condition  to  enlarge  his 
operations,  and  in  a  very  short  time  lie  had 
achieved  a  standing  among  the  more  prominent 
commission  merchants  of  the  city.  The  possibili- 
ties of  profit  in  the  fur  trade  speedily  attracted 
his  attention  and  he  boldly  engaged  in  it,  making 
somewhat  extensive  trips  through  the  Western 
country,  buying  furs  in  considerable  quantities 
and  shipping  them  to  a  New  York  dealer  with 
whom  he  had  established  business  relations.  For 
about  four  years  of  the  period  he  was  thus  en- 
gaged, his  elder  brother,  A.  E.  Kent,  now  of  Chi- 
cago, was  associated  with  him  in  the  enterprise, 
which  brought  satisfactory  pecuniary  results 
to  both.  In  1859,  Mr.  Kent,  in  connection  with 
his  brother,  established  a  beef  and  pork  pack- 
ing establishment  in'  Chicago,  the  firm  taking 
the  style  of  A.  E.  Kent  &  Co  This  business  grew 
to  large  proportions  and  in  1872  was  re-organized 
as  a  stock  company  under  the  title  of  the  Chicago 


Packing  and  Provision  Company,  of  which  Mr. 
Sidney  A.  Kent  was  chosen  president.  This  cor- 
poration is  to-day  one  of  the  largest  in  the  pack- 
ing business  in  Chicago,  and  has  an  extensive 
foreign,  as  well  as  domestic  trade.  Mr.  Kent  re- 
tained the  presidency  of  it  until  188S,  when,  owing 
to  the  pressure  upon  him  of  other  duties,  he  resigned 
this  position  and  accepted  that  of  vice-president, 
the  executive  duties  of  which  are  largely  nominal. 
( Ither  similar  enterprises  with  which  he  has  been 
prominently  connected  are  the  Merchants"  and 
Traders"  Packing  and  Provision  Company,  largely 
interested  in  Nebraska;  and  the  East  St.  Louis 
Packing  and  Provision  Company,  established  in 
1872.  Mr.Kent  became  identified  with  the  grain  and 
corn  business  as  far  back  as  1856,  since  which  time 
he  has  been  engaged  in  it  as  a  broker  and  shipper. 

His  name    has  I n    prominent  in  this  tiel.l    for 

many  years,  and  during  the  last  decade  or  two  he 
has  been  a  leader  in  some  of  those  stupendous  opera- 
tions in  the  grain  market,  for  which  the  city  of 
Chicago  is  noted.  Since  L856,  too,  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Chicago  Hoard  of  Trade  and  has 
served  many  years  in  its  directory.  In  1869,  in 
association  with  Mr.  B.  P.  Hutchinson,  he  organ- 
ize. 1  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank,  which  went 
into  operation  with  a  capital  of  $500,000.  He 
served  as  president  of  it  during  the  early  years  of 
its  existence,  ami  later  took  the  vice-presidency, 
which  he  resigned  only  recently.  Under  his  ad- 
ministration the  bank  became  one  of  the  leading 
financial  institutions  of  the  city,  anil  from  first  to 
last  has  been  one  of  the  most  successful  in  the 
West.  Another  most  successful  financial  institu- 
tion of  Chicago,  with  which  he  was  long  identified 
as  a  director,  is  the  American  Loan,  Trust  and 
Savings  Bank.  Mr.  Kent  has  given  considerable 
attention  to  and  has  invested  largely  in  a  number 
of  local  enterprises  which  have  contributed  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  development  of  Chicago.  In 
one  of  these,  the  West  Side  Railroad  Company, 
he  held  a  large  financial  interest  for  many  years. 
He  was  also  a  director  for  several  years  in  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Rail  road  Company. 
Among  the  principal  enterprises  which  owe  a 
great  shari'  of  their  success  to  his  personal  direc- 
tion and  in  which  he  is  a  leading  investor,  are  the 
Union  Iron  Company,  which  operates  extensive 
mines,  owns  itsown  railroads,  rolling  stock, barges, 
etcjtheKirby  Carpenter  Company,  which  has  large 
interests  in  land,  lumber  and  millson  the  Menoiu- 
onee  River  in  Michigan;  and  the  Illinois  Steel  Com- 
pany. Upon  the  organization  of  the  Chicago  Gas 
Trust,  in  1887,  Mr.  Kent  was  chosen  its  president. 


;26 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Recently  he  has  entered  with  his  usual  push  and 
determination  into  an  undertaking  of  great  mag- 
nitude and  one  which  promises  to  !"■  of  incalcula- 
ble benefil  1"  the  citj  in  many  ways,  viz:  the  sup- 
ply of  natural  gas  to  its  inhabitants.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  a  few  other  wealthy  men  he  organized, 
early  in  1891,  the  Natural  Gas  Company,  of  Chi- 
cago, with  a  capital  of  $2,500,000.  This  corpora 
tion,  t<>  the  affairs  of  which  he  is  now  devoting  his 
chief  attention  1ms  already  made  great  progress 
in  laying  pipe  toconnecl  Chicago  with  the  1ml  i  an  a 
gas  fields,  believed  to  furnish  a  practically  inex- 
haustible source  of  supply.  As  a  businessman, 
Mr.  Kent  stands  among  the  most  successful  and 
energetic  in  Chicago,  with  an  honorable  record 
covering  upwards  of  thirty-five  years  of  unremit- 
ting labor.  Having  the  genius  for  large  opera- 
tions he  labored  sedulously  Cor  years  t.>  acquire 
-sary  capital  to  engage  in  them  as  a  prin- 
cipal. Since  this  has  been  at  his  command  his 
operations  have  been  bold  and  comprehensive, 
yet  always  planned  with  sagacity  ami  carried  on 
with  vigor  and  deliberate  judgment.  His  suc- 
cesses have  been  many;  indeed,  it  may  be  said, 
he  has  had  no  failures;  and  the  large  fortune  that 
has  rewarded  his  increasing  ami  judicious  toil  has 
been  acquired  wholly  in  legitimate  avenues  of 
business  and  without  any  sacrifice  of  the  inter- 
ests of  his  associates.  Mr.  Kent  is  a  man  of  few- 
words  and  of  a  retiring  nature.  Although  he  acts 
in  his  various  enterprises  with  marked  decision, 
he  never  does  so  hastily,  invariably  giving  care- 
ful examination  and  deliberate  thought  to  every 
detail  before  issuing  an  order  or  hazarding  an 
opinion.  A  good  proof  of  the  soundness  of  his 
judgmenl  is  afforded  by  the  fact  thai  he  is  always 
deferred  to  as  a  leader  in  every  enterprise  with 
which  he  is  connected.  This  place  he  takes 
naturally,  partly  by  reason  of  the  soundness  of 
his  views  and  clear  comprehension  of  the  needsof 
the  undertaking,  whatever  its  character,  but 
scarcely  less  so  through  his  remarkable  capacity 
for  the  exercise  of  the  executive  function.  Hav- 
ing achieved  fortune,  thus  successfully  meeting 
what  in  this  age  is  regarded  as  the  supreme  test 
of  bu&mess  al  ihtv  m  America,  he  has  of  Late  \  ars 
given  more  attention  to  the  gentler  arts,  social 
HIV  and  public  interests.  Mr.  Kent  has  taken  a 
lively  interest  in  the  new  Chicago  University,  and 
has  recently  made  to  that  institution  the  mag- 
nificent gift  of  8150,000  for  the  building  and  equip- 

■     a  chemical    laboratory.     This    is    •    of 

the  largest  and  most  notable  individual  gifts  yet 
made  to  that  institution  and  follows  another  from 


Mr.  Kent  of  $10,000,  given  at  the  inception  of 
that    great    enterprise.      Mr.  Kent  was  married  mi 

September  25, 1864,  to  Miss  Stella  A.  Lincoln,  a 
native  of  Mohawk  Valley.  New  York,  and 
the  daughter  of  W.  S.  Lincoln.  Esq.  As  its  name 
implies  the  Lincoln  family  is  of  English  origin, 
but  that  branch  of  it,  from  which  Mrs.  Kent 
springs,  lias  resided  in  the  Mohawk  valley  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Owego,  New  York,  from  a  very 
eartj  period  in  the  history  of  the  Empire  State. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kent's  family  consists  of  two  charm- 
ing daughters,  who  with  their  motherspend  much 
time  at  the  National  Capital,  where  Mrs.  Kent's 
parents  have  resided  for  several  years  past. 


EVERITTE  ST.  JOHN. 

EVERITTE  ST.  JOHN,  general  manager  of  the 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  .V  Pacific  Railway,  was  born 
in  Litchfield  county.  Conn..  Feb.  I.  Hit.  His 
fat  her  and  mother  were  natives  of  Connecticut,  of 
English  ancestry.  His  great-grandfather  came  to 
this  country  from  England  with  some  of  the  early 
Puritans.  The  name  in  England  is  pronounced 
as  if  spelled  "Sinjin."  The  name  of  Mr.  St.  John's 
father  was  Lew-is  St.  John,  and  his  mother  Miss 
Laura  Cartwright.  The  father  died  when  Everitte 
was  but  four  years  old.  and  at  the  earliest  possi- 
ble period  he  began  to  earn  his  own  living.  An 
elder  brother  was  postmaster,  station  agent,  town 
clerk  aial  store  keeper  in  the  town  where  the  fam- 
ily lived:  and  there  in  the  capacity  of  clerk  Mr. 
St.  John  spent  the  first  years  of  his  working  life, 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  seventeen  years 
of  age.  It  is  probable  that  his  labors  at 'this 
period,  and  the  economies  he  was  obliged  to  prac- 
tice, were  of  value  to  him  in  his  later  career.  He 
acquired  simple,  plain  tastes,  and  exhibited  a 
thrift  and  willingness  to  work  rather  exceptional 
in  lads  of  his  age.  Everitte  St.  John  has  become 
a  notable  railroad  man,  and  commencedhis  career 
in  this  held  when  he  was  but  seventeen.  His  first 
position  in  railway  service  was  far  away  from  his 
native  home.  In  the  town  of  Quincy,  111.,  in  the 
year  1862,  he  became  clerk  in  the  general  ticket 
officeof  theQuincy  A-  Toledo  Railroad.  His  salary 
there  was  $30  per  month.  This  road  was.  soon 
after,  consolidated  with  the  Great  Western  Rail- 
waj  of  Illinois,  and  Mr.  St.  John  was  trans- 
ferred to  Springfield,  where  he  held  a  similar 
position,  but  with  a  slight  advance  in  salary. 
Here  he  remained  until  July  1,  1863,  and  on  July 


LIBRARY 


RIOORAl'HV  OF   ILLINOIS. 


7 


4th,  three  days  later,  having  received  an  offer  from 
the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  A-  Pacific,  he  accepted  ii 
and  began  hie  service  with  that  company,  at  sin 
per  month.  It  may  be  safely  said  that  mi  railroad 
system  in  the  world  lias  been  more  uniformly  suc- 
cessful than  has  the  above  corporation,  and  that 
this  success  has  been  greatly  aided  by  the  splen- 
did services  of  Everitte  St.  John,  is  admitted  by 
those  best  qualified  to  judge.  His  advancement 
in  position  and  power  has  been  accomplished  Btep 
by  step,  and  with  eaeh  successive  step  tie  road 
has  advanced  in  power  and  influence.  July  i, 18G:i, 
lie  began  as  a  clerk  in  the  general  ticket  depart- 
ment. On  November  7.  1864,  he  was  appointed 
chief  ticket  clerk.  On  January  1,  1865,  he  was 
appointed  general  ticket  agent.  This  position 
he  held  fi n-  a  uumber  of  years,  and  on  January  1, 
1879,  \\  as  made  general  ticket  ami  passenger  agent. 
To  this  office  was  added,  on  June  30,  1885,  thai  of 
assistant  to  the  general  manager.  In  the  follow- 
ing year,  1886,  July  13,  he  became  assistant  gen- 
eral manager,  and  cm  September  8,  1887,  he  was 
made  genera]  manager  (if  the  lines  east  of  the  Mis- 
souri river.  On  February  -J'J,  lsss,  he  was  general 
manager  of  the  lines  east  of  the  Missouri  river,  and 
became  also  the  assistant  general  manager  of  the 
lines  west  of  the  Missouri  river.  On  April  1,  1889, 
Mr.  St.  John  received  the  honor  due  to  his  ability 
and  his  untiring  energy  in  the  interest  of  the  ( 'hi 
cago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  mad.  by  his  appoint- 
ment as  the  general  manager  of  the  lines  both 
east  and  west  of  the  Missouri  river,  constituting 
the  entire  system.  Tin' Chicago,  Rock  Island  & 
I'acilie  railroad  is  the  outcome  of  the  charter  orig- 
inally given  to  the  Rock  Island  it  La  Salle  Rail- 
road Company,  February  "J7.  1SI7.  There  was 
nothing  done  under  that  charter,  but  at  a  meet- 
ing on  February  7,  1851,  at  which  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  was  present,  the  old  charter  was  trans- 
ferred to  Eastern  capitalists,  and  in  1854,  tie  road 
was  opened  to  tin'  Mississippi,  forming  the  nucleus 
of  the  grand  system  now  in  operation  under  the 
name  of  the  Chicago.  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  rail- 
road. Great  as  the  honor  was,  by  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  high  position  of  general  manager 
of  such  a  grand  railroad  system,  it  was  fully  de- 
served by  that  gentleman.  He  has  given  it  the 
best  service  possible;  In'  has  given  it  the  ability 
and  experience  acquired  through  many  years  of 
labor  and  intelligent  observation,  Mr.  St.  John 
is  also   the   chairman  of  the   General  Managers' 

Association  and  the  executivi mmittees  of  the 

Trans-Missouri  Freight  Association,  Western  Rail- 
way Weighing  Association  and  Inspection  Bureau, 


Chicago  Car  Service  Association,  Live  Stock 
Weighing  Association,  and  member  of  the  execu 
five  committee  .if  the  Western  Freight  Associa- 
tion. Mr.  St.  John  is  a  hard  worker  from  eh,, ice. 
and  gives  from  twelve  to  sixteen  hours  daily  to 
his  duties.  During  this  period  of  continuous  labor 
hi'  has  never  limited  himself  to  the  mere  perform 
ance  of  routine  work.  He  has  constantly  studied 
and  labored  for  improvements  in  the  mechanism 
of  every  department  with  which  he  has  been 
connected.  He  is  a  man  of  liberal  dimensions; 
his  head  is  WeLsterian  in  its  size,  his  chest 
broad,  and  generally  he  suggests  a  reservoir 
of  great  power.     He  appears  to  be  immensely  self 

reliant,  self itained,  daring  and  yet  conservative. 

As  a  railroad  manager  he  stands  among  the  fore- 
most. He  is  easily  approached  and  has  none  of 
the  indifference  or  austerity  so  of  ten  character- 
istic of  officialism.  He  meets  visitors  with  a 
hearty  clasp  of  the  hand. and  at  one,-  gives  a  close. 
undivided  attention.  He  is  apparently  quite  as 
much  interested  in  the  business  of  tin-  caller  as  is 
the  latter.  His  door  is  always  open  to  the  public, 
and  to  the  humblest  employe  of  the  load  who  has 
a  grievance,  he  listens  with  patience,  and  en- 
deavors to  give  as  nearly  exact  justice  as  possi- 
ble. He  believes  that  all  gnat  bodies  employing 
men,  such  as  railways,  insurance  companies,  mine 
owners,  etc..  should  take  steps  to  educate  and 
otherwise  forward  the  interests  of  their  employes. 
There  was  a  time  in  the  career  of  Mr.  St.  John 
when  he  came  nearly  leaving  his  chosen  held  of 
labor.  At  the  inception  of  the  Rebellion  he 
aspired  to  enter  West  Point,  and  was  promised  an 
appointment  providing  Congress  should  pass  a 
then  contemplated  law  authorizing  the  nomination 
of  a  large  additional  number  of  cadets  to  fill  the 
vacancies  made  by  the  secession  of  federal  officers. 
He  began  his  studies  in  preparation  for  an  exami- 
nation, should  the  law  pass,  under  the  tutorship 
of  Hon.  Chas.  II.  Andrews.  ex-Governor  of  Con- 
necticut, and  now  the  chief  justice  of  that  state. 
It  did  not  pass,  however,  and  Mr.  St.  John  was 
reserved  by  (ate  to  become  one  of  the  commanding 
generals  of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  A  Pacific  rail- 
waj  .  He  has  never  regretted  missing  his  war  career, 
though  he  says  "I  had  an  almost  irresistible  desire 
to  enter  the  service,  and  certainly  should  have 
done  so.  had  it  not  been  for  the  influence  of  my 
mother.  Her  entreaties  and  opposition  prevailed. 
I  sent  a  substitute,  and  thus  surrendered  the 
most  ardent  wish  of  my  life."  Popular  as  Mr.  St. 
John  is  in  railway  circles,  he  is  no  more  so  there 
than  with  the  public.     He  wedded  Miss  Emilina 


328 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


B.  Lamson,  of  An. lover.  Mass.,  and  is  extremely 
fond  of  his  home.  Be  is  a  great  lover  of  books, 
and  liis  library  of  nearly  1,000  volumes  is  well 
selected  from  the  lust  authors  of  1  >< > 1 1  l  continents. 
lie  is  far  too  busy  ;i  man  to  give  much  time  to  the 
social  side  of  life,  bu1  he  is  by  no  means  a  recluse. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Union  League  Club;  is 
Pas!  Master..!'  Wabansia  Lodge,  X...  ICO,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M..  and  Past  Eminent  Commander  of  Mont- 
joie  Commandery,  No.53,  K.  T.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Sons  of  Connecticut,  whichhas a  mem- 
bership of  about  three  hundred. 


1 II  (ill  RIDDLE. 

In  the  last  half  of  this  century,  the  influence  of 
business  men  has  been  pre-eminently  powerful. 
The  man  of  affairs,  as  distinguished  from  the 
politician  or.  professional  citizen,  has  been  a  recog- 
nized |u.\ver.  His  wealth,  his  factory,  his  power 
to  successfully  administer  and  operate  great 
properties,  have  been  important  factors  in  the 
development  and  preservation  of  the  nation.  He 
has  been  depended  upon  in  war  and  in  peace  to 
conserve  the  best  and  permanent  interests  of  the 
whole  people;  without  him,  and  the  approval  of 
his  practical  judgment,  the  efforts  of  the  states- 
man would  have  been  futile,  and  the  courage  of 
the  soldier  in  vain.  Such  a  man  has  been,  and  is 
Hugh  Kid. Ik;  of  Scotch  and  Irish  descent,  his 
character  is  of  that  honest,  prudent,  and  deliber 
ate  kind  that  forms  the  foundation  of  the  best 
citizenship  and  safest  material  policy.  The  north 
of  Ireland  has  given  to  America  a  long  line  of 
reliable  citizens,  none  of  whom  has  been  more 
useful,  or  more  trustworthy  than  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Born  in  Bedford,  New  Hampshire, 
,,n  the  11th  of  August,  1822,  his  boyhood  was 
spent  on  a  farm,  that  nursery  of  the  sturdiest 
American  manhood.  In  the  common  school,  as 
pupil  and  teacher,  he  mainly  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  practical  education,  which  embodied  at  once 
the  education  and  the  discipline  that  have  stood 

in  g I  stead  in   later  life.     Attention  then  given 

lilted  and  gave  him  a  predilection  for  the  life  of  a 

civil  engi r,  and  at   the  age  of  twenty-four,  he 

entered  the  engineer  corps  of  the  Erie  railroad,  on 
rofa  railroad  man,  in  which  he  has  been 
so  long  active  and  successful.  He  continued  in 
this  work,  mainlj  connected  with  work  of  con- 
struct ion,  until  tin inpletion  of  the  road  in  L851, 


when,  still  as  engineer,  he  became  identified  with 
the  operating  department  of  the  system,  having 
his  headquarters  in  New  York  city,  and  hero  re- 
mained until  lHi.'.t.  a  period  of  almost  a  quarter  of 
a  century.  With  his  disposition  and  character- 
istics, it  was  inevitable  that  in  the  great  and 
rapidly  growing  railroad  world,  he  should  make 
an  enviable  reputation  and  attract  attention,  and 
it  easily  followed  that  when  in  18G9,  the  great 
West  and  its  matchless  possibilities  challenged  the 
attention  of  capital  and  invited  the  energies  of  rail- 
way managers,  he  was  called  to  a  wider  field. 
Hence,  in  November,  1869,  he  came  to  the  city  of 
Chicago,  invited  there  by  those  who  had  learned 
to  know  and  duly  estimate  his  ability,  to  become 
the  general  superintendent  of  the  Chicago,  Bock 
Island  &  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  then  having 
a  line  reaching  from  Chicago  to  Council  Bluffs, 
Iowa.  In  1871  he  became  vice-president,  and  in 
1877,  president,  in  which  office  he  remained  until 
1883,  when,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one,  at  his  own 
solicitation,  he  was  relieved  from  the  active  man- 
agement, retaining,  as  he  still  does,  his  connection 
with  the  company  as  director  and  member  of 
the  executive  committee.  His  ripe  experience, 
steady  judgment,  and  unswerving  honesty  make 
his  services  too  valuable  to  be  wholly  surrendered. 
Under  his  administration,  the  road  was  consider- 
ably extended,  its  prosperity  greatly  augmented, 
ami  its  standing  in  the  railroad  world  thoroughly 
sustained.  He  commanded  at  once  the  confidence 
of  the  public  and  of  those  high  and  low,  associated 
with  him  in  the  management  of  the  property.  He 
had  the  confidence  in  a  large  degree  of  the  opera- 
tives of  the  road ;  they  trusted  his  pledged  word 
implicitly,  and  not  in  vain.  He  demanded  fealty 
and  appreciated  it.  Labor  troubles  did  not  dis- 
turb him,  because  the  operatives  knew  he  was 
just,  and  withheld  from  th.-m  nothing  he  could 
give  in  justice  to  his  trust.  In  1884  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams  on  the 
Trunk  Line  Committee,  and  in  1885,  wasa  director 
in  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company.  From 
time  to  time  his  knowledge  and  experience  has  led 
to  his  selection  as  arbitrator  to  settle  differences 
between  railroad  companies.  His  first  wife  was 
Mary  Walker,  of  Hyde  Park,  Vermont,  wdio  died 
in  1870,  leaving  one  son.  In  1872  he  was  married 
to  Althea  E.  Wetmore  of  Oneida  county,  N.  Y. 
To  Mr.  Riddle,  and  men  like  him,  the  railroad 
system  of  the  country,  and  practically  that  of  the 
great  west,  owes  very  much.  Under  the  guidance 
of  him  and  his  co-ad jutors,  it  has  been  a  mighty 
factor  in  the  development  of  the  rich  resources  of 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


a? 


<?%> 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


329 


the  country,  and  made  Chicago  not  only  the 
metropolis  of  his  adopted  state,  but  of  the  country 
west  nf  the  Alleghenies.  In  the  list  of  Illinois' 
leading  citizens,  Mr.  Riddle  is  easily  a  prominent 

figure,  commanding  the  respect  anil  1  lii li -in-i ■  nl' 

his  fellow-citizens  and  justly  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  a  well  spenl  life. 


JOHN   BROWN. 


JOHN  BROWN,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  in  Lycoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
15th  of  November,  1S07.  He  was  the  seventh  sun 
in  a  family  of  ten  children,  all  of  whom  were  boys, 
except  the  youngest.  His  father,  John  Brown, 
was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  and  coming  to 
this  country  in  early  life  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Bennett,  a  lady  of  German  descent,  but  born  in 
the  state  of  New  Jersey,  with  whom  he  lived,  and 
in  whom  he  always  found  a  worthy  help-meet, 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the  year  1816, 
in  Clark  county,  Ohio,  the  family  having  moved 
there  from  the  Pennsylvania  home,  not  long-prior 
to  his  death.  Pour  sons  of  this  couple  had  died 
in  infancy,  in  Pennsylvania.  Before  the  subject 
of  this  notice  had  reached  his  twentieth  year,  an 
epidemic  carried  away  his  mother  and  all  the  rest 
of  the  family,  except  himself,  that  had  survived 
to  that  time— the  young  man's  condition  was  sad 
enough  sole  survivor  of  a  large  family,  without 
money,  without  a  trade,  and  with  but  a  very 
limited  amount  of  the  meagre  schooling  of  that 
early  day.  in  the  then  comparatively  new  country 
in  which  he  lived.  A  heart  less  brave,  or  a  mind 
less  resolute  might  have  been  discouraged  under 
such  circumstances.  But  he  was  not  discouraged, 
although  few  people  could  more  fully  comprehend 
or  appreciate  all  his  surroundings  at  that  time 
than  did  he.  If  the  present  was  not  as  bright  as 
could  be  wished,  it  would  grow  no  brighter  by 
brooding  over  its  darkness.  The  thing  to  do  was 
to  work  systematically  to  better  his  condition.  So 
he  set  himself  to  the  task  of  acquiring  the  trade 
of  bricklayer  and  plasterer.  He  soon  learned  the 
business,  and  often  worked  hard  for  twenty  live 
cents  a  day,  and  even  after  he  had  learned  his 
trade  he  worked  for  wages  small  indeed,  when 
compared  to  that  received  by  common  day  laborers 
of  to-day,  though  as  good  as  then  paid  to  good 
mechanics.  That  he  was  proficient  in  lus-trade  is 
evidenced  bj   the  fact  that  specimens  of   his  work 


can  be  found  in  Warren  county,  Illinois,  that 
still  remain  in  their  original  strength  and  beauty, 
although  the  work  was  clone  more  than  fifty  years 
ago — a  lasting  monument  to  the  painstaking 
care  of  the  man,  and  an  exemplification  of  the 
adage,  that  "what  is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth 
doing  well."  Mr.  Brown  moved  to  Monmouth, 
Illinois,  arriving  there  on  the 20th  of  August,  183C. 
Among  the  families  at  that  place  of  which  he  had 
some  previous  knowledge,  may  be  enumerated  the 
Junkinses',  the  Holidays,  and  the  Garrisons,  from 
the  counties  of  Green  and  Clark,  in  the  state  of 
Ohio.  When  Mr.  Brown  came  to  Monmouth  he 
brought  all  his  earthly  possessions  with  him.  for 
he  had  decided  to  make  that  his  future  home. 
True  In-  was  then  worth  but  very  little  property, 
but  he  at  once  went  to  work  at  his  trade,  and  if 
the  wages  were  low,  andevenif  those  agreed  upon 
were  not  always  fully  paid,  that  was  no  reason  why 
he  should  not  work,  and  make  the  most  out  of  the 
scant}  earnings  he  received.  By  judicious  invest- 
ments of  his  money,  in  goods,  in  lands  and  in  any- 
thing that  promised  safety  for  the  sum  invested 
and  a  reasonable  profit,  and  by  keeping  constantly 
at  work,  and  husbanding  all  his  resources,  it  was 
not  long  till  he  had  accumulated  quite  a  snug 
sum  of  money  for  those  times.  He  soon  became 
recognized  as  a  man  of  property  and  a  money 
lender,  a  reputation  that  steadily  and  constantly 
increased,  but  never  for  a  moment  diminished. 
For  many  years  he  was  sheriff  of  Warren  county, 
filling  the  office  with  credit  to  himself,  and  to  the 
general  satisfaction  of  his  constituency,  irrespec 
five  of  party,  for  men  of  all  parties  voted  for  John 
Brown  whenever  he  ran  for  any  office,  lb-  was  a 
member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  his  county. 
In  addition  to  this  he  was  a  bank  president;  at 
one  time  or  another  he  was  a  stockholder,  director 
or  officer  in  nearly  all.  if  not  all,  of  the  banks  that 
had  lii-en  organized  in  Monmouth  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death.  In  all  his  relations  in  life  he  was 
prudent,  and  his  judgment,  so  slowly  and 
cautiously  funned,  was  always  conceded  to  be 
accurate,  when  formed.  He  possessed  to  a  marked 
degree  the  ability  to  acquire  and  safely  manage 
money  and  property,  having  amassed  an  estate 
worth  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  million  dollars. 
A  man  of  strung,  affectionate  nature,  he  found  in 
his  wife,  children,  home,  friends  and  business  his 
highest  happiness.  When  he  came  to  select  his 
life  partner,  he  married  Miss  Mattie  1!.  Pittinger, 
a  lady  considerably  his  junior,  and  a  daughter  of 
his  old  friend,  Andrew  Pittinger.  His  children, 
John    S.   and     Harry    II.    Brown,     were    only    in 


uioiiitAi'iiv  ok  Illinois. 


their  teens  when  their  father  died,  on  the  26th 
ni  September,  1888.  By  his  will  he  left  the  man- 
agement of  his  estate,  till  after  the  majority  of 
his  youngest  son,  to  his  executrix  and  executors, 
they  being  his  beloved  wife,  and  Mr.  Fred  E. 
Harding  and  J.udge  William  C.  Norcross.  Mr. 
Harding  was  his  trusted  hanker,  and  the  Judge 
was  I'm-  many  years  his  attorney  and  adviser. 
By  the  will  the  great  bulk  of  his  property  is  left 
to  his  wife  and  sons,  hut  it  makes  liberal  provision 
for  others  as  well.  He  was  honest  and  just  in  all 
his  dealings.  In  polities  he  was  a  Republican,  in 
religion  he  inclined  to  the  Calvanistic  belief, 
though  he  never  united  with  any  church;  he  was 
a  regular  attendant  with  his  wife  and  family  upon 
the  services  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  of  which  she  is 
a  very  devoted  and  consistent  member. 


0RK1N    W.   POTTER. 

(  IRRIN  W.  POTTER,  for  many  years  the  lead- 
ing iron  and  steel  manufacturer  of  Chicago,  and 
who  lately  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the  Illi- 
nois Steel  Company,  was  born  in  Rochester,  N. 
V..  December  25,1836.  His  father.  Abel  Potter, 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  it  was  under 
such  rustic  influences  as  farm  life  engenders,  that 
young  Orrin  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Cynthia  Lathrop. 
She  was  a  woman  of  most  estimable  character, 
and  her  influence  had  a  potential  effect  in  mould- 
ing the  character  of  her  son  and  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  principles  of  honesty  and  up- 
rightness which  have  characterized  his  career  as 
a  business  man  and  a  citizen.  Mr.  Potter  received 
the  best  educational  advantages  afforded  by  the 
(•limine m  schools  in  his  native  place.  Though 
these  were  limited,  young  Potter  possessed  nat- 
ural abilities  which,  in  a  large  measure,  com- 
pensated for  his  lack  of  higher  education.  Very 
early  in  his  school  training  he  developed  a  remark- 
able faculty  for  mathematics  and  civil  engineering. 
Tin  loudness  for  the  latter  led  him,  when  but  fif- 
teen years  old,  to  leave  school  and  join  a  survey- 
ing party,  with  which  he  traveled  over  portions  of 
New  ifork  state  and  Canada.  He  was  not,  how- 
ever, destined  to  become  a  civil  engineer.  Pate 
had  another  field  of  labor  mapped  out  for  him, 
and  he  entered  it  when  twenty  years  of  age.  Cap- 
tain Eber  1!.  Ward,  a  gentleman  widely  known 
in  the  earl)  history  of  transportion  upon  the  great 


lakes,  and  with  the  iron  trade,  had  established  a 
rolling  mill  at  Wyandotte,  Mich.  As  Mr.  Potter's 
career  is  closely  identified  with  that  of  Captain 
Ward,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  recall  some 
incidents  in  the  life  of  the  latter,  especially  those 
which  led  him  to  establish  a  plant  in  Chicago,  and 
which  were  the  causes  leading  up  to  Mr.  Potter's 
association  with  him.  When  the  Michigan  Cen- 
tral Railroad  had  been  extended  to  Marsha II.  Mich., 
Captain  Ward  established  a  stage  line  between 
that  place  and  St.  Joseph,  Mich.,  and  from  there 
connection  was  made  with  Chicago  by  two  steam- 
ers, making  regular  trips.  Sometime  later,  when 
I  lie  road  was  completed  to  New  Buffalo,  he  ran  a 
line  of  steamers  from  there  to  Chicago,  and  also 
to  Milwaukee,  and  continued  it  until  1S.VJ  when 
the  road  entered  the  Western  metropolis.  This 
line  of  lioats  was  the  origin  of  the  present  line  of 
Goodrich  steamers  which  make  every  prominent 
port  on  either  side  of  Lake  Michigan,  a  regular 
stopping  place.  But  Captain  Ward  had  the  fore- 
sight to  see  that  the  railroad  interests  were  des- 
tined to  override  that  of  lake  transit,  and  he  began 
to  invest  in  the  iron  mines  of  Lake  Superior. 
Thus,  it  was  about  1855  he  built  the  rolling  mill 
plant  at  Wyandotte,  Mich.,  a  few  miles  below  De- 
troit, and  it  was  there,  as  a  clerk  in  the  office  of 
the  mill,  that  Mr.  Potter  found  employment  when 
he  came  West  in  1856.  This  was  his  real  start  in 
life.  Here  he  so  quickly  developed  exceptional 
aptitude  for  business  that  within  a  year  his  em- 
ployer found  the  opportunity  to  advance  him  in 
position.  Captain  Ward  had  from  his  first  visit  to 
Chicago,  when  he  landed  there  with  a  load  of 
flour,  and  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago 
river  at  a  time  when  there  were  only  a  few  houses, 
an  old  fort  and  a  so-called  hotel,  had  a  feeling  of 
her  future  greatness.  As  the  years  went  by  this 
feeling  grew  and,  in  1857,  he  determined  to  build 
another  rolling  mill  plant  at  that  point.  To  this 
new  field  Mr.  Potter  was  transferred,  ami  became 
book-keeper  and  pay-master  in  the  new  concern. 
Here  he  remained,  acquiring  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  business  in  all  its  details,  and  making 
himself  an  absolute  necessity  to  the  enterprise. 
In  1864  Captain  Ward's  plant  was  made  into  a 
stock  company  with  the  title  of  the  Chicago  Roll- 
ing Mill  Company,  and  Mr.  Potter  was  chosen 
secretary  of  the  new  organization  and  was  also 
made  the  general  manager  of  the  works.  From 
the  very  first  the  concern  proved  a  paying  invest- 
ment. Year  by  year  the  business  grew  until  it 
became  recognized  as  one  of  the  city's  greatest 
manufacturing  corporations.     And  thus  was  it  a 


uHWWsrn<*nwK°ls- 


BI0GKAP1IY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


331 


great  honor  when,  in  1S71.  the  president,  I 
Stephen    Clement,  retired   from   active    business, 

that  Mr.  Potter  was  elected  to  fill  his  place.  It 
was  an  honor,  for  the  company  had  attained  a 
proud  place  among  Chicago's  business  enterprises. 
But  it  was  an  honor  due,  for  it  is  but  simple  jus- 
tice to  say  thai  the  success  attained  was  due  to 
Mr.  Potter's  wise  and  conservative  management; 
that  the  enterprise  had  survived  many  panics  and 
depressions  in  business  during  the  financial 
troubles  which,  several  times  in  its  history,  swept 
over  the  country.  Beginning  as  a  clerk  at  a  salary 
••:  1300  per  annum,  he  had  worked  his  way  to  the 
acy.  In  his  progress  he  obtained  a  wide 
knowledge  of  the  business  and  a  thorough  experi- 
ence in  its  practical  workings.  He  became  pe- 
culiarly qualified  to  carry  out  his  work,  while  his 
natural  executive  ability  enabled  him  to  put  at  the 
head  of  all  departments  the  m  0  who  could  and 
would  co-operate  with  him  in  carrying  out  his 
plans  and  business  methods.  On  the  original 
plant  the  investment  was  $225,000,  the  capacity 
100  tons  a  day  of  iron  rails,  and   there  were  about 

20 n  employed.    In  1864  an  additional  mill  was 

erected,  doubling  the  capacity,  and  a  puddling 
department  was  also  added.  In  this  year  the  con- 
cern became  the  Chicago  Rolling  Mill  Company, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  8500,000,  and  Captain 
Ward's  interest  was  merge,!  into  this  corporation. 
During  1-  grinal   plant   was  burned,  but 

at  once  rebuilt  on  a  larger  scale  than  before  and. 
in  1869,  under  a  special  charter  the  North  Chicago 
Rolling  Mill  Company  wasorganized  with  a  capital 
of  $1,000,000,  and  the  works  of  the  old  company 
were  merged  into  the  new  one.  Blast  furnaces  were 
built  in  1870,  and  in  1872  a  Bessemer-steel  plant  was 
added,  ata  cost  of  $350,000.  The  first  steel  rail  ever 
made  in  America  was  rolled  at  this  mill.  In  1878 
the  Milwaukee  Iron  Works,  locate,!  at  Bay  View. 
Wis.,  where  pig-metal,  iron  rails  and  merchant  iron 
were  made,  were  purchased,  and  in  1880  works 
were  erected  at  South  Chicago.  The  number  of 
men  employed  during  1884,  at  the  several  works, 
was  5,800,  demanding  a  pay-roll  of  $250,000  a 
month.  The  annual  capacity  of  the  works  was 
334,000  tons  of  pig-iron,  320,000  tons  steel  rails. 
120,000  tons  iron  rails,  10,000  torn  merchant  iron. 
20,000  tons  fish  plates,  and  a  nail  mill  part  of 
the  Milwaukee  Iron  Company's  plant  turned 
out  1,000  kegs  of  nails  a  day.  and  had  a  capital  of 
live  millions  of  dollars.  It  was  at  the  head  of 
such  an  enterprise,  practically  built  up  through 
his  own  efforts,  that  Mr.  Potter  was  placed,  a  po- 
sition  he   held  from   1*71  until  1890,  when  the  en- 


m  was  reorganized  into  the  Illinois  Steel 
Company,  with  a  capital  ,,f  $25,000,000,  employing 
11,000  men.  This  was  the  result  of  thirty-three 
years  constant  application  to  one  industry  and 
in  one  place.  In  May.  1889,  Mr.  Potter  waselected 
chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  new 
company,  and  remained  in  that  office  until  April, 
1890.  At  that  date  he  withdrew  from  active-  man- 
agement of  the  concern,  but  continued  in  the  board 
of  management  of  the  new  organization  as  an  ad- 
visory member,  in  which  capacity  he  still  continues 
to  act.  Multiplied  as  Ids  duties  were  while  man- 
aging this  property,  Mr.  Potter  found  time  for 
other  interests.  He  was  one  of  the  original  incor- 
porators of  the  Inter  Ocean  Transportation  Com- 
.anizeil  in  1*7*.  ami  has  been  its  treasur- 
er ever  since.  Mr.  Potter  practically  controls  the 
entire  stock  of  this  company.  It  is  one  of  the 
heaviest  private-  transportation  companies  on  the 
lakes.  It  owns  and  controls  14,000  tons  of  ton- 
nage and  is  engaged  chiefly  in  carrying  iron  ore 
upon  the  Lakes.  The  company  own  -1  \ 
vessels,  six  of  them  steamers.  A  in  w  one.  the 
■■Maryland."  is  the  largest  steam  vessel  on  the 
Lakes,  having  but  recently  been  put  in  commis- 
sion, and  has  a  carrying  capacity  of  four  thousand 
net  tons.  This  company  was  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  Wisconsin,  and  has  a  capital  stock  of 
$850,000.  Mr.  Potter  was  also  one  <  >f  the  incorpo- 
rators of  the  Metropolitan  Iron  and  Land  Com- 
pany which  owns  the  wonderful  "Norrie"  and 
the  "Pabst"  mines,  at  Ironwood,  Michigan.  The 
Norrie  mine  is  in  the  Gogebic  range  and  is  the 
largest  iron  ore  producer  in  the  world.  Mr.  Pot- 
ter is  a  director  in  this  company,  and  also  in  the 
Commercial  National  Bank,  of  Chicago.  It  was 
but  natural  that  a  man  so  long  and  intimately 
identified  with  the  iron  trade  of  this  country, 
should  be  a  prominent  member  of  a  committee  to 
receive  the  large  delegation  (si  D  ■■  700)  of  English. 
German  and  French  capitalists  and  manufactur- 
ers which  recently  visited  Chicago,  on  their  tour 
through  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  inspect- 
ing are!  studying  the  iron  interests  of  America. 
Mr.  Potter  was  made  chairman  of  the  reception 
committee  and  entertained  the  guests  so  well  and 
and  made  so  thorough  an  exhibit  of  the  city's  re- 
sources, that  they  left  the  city  with  the  pleasant- 
est  impressions  of  the  hospitality  of  Chicago's 
citizens,  and  its  importance  as  a  manufacturing 
and  commercial  metropolis.  Mr.  Potter  was  mar- 
ried   Di mber   -Jo.   1858,  to    Miss    Ellen    Owen, 

daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  Owen,  of  Marine  City, 
Michigan,  and  a  niece  of  Captain  E.  B.  Ward.    The} 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   [LLINOIS. 


have  tour  children.  Edward  ('.  Potter,  theeldest, 
;i  prominenl  business  man  of  Chicago,  and  three 
daughters,  Agnes,  the  wife  of  James  C.  Hutchins 
of  Chicago,  connected  with  the  law  department 
of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Railroad, 
and  Gertrude  and  Margaret.  Though  not  much 
of  a  club  visitor,  Mr.  Potter  has  memberships  in 
three  different  organizations.  His  connection 
with  the  Commercial  Club  dates  from  early  in 
its  organization,  and  in  1881  he  was  elected  its 
president.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Union 
League  Club  and  the  Chicago  Club.  He  lias 
had  but  little  time,  and  less  inclination  to  give  to 
polities,  though  he  was  with  the  late  John  Crerar 
;i  presidential  elector,  in  1888,  for  Mr.  Harrison. 
Mr.  Potter's  life  has  been  one  of  constant  busi- 
ness activity.  He  early  learned  the  value  of  ex- 
perience  and  thorough  training  in  any  calling, 
and  knew  that  steady  industry  was  apt  to  achieve 
more  than  is  usually  accomplished  by  inconstant 
genius,  however  brilliant.  It  was  upon  these 
lines  that  Mr.  Potter  marked  out  the  plan  of  his 
life,  ami  his  splendid  success  testifies  to  his  wise 
judgment  and  to  his  steadfastness  of  purpose. 
Now  having  partially  retired  from  business  he 
spends  his  summer  months  at  his  home  on  Lake 
Geneva,  some  seventy  miles  from  Chicago,  where 
many  of  her  business  men  find  rest  ami  recreation 
on  the  banks  of  this  beautiful  lake,  and  in  the  de- 
lightful  country  that  surrounds  it. 


JOSEPH  T.  TORRENCE. 

GENT,  JOSEPH  THATCHER  TORRENCE, 
a  leading  business  man.  and  widely  known  as  an 
al  ile  and  successful  engineer  and  executive,  in  con- 
nection  with  the  planting  and  development  of 
a  number  of  extensive  iron  and  railroad  enter- 
prises in  the  West,  was  born  in  Mereer  county, 
Pennsylvania,  March  15,  1st:).  His  parents  were 
James  and  Rebecca  Torrence,  both  natives  of 
Pennsylvania.  Before  he  was  ten  years  of  age 
he  closed  his  school  books  and  started  out  to 
make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  His  first  employ- 
ment was  at  Sharpsburg,  in  his  native  state, 
where  he  worked  nearly  three  years  for  Mr.  John 
1'.  \i;ncw.  the  proprietor  of  blast  furnaces.  He 
was  employed  subsequently  in  various  capacities 

al  the  lirici-  Hill  furnaces,  in  Ohio,  where  he 
learned  |  he  blacksmith  trade,  and  proved  such  a 
diligent    and  capable   workman  that   he  was    pro 


moted  to  the  position  of  assistant  foreman  before 
he  had  completed  his  sixteenth  year.  He  re- 
mained connected  with  the  blast  furnaces  in  that 
region  until  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War.  and  ac- 
quired a  mastery  of  the  business,  both  practically 
and  scientifically.  The  first  gun  of  the  Rebellion, 
tired  a  month  after  he  had  completed  his 
eighteenth  year,  awoke  in  him  an  irrepressible 
desire  to  serve  his  country,  and  when  the  great 
call  for  troops  was  made  by  President  Lincoln  he 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company -A,"  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fifth  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try. Tall  and  strongly  built,  already  disciplined 
by  years  of  responsible  labor,  and  accustomed  to 
handling  and  directing  forces  of  men,  Torrence. 
young  though  he  was,  made  a  decidedly  favorable 
impression  upon  both  his  associates  and  superiors, 
and  was  at  once  appointed  a  non-commissioned 
officer.  As  such  he  took  the  field  and  served 
faithfully  and  bravely  with  his  regiment  through 
all  the  campaigns  in  which  it  participated,  down 
to  and  including  the  battle  of  Perryville,  in  which 
he  received  four  wounds.  Being  pronounced 
physically  disabled  for  further  active  service,  he 
was  honorably  discharged  from  the  army,  at  a 
later  period  being  granted  a  life  pension  by  the 
United  States  government.  When  able  to  leave 
the  army  hospital  he  returned  to  Ohio.  At  that 
very  time  the  rebel  raider  Morgan,  with  his  band 
of  guerillas,  had  just  made  a  bold  incursion  of  the 
state,  and  his  rapid  and  daring  operations,  which 
covered  a  wide  swath  of  territory,  caused  the 
greatest  terror  to  the  loyal  inhabitants.  Joining  a 
small  force  of  volunteers  formed  (or  detailed)  for 
the  purpose  of  pursuing  the  retreating  guerillas, 
young  Torrence  being  recognized  as  a  veteran  of 
experience,  capacity  and  courage,  was  made  its 
leader,  and  with  his  command  took  an  active  part 
in  the  operations  which  led  to  the  capture  of  the 
rebel  chief  and  his  band.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
service  he  went  to  New  Castle,  Pennsylvania,  and 
entering  the  employment  of  Messrs.  Reis,  Brown 
&  I  lerger,  was  at  first  given  charge  of  their  furnaces 
at  the  place  named,  but  later  was  given  charge 
of  the  products  of  the  entire  works  and  their  sale, 
discharging  these  duties  live  years.  The  ensuing 
two  years  were  occupied  by  traveling  in  the  South 
on  his  own  account,  devoting  his  time  as  an  ex- 
pert to  the  construction  and  repair  of  blast  furnaces 
and  rolling  mills.  In  lSOt)  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
took  charge  of  the  furnaces  of  the  Chicago  Iron 
Company,  at  Bridgeport.  In  the  following  year 
he  became  connected  also  with  the  Joliet  Iron 
and  Steel  Company.     Besides  attending  to  respon- 


■^ 


OF  THE 

OMWtRSlTYoflUAHOtS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


333 


sible  duties  for  these  corporations  he  superin- 
tended the  construction  of  furnaces  at  Depere, 
Wisconsin,  and  at  Menomonee,  Michigan.  He 
later  built  two  large  improved  furnaces  for  the 
Juliet  Iron  and  Steel  Company  and  had  charge  of 
them,  as  manager,  until  1874.  when  he  resigned, 
and  going  to  Chicago,  became  consulting  engineer 
for  the  Green  Bay  and  Bangui-  Furnace  Company. 
lb-  had  resided  but  a  short  time  in  Chicago  when 
he  attracted  the  notice  of  a  number  of  leading 
men,  among  whom  may  be  named  Thomas  Hoyne, 
W.  J.  Onahan.  and  W.  F.  Coolbaugh,  who.  being 
most  favorably  impressed  by  his  fitness  for  high 
military  position,  urged  him  to  take  the  colonelcj 
of  the  Second  Regiment  Illinois  National  Guard. 
Disposed  at  all  times  and  at  any  personal  sacri- 
fice to  do  his  full  duty  as  a  citizen,  he  readily 
consented,  although  overwhelmed  by  business 
cares,  and  being  elected  was  duly  commissioned 
colonel  of  the  regiment  named  by  Governor  Bev- 
eridge,  and  assumed  command  in  1874.  Towards 
I  lie  close  of  1876  lie  was  appointed  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General  and  received  his  commission  as 
such  from  Governor  Cullom  just  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  beginning  of  the  great  riots  of  1877.  At 
this  critical  juncture  he  was  placed  in  a  unique 
position  by  the  voluntary  action  of  the  Mayor  and 
Council  of  Chicago,  who  gave  him  absolute  com 
maud  .if  the  city.  It  is  doubtful  if  a  graver  con- 
dition of  affairs  has  ever  confronted  an  American 
National  Guard  commander,  in  time  of  peace, 
than  that  which  existed  in  Chicago  when  General 
Torrence  became  the  legal  military  dictator  in  the 
city.  With  the  wisdom  of  a  veteran  he  decided 
upon  prompt  and  energetic  measures  to  suppress 
the  disturbances.  The  five  infantry  regiments 
comprising  his  brigade,  together  with  the  local 
cavalry  and  other  organizations  available,  were  at 
once  ordered  to  report  for  duty.  The  mural  effeel 
of  this  exhibition  of  a  large,  well-armed  and  dis- 
ciplined force,  acting  legally,  was  felt  immediately, 
restoring  confidence  to  all  law-abiding  citizens 
and  proving  to  the  turbulent  that  a  resort  to  force 
could  only  end  in  ignominious  defeat.  With  true 
American  spirit  General  Torrence  refrained  from 
making  a  dramatic  display  of  strength.  His 
tmops  were  suitably  placed  and  they  had  their 
orders,  yet  nothing  was  done  to  unduly  irritate 
the  public  pulse,  already  throbbing  with  a  fervent 
excitement.  Personally.  General  Torrence  was  a 
marvel  of  coolness.  While  keeping  his  eye  upon 
every  detail  of  the  military  situation,  he  gave  due 
attention  to  his  regular  business  duties  which 
were   already   of   an   engrossing  nature.     On  two 


occasions  during  the  period  of  excitement,  when 
the  mob  broke  into  open  riot,  he  took  personal 
command  of  the  cavalry  and  by  energetic  and  de- 
termined action  promptly  checked  the  outbreak. 
Throughout  the  whole  period  of  the  riots 
he  was  conspicuous  for  his  masterly  grasp  of  tin- 
military  requirements  of  the  situation  and 
proved  no  less  brave  than  able  in  the  discharge 
of  his  grave  and  responsible  duties.  It  is  due  to 
the  truth  of  history  to  record  that  his  vigorous 
and  skillful  measures  saved  the  city  from  an  epoch 
of  lawlessness  and  anarchy,  which  must  have  re- 
sulted in  a  deplorable  loss  of  lite  and  property, 
and  have  remained  forever  a  blot  upon  her  es 
cutcheon.  The  extent  and  pressure  of  his  busi- 
ness duties  led  General  Torrence  to  resign  his 
command  in  the  National  Guard  in  1881,  but  his 
administration  left  many  fruits,  not  the  least  of 
which  was  the  prestige  gained  by  the  brigade 
while  under  him.  After  some  time  of  efflcienl 
service  as  consulting  engineer  for  the  Green  Bay 
and  Bangor  Furnace  Company,  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  Messrs.  Joseph  II.  Brown,  of  Youngs- 
town.  Ohio,  and  Herbert  Aver,  of  Chicago,  in  the 
organization  of  the  Joseph  H.  Brown  Iron  and 
Steel  Company  which  erected  a  fine  plant  on  the 
Calumet  river.  This  plant  was  afterwards  leased 
by  Mr.  Brown,  his  sons,  and  General  Torrence, 
who  operated  it  successfully.  Subsequently  these 
gentlemen  sold  the  works  to  the  Calumet  Iron  and 
Steel  Company,  which  secured  General Torrence's 
services  as  consu  lting  engineer.  During  tin-  two 
years  he  remained  with  the  company  a  disastrous 
fire  and  increase  of  business  necessitated  import- 
ant changes  in  the  works,  and  under  his  superin- 
tendence they  wen-  largely  rebuilt.  About  this 
time  General  Torrence  became  connected  with 
the  construction  of  the  South  Chicago  and  West- 
ern Indiana  Railroad,  and  his  ability  finding 
speedy  recognition  he  was  chosen  president  of  that 
corporation.  In  1SS1  he  became  interested  in  the 
large  rolling  mills  at  Evansville,  Indiana,  and  soon 
afterwards  purchased  one-half  interest  in  that 
plant.  In  the  following  year  he  transferred  the 
business  to  Hammond,  Indiana,  where  new  works 
were  constructed.  A  little  later  he  sold  his  interest 
in  these  mills.  In  the  springof  1886  he  organized 
the  Chicago  and  Calumet  Terminal  Railway  Coin 
pany,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railroad 
around  Chicago,  so  as  to  permit  of  a  transfer  of 
all  east  and  west  bound  freight  from  one  mad  to 
another  without  the  necessity  and  expense  of 
bringing  it  into  the  city.  In  May,  1887,  he  organ 
ized  the  Calumet  Canal  and   Improvement  Coin 


334 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLTXOTS. 


panj .  under  the  laws  of  [ndiana,  with  a  capital  of 
82,000,000,  and  in  the  Bame  month  he  organized 
the  Standard  Steel  and  Iron  Companj  under  the 
laws  of  Illinois.  The  first  named  corporation  was 
created  mainlj  Eor  the  purpose  of  obtaining  title 
to  about  eight  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Indiana, 
between  the  Calumet  river  and  Lake  Michigan; 
and  the  last  Darned  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
title  to  about  one  thousand  acres  in  Lake  county, 
in  i  he  same  state  which,  under  General  Torrence's 
plans,  was  subsequently  laid  out  as  the  town  of 
East  Chicago.  This  Lake  county  property  had 
been  in  litigati  n  for  man-,  y  are  before  G-sneral 
Torrence  acquired  it;  but  he  settled  all  claims 
satisfactorily  and  perfected  his  title.  In  the 
prosecution  of  his  plans  for  improving  and  de- 
veloping this  property  he  realized  the  advantage 
of  seeming  a  permanent  water  way  for  govern- 
mental purposes;  and  in  carrying  out  his  sugges- 
tion, a  strip  of  land  two  hundred  feet  wide,  extend- 
ing from  Calumet  river  northerly  and  easterly  to 
Lake  Michigan,  with  branch  running  westerlj  con- 
necting George  lake.  Wolf  lake,  Calumet  river 
and  Lake  Michigan  together,  was  deeded  without 
cost,  to  the  United  States  government,  for  the  use 
named.  In  1890  General  Torrence  organized  the 
Chicago  Elevated  Terminal  Railway  Company, 
having  in  view  the  project  of  constructing  an  ele- 
vated road  of  sufficient  capacity  to  meet  the 
demands  of  some  of  the  railroad  lines  entering 
the  city.  This  great  enterprise,  now  definitely 
assured,  has  been  pronounced  one  of  the  grandest 
engineering  projects  of  the  time, and  its  successful 
completion  will  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  General 
Torrence's  many  triumphs.  Of  all  companies 
organized  by  him  General  Torrence  became  presi- 
dent, and  their  success  has  been  largely  attributa- 
ble to  his  able  direction  in  the  early  history  of 
their  affairs.  In  August,  1890,  he  sold  his  interest 
in  the  Chicago  and  Calumet  Terminal  Railway, 
and  in  December  following  resigned  from  the 
presidency  of  the  Calumet  Canal  and  Improve- 
ment Company  and  the  Standard  Steel  and  Iron 
Company.  He  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  se- 
eming government  aid  for  the  Calumet  river  and 
barb  ir,  and  through  his  effi  irts  originally.  Congress 

has  I n  induced  to  make  appropriations  of  large 

sums  of  money  for  improving  these  waterways. 
As  a  member  of  the  committee  on  river  and  har- 
bor [or  Calumet  district  he  still  continues  his 
efforts  at  Washington  in  behalf  of  these  improve- 
ments. In  politics  General  Torn 'nee  is  an  ardent 
Republican,  and  as  such  has  rendered  valuable 
sen  ice  to  his  party,  and  although  not  consenting 


lo  hold  a  political  office  of  any  kind  has  the  confi 
denceof  its  most  prominent  leaders,  and  is  widely 
known.  During  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1884  he  he  was  conspicuous  as  an  eloquent  sup- 
porter of  Blaine  and  Logan,  and  in  company  with 
the  latter  a  warm  persona]  friend  he  traveled 
through  the  states  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  General  Torrence 
is  a  man  of  large  and  imposing  physique,  capable 
of  great  exertion  and  prolonged  application.  His 
executive  and  organizing  abilities  are  of  a  high 
order  and  tit  him  for  enterprises  of  great  magni 
tude,  which  he  grasps  in  whole  and  in  detail  with 
remarl;able  quickness,  and  carries  out  with  equally 
remarkable  sagacity.  By  his  efforts  he  has  amassed 
a  fort  line,  and  has  taken  his  place  among  the  lead- 
ers of  the  business  world  of  the  West.  During 
his  whole  life  he  has  resolutely  refrained  from  the 

use  of  intoxicating  liquors  and  tobacco  a  fact  to 
which  he  is  disposed  to  attribute  much  of  his  per- 
fect health.  He  was  married  on  September  11, 
IST'J.  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Norton,  the  accomplished 
daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Jesse  (  ).  Norton,  of 
Chicago,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Jessie 
Norton  Torrence.  Mrs.  Torrence  died  October 
12,  1891,  the  result  of  a  most  distressing  accident, 
having  been  thrown  from  her  "dog  cart"  while 
taking  her  accustomed  ride  with  her  daughter. 
The  horse  becoming  frightened,  ran  away  and 
dashed  Mrs.  Torrence  to  the  ground,  killing  her 
almost  instantly.  This  sad  event  was  a  great 
shock  to  an  exceptionally  wide  circle  of  loving 
and  devoted  friends.  From  the  Chicago  Tribune 
we  quote  the  following: 

"Seldom  has  Chicago  society  been  so  shocked 
as  b\  the  news  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  General  Tor- 
rence. In  the  prime  of  life,  beautiful,  admired, 
beloved,  a  sudden,  almost  trivial  accident  befalls 
aud  all  is  ended. 

"Mrs.  Torrence  was  one  of  a  type  of  women  pe- 
culiarly the  product  of  the  fresh,  free,  vigorous 
West.  To  the  world  she  was  only  known  for  her 
beauty,  her  cultivation,  her  matronly  charm  as 
the  lead  of  the  splendid  and  hospitable  home 
only  lately  occupied,  which  she  beautified  by  her 
tasie  and  adorned  by  her  presence.  Hut  to  those 
who  knew  her  best  these  qualities  were  but  the 
varnish  on  the  lovely  picture. 

"She  was  perfect  in  her  domesticity,  in  her 
household  management,  in  her  devotion  to  home 
and  family;  and.  what  was  less  to  be  expected, 
she  was  of  unerring  judgment  in  the  more  weighty 
affairs  of  business.  In  all  the  large  and  extended 
enterprises  in  which  her  husband  was  engaged 
she  was  his  confidante  and  adviser;  nothing  was 
entered  upon  without  her  being  consulted,  and 
nothing  to  which  she  had  given  her  unqualified 
approval  ever  went  amiss." 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

ERS1TY  of  ILUHO 


-^#-0*- 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


335 


SENECA  D.   KIMBARK. 

SENECA  D.  KIMBARK  Is  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  great  iron  and  steel  trade  in  Chicago, 
having  been  in  active  business  in  that  line  since 
L853.  Mr.  Kimbark  is  a  nativeof  New  York  state. 
He  was  born  at  Venice,  Cayuga  county,  March  1. 
18:12.  His  education  was  a  thorough  one  for  those 
days,  and  obtained  by  his  own  endeavors.  After 
graduating  from  the  district  schools  he  attended 
the  Geneseo  and  Canandaigua  academies,  at  each 
of  which  he  paid  for  his  tuition  with  monej  earned 
by  teaching  in  country  schools.  When  he  was 
but  eight  years  old  his  parents  moved  to  Living- 
ston county.  N.  Y.,  and  four  years  later  he  was  set 
to  work  on  his  father's  Farm.  With  the  except  inn 
of  the  time  spent  in  attending  and  teaching  school 
in  the  winter  months,  he  worked  on  the  farm 
until  he  was  twenty -one  .years  old.  This  was  in 
1853,  and  Mr.  Kimbark  celebrated  the  event  by 
removing  to  Chicago  and  engaging  in  business  as 
a  junior  member  in  the  firm  of  E.  G.  Hall  &  Co., 
in  the  iron  trade.  In  1860  the  name  of  the  firm 
was  changed  to  Hall,  Kimbark  &  Co.  In  1873,  it 
became  Kimbark  Brothers  &  Co.,  and  in  1870, 
Seneca  D.  Kimbark  became  sole  proprietor  of  the 
immense  business.  He  was  a  heavy  loser  by  the 
tire  of  1S71,  but  his  business  energy  and  tact 
brought  him  safely  through  difficulties  that  would 
have  permanently  hampered  a  man  of  less  sagacity 
and  courage.  Mr.  Kimbark's  establishment  is 
now  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  Chicago, and  during 
all  the  years  since  its  founding  in  1853,  its  com- 
mercial integrity  and  high  standing,  have  been 
preserved,  unaffected  by  the  changes  ami  fluctua- 
tions in  the  business  world.  Some  years  ago  Mr. 
Kimbark  established  a  large  factory  for  carriage 
woodwork,  in  Michigan,  which  was,  in  1891, 
removed  to  Elkhart.  Indiana,  where  the  conditions 
were  more  favorable.  This  is  now  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  successful  factories  of  its  kind 
in  the  United  Stab's.  It  is  located  in  a  Hue  hard- 
wood lumber  district,  and  its  yearly  output  of 
buggy,  wagon  and  carriage  bodies  is  enormous. 
The  factory  proper  is  100x80  feet,  and  the  engine 
house,  etc.,  is  180x40  feet,  and  both  arc  equipped 
with  the  finest  machinery  known  in  the  trade. 
In  all  his  long  business  career  Mr.  Kimbark  has 
been  working  hard  for  the  best  interests  of  the 
iron  trade  and  its  dependent  branches,  and  his 
voice  is  potent  for  good  in  every  national  assembly 
where  the  iron  interest  is  made  a  subject  for  in- 
vestigation. His  notions  of  business  honor  are  so 
broad  that  he  never  makes  a  distinction  between 


commercial  and  moral  integrity,  and  the  "tricks 
of  the  trade"  have  never  found  a  place  in  his 
transactions.  He  is  a  man  of  positive  opinions 
but  never  controversial  in  their  support.  His 
perfect  self  reliance  is  the  outgrowth  of  inherent 
mental  strength;  and  for  tin-  same  reason  he  is 
always  a  good  listener  and  ready  to  surrender  his 
own  opinions  when  convicted  by  arguments  that 
appeal  to  his  better  judgment.  Mr.  Kimbark  was 
one  of  the  three  commissioners  appointed  to 
locate  the  South  Park  system.  It  was  fortunate 
for  the  future  of  Chicago  that  such  a  man  was 
embraced  in  the  commission.  It  was  impossible 
for  him  to  study  the  growth  of  Chicago  from  the 
usual  standpoint  of  increasing  population.  He 
found  in  this  only  the  evidence  of  that  philosophy 
of  permanent  growth  ami  prosperity  upon  which 
In'  based  his  prediction  of  enlarged  boundaries. 
The  park  was  located  upon  his  notions  of  future 
necessity,  though  it  is  justice  to  state  that  the 
other  commissioners  wire  in  full  accord  with  his 
views.  Notwithstanding  the  hostile  criticisms 
excited  by  the  then  distant  location  of  the  parks, 
the  Chicago  of  to-day  is  grateful  for  that  wisdom 
and  comprehensive  foresight  which  fixed  the  loca- 
tion. In  preserving  the  "Lake  Front"  from  the 
greed  of  railway  extension.  Mr.  Kimbark  has  been 
more  insistent  and  influential  than  any  other. 
unless  we  except  the  untiring  efforts  of  the  late 
Thomas  Hoync.  In  this,  as  in  everything  else,  he 
carefully  examined  into  the  rights  of  the  respective 

parties.  He  investigated  all  the  details  of  title 
and  possession,  and  when  he  satisfied  himself  that 
the  Lake  Front  Park  was  an  inheritance  that  be- 
longed to  all  the  people  of  Chicago,  no  influence 
could  be  brought  to  bear  to  swerve  him  from  an 
intelligent  and  persistent  hostility  to  every  en- 
croachment. He  is  in  no  sense  a  politician,  but 
he  takes  an  active  interest  in  every  ciuestion  of 
municipal  reform.  While  he  is  a  Republican  he  is 
not  partisan.  He  is  quick  to  grasp  the  details  of 
every  measure  which  involves  the  good  faith  and 
prosperity  of  State  or  Nation,  and  always  main- 
tains the  right  and  condemns  the  wrong  regardless 
of  party  affiliations.  In  his  early  life  Mr.  Kimbark 
was  a  Democrat,  and  was  a  warm  advocate  of  the 
annexation  of  Texas.  The  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  however,  made  him  an  ardent  ab 
olitionist,  and  on  the  formation  of  tin-  Republican 
party  he  became  actively  identified  with  it.  Dur- 
ing the  war  Mr.  Kimbark  warmly  espoused  the 
Union  cause  and  did  good  service  for  it.  Whilst 
one  of  his  partners  was  in  active  service  in  the 
tield.    his  brother,  lieorge   M.   Kimbark,  at  that 


IHOOKAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


time  also  a  partner,  was  engaged  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  volunteer  companies,  notably  the  Kimbark 
Guards;  the  business  of  the  linn  ..1'  (tall.  Kim 
bark  &  Co.,  was  conducted  by  its  senior  members, 
Elbridge  G.  Hall  and  Seneca  D.  Kimbark.  ami 
furnished  its  full  share  of  the  sinews  of  the  war 
which  saved  the  Union  and  Constitution.  He  has 
always  refused  all  tenders  of  political  preferment, 
and  declined  the  many  nominations  offered  to  him. 
He  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  Chicagi  i,  and 
personally  and imercially  is  thoroughly  identi- 
fied with  I  lie  hist  i  iry  of  the  city.  Mr.  Kimbark  is 
a  man  of  most  kindly  and  hospitable  impulses. 
He  has  a  charming  home  circle  and  is  also 
prominent  in  Chicago's  club  history.  He  has  been 
identified  with  the  Union  League  Club  almost 
since  its  organization,  and  has  taken  a  lively 
interest  in  its  advancement.  While  engaged  in 
its  active  management  and  direction  he  has  always 
insisted  that  the  high  standing  of  the  club  has 
been  achieved  and  must  be  maintained  by  its 
efforts  to  establish  a  higher  standard  in  the  con- 
duct of  public  affairs.  In  this,  as  in  all  other 
matters,  he  makes  usefulness  the  measure  of  suc- 
cess. He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
Chicago  Club,  a  charter  member  of  the  Washing- 
ton Park  Club,  and  is  an  influential  member 
also  of  the  Calumet  Club.  Mr.  Kimbark  was 
married  on  September  25,  1856,  to  Miss  Eliza 
beth  Pruyne,  daughter  of  Peter  Pruyne,  at  one 
time  a  State  Senator  of  Illinois,  and  a  colleague 
of  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Mrs.  Kimbark's  mother 
is  the  widow  of  the  late  Thomas  Church,  one 
of  Chicago's  pioneers  and  a  man  of  great  per- 
sonal worth.  Mrs.  Kimbark  is  one  of  Chicago's 
eldest  daughters;  her  birthday  was  the  inaugura- 
tion day  of  its  first  mayor.  She  is  a  woman  of 
good  attainments,  genial  presence  and  engaging 
manners,  having  brilliant  conversational  ability 
an«l  ready  w  it.  Her  name  but  seldom  appears  in 
current  society  news,  or  in  connection  with  public 
institutions;  her  charities  have  been  generous  and 
continuous,  bestowed  by  her  own  hand.  Four 
children  have  been  horn  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kimbark, 
two  daughters  and  two  sons.  The  eldest  son, 
Charles  A.  Kimbark,  is  now  the  financial  manager 
of  his  lather's  business  and  is  a  young  man  of 
great  promise  in  the  business  world.  The  younger 
son,  Walter,  is  at  the  head  of  the  carriage-goods 
department  of  his  father's  establishment,  which  he 
manages  ably  and  successfully.  Mr.  Kimbark's 
younger  brother,  Daniel  A.  Kimbark,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  linn  of  Kimbark  lliothers  &  Co., 
died  March  LO,  L886.     He  came  to  Chicago  at  the   i 


close  of  the  Civil  War,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death  was  identified  either  as  partner  or  in  salaried 
positions  in  the  above  named  house.  Prior  to  1882 
he  held  offices  in  the  Apollo  Commandery  of  Chi- 
cago, in  which  he  had  a  host  of  warm  personal 
friends;  but  ill  health  forced  him  into  comparative 
retirement.  He  was  a  man  of  musical  taste  and 
culture,  and  was  a  tine  singer.  Many  still  remem- 
ber his  rich  baritone  voice  and  his  genial  friend- 
ship. He  married  in  1861,  Miss  Eliza  Underwood, 
of  Auburn,  X.  Y„  who  with  five  sons  survives 
him.  The  history  of  Seneca  D.  Kimbark  is  not  an 
unusual  one  in  Chicago,  and  yet  it  can  be  read 
with  profit  by  all  young  men.  It  is  the  record  of 
a  poor  country  boy  who  by  pluck, integrity,  stead 
fastness  of  purpose,  and  business  ability,  has  be- 
come one  of  the  most  influential  and  successful 
merchants  in  a  great  city;  has  attained  wealth 
and  position,  and  is  honored  and  respected 
wherever  his  name  is  known. 


GEORGE  M.  KIMBARK. 

GEORGE  MASTEN  KIMBARK  was  bom  in 
Venice,  Cayuga  county,  New  York,  on  the  18th 
day  of  May,  1833.  His  parents.  Adam  C.  Kimbark 
and  Sarah  Masten  Kimbark,  were  both  natives  of 
Ulster  county,  New  York,  and  passed  their  lives 
in  that  state.  Adam  C.  Kimbark's  business  life 
was  during  the  early  days  before  the  railway  train 
had  superseded  the  stage  coach;  it  was  divided 
between  agriculture,  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
hotel  keeping,  which  at  times  he  carried  on  simul- 
taneously. Having  acquired  a  competency,  he 
retired  from  business  and  resided  several  years  in 
Auburn,  New  York,  afterwards  removing  to  Roch- 
ester, where  he  died  in  1867.  Throughout  his  life 
he  had  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all. 
preserving  to  the  last  his  high  character  for  per- 
sonal integrity.  George  was  educated  at  Alfred 
academy,  Allegany  county,  New  York,  and  after- 
wards at  Geneseo  academy,  in  the  same  state.  In 
1854,  having  just  attained  his  majority,  he  moved 
to  Chicago,  where  a  brother  and  two  sisters  had 
preceded  him.  He  was  appointed  bookkeeper  for 
E.  G.  Hall  &  Co.,  of  which  firm  his  brother,  Seneca 
]>.  Kimbark,  was  then  the  junior  member.  He 
soon  became  popular  as  a  salesman,  and  in  1860, 
upon  the  organization  of  the  firm  of  Hall,  Kim- 
bark &  Co.,  he  was  admitted  as  a  partner.  He 
held  his  interest  in  that  firm,  and  also  in  its  sue- 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


337 


ecssor,  Kimbark  Bros.  &  Co.,  until  January  1, 
1876,  when  he  sold  out  to  his  brother,  Seneca  D., 
and  from  that  date  to  the  time  of  his  death  was 
not  actively  engaged  in  business.  In  1860  he 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  Gray,  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  Samuel  Gray,  of  Bowdoinham,  Maine.  This 
lady  and  her  only  child,  George,  survived  him, 
George  being  sixteen  years  old  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Kimbark's  death.  Prom  his  youth  Mr.  Kimbark 
had  been  reared  in  an  atmosphere  of  refinement, 
which  influenced  his  whole  life,  and  developed  in 
him  those  tine  social  qualities  which  won  him 
many  warm  personal  friends,  both  in  his  business 
and  social  relations.  At  Gent  sco  academy  he  was 
very  popular  among  his  classmates,  and  on  his 
removal  to  Chicago  he  soon  became  prominent  in  a 
circle  of  young  men  who  were  then  just  beginning 
life,  whose  careers  have  all  been  crowned  with 
remarkable  success.  His  traits  of  character  were 
strong  and  peculiar,  and  early  developed.  He  was 
a  man  of  principle,  strictly  honorable  and  upright 
in  all  his  ways.  Enterprising  and  diligent  in  1  >n~i- 
iii'ss,  he  was  beloved  in  social  circles  for  his  gen- 
tleness, liberality,  and  kindness  of  heart.  In  the 
midst  of  a  busy  mercantile  life  he  found  time  1 .  ■ 
identify  himself  with  many  institutions  and  move- 
ments for  the  public  weal.  He  was  tin-  friend  and 
patron  of  everything  that  tended  to  elevate  the 
morality  of  the  city,  and  the  opponent  of  every- 
thing that  tended  to  degrade  it.  He  took  an 
active  interest  in  politics,  but  never  sought  public 
office,  and  was  animated  solely  by  a  disinterested 
desire  for  the  public  interest.  A  staunch  Repub- 
lican, Mr.  Kimbark  devoted  his  best  enei 
the  interests  of  the  party,  and  took  an  active  part 
in  promoting  the  diction  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
To  the  last  days  of  his  life  he  was  always  ready 
with  counsel  and  liberal  financial  assistance,  and 
was.  so  long  as  the  state  of  his  health  permitted, 
one  of  its  most  zealous  workers.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  war  he  was  especially  active  in  behalf  of 
the  Union  cause.  When  the  first  call  was  made 
for  300,000  troops,  he  enlisted,  organized  and 
equipped  a  company  of  infantry  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, which  took  the  name  of  the  "Kimbark 
Guards,"  in  honor  of  its  founder.  He  ] 
them  with  a  beautiful  flag,  and  at  tic  cl 
war.  after  their  long  and  honorable  service,  the 
Guards  returned  to  him  the  flag,  which  they  had 
received  from  him  on  their  going  to  the  front, 
which  they  had  carried  through  hard  fought  fields 
and  horne  back  in  triumph,  and  winch  now 
remains  with  his  family  as  a  memento  of  his  patri- 
otic zeal.  One  of  the  institutions  in  which  Mi'.  Kim- 


bark specially  interested  himself  was  the  Young 
Men's  Association  of  Chicago,  which  had  for  its 
object  the  intellectual  advancement  of  young  men 
by  tic  establishment  of  a  public  library  and  the 
delivery  of  an  annual  course  of  lectures.  There 
was  then  no  such  thing  as  a  circulating  library  in 
the  city,  and  such  an  institution  was  a  great  pub- 
lic want.  George  M.  Kimbark  was  not  a  wealthy 
man,  hut  up  to  the  great  tire  of  1871,  was  success- 
ful in  business,  made  money  rapidly,  but  being  of 
a  sanguine  temperament,  gave  beyond  his  means, 
and  for  the  same  reason,  and  also  because  he  had 
unlimited  faith  in  the  future  of  Chicago,  he  be- 
came involved  in  real  estate  purchases  beyond  his 
ability  to  pay.  The  fire  changed  the  values  of 
many  locations  where  he  had  made  investments. 
Failing  health  and  the  fire  of  1871,  were  sad  fac- 
tors in  his  business  life  which  otherwise,  without 
doubt,  would  have  been  a  financial  succi  ss. 
Mr.  Kimbark  ha  1  an  enlightened  appreciation 
of  the  duty  which  the  successful  owe  to  their 
less  fortunate  brethren;  he  was  inspired  with  a 
genuine  love  of  literature,  and  such  an  object 
as  this  at  once  commanded  his  hearty  sympa- 
thy and  cooperation.  He  gave  liberally,  both 
of  his  means  and  of  his  time,  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  elegant  library  of  the  Young  Men's 
Association,  which  soon  became  the  largest  public 
library  then  in  the  West.  In  1863,  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  association;  and  his  successful 
lain  us  were  none  the  less  honorable  and  com- 
mendable because  the  fruits  were  destroyed  in  the 
great  tire  of  1871.  In  the  latter  years  of  his  life 
his  activities  were  much  impaired  and  restrained 
by  ill  health,  but  he  never  lost  the  buoyancy  of 
spirits  and  generous  sympathy  with  others  which 
had  always  made  him  conspicuous  among  his 
associates  and  friends.  Liberal  in  all  things,  gen- 
erous at  all  times,  he  could  not  fail  to  occupy  a  warm 
place  in  the  heartsof  others.  A  good  business  man, 
an  intelligent  merchant,  a  lover  of  his  country  and 
of  his  fellow  men,  he  enjoyed  the  affection  of  all 
who  knew  him.  As  he  never  lost  a  friend,  the 
number  of  those  who  so  regarded  him  in  his  clos- 
ing years  was  very  numerous.  He  died  on  the 9th 
of  January,  1880,  at  his  residence  in  Hyde  Park, 
Chicago.  The  funeral  services  were  conducted 
by  his  old  friend,  the  Rev.  W.  H.Ryder,  D.D.. 
who  had  known  him  for  over  twenty  years,  and 
who  promptly  responded  to  the  dying  wish  of  Air. 
Kimbark  that  he  should  officiate  on  the  occasion. 
The  services  were  held  on  Sunday,  the  11th  of 
January,  at  the  family  residence,  and  the  remains 
were  interred  in  Graceland  cemetery. 


338 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


JOHN  0.  COONLEY. 

JOHN'  C.  C00NLE1  was  born  at  Aurora, 
New  York,  December  6,  1833.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  of  moderate  means,  and  from  the  age  of 
fourteen  years,  Mr.  Coonley  earned  his  own  living 
and  educated  himself,  teaching  a  part  of  each 
year,  and  attending  Echool  when  not  teaching. 
His  school  education  was  completed  at  Cazenovia 
Seminary,  New  York,  where  he  was  for  a  time 
both  student  and  member  of  the  faculty.  He 
studied  law  in  Aurora.  New  York,  in  the  office  of 
Mr.  10.  \V.  Ames,  anil  at  the  Albany  law  school; 
was  duly  admitted  to  the  bar.  and  in  1865  located 
in  St.  Louis,  where  he  practiced  his  profession 
with  credit  and  success  until  1SG8.  In  18G1  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Tripp,  of  Aurora,  who  died  in 
L863.  In  1867  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lydia  Ay 
ery,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  by  whom  he  had  six 
children,  two  daughters  and  four  sons.  In  18GS, 
his  health  being  impaired  by  close  confinement 
to  office  work,  lie  removed  to  Louisville,  Kent  inky, 
and  became  a  member  of  the  manufacturing  firm 
of  B.  P.  Avery  tt  Sons.  He  remained  in  this  busi- 
ness for  five  years,  and,  finding  his  health  re-es- 
tablished, decided  to  exchange  his  profession  for 
a  life  of  active  business.  In  1873  he  became  a>sn- 
dated  with  Messrs.  Whittemore  and  Tuttle  of 
Naugatuck,  Connecticut,  and  Mr.  A.  A.  Pope,  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  the  establishment  of  the  Chi- 
cago Malleable  Iron  Company,  of  which  he  was 
president  and  active  manager  until  his  death. 
October  G,  18S2.  The  business  at  Chicago  pros- 
pered under  his  prudent  and  sagacious  direction, 
until,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  it  was  larger  than 
any  other  in  its  line  in  the  United  States.  While 
in  Chicago,  he  was  also  instrumental  in  organiz 
ing  the  Bwart  Manufacturing  Company,  formed 
for  the  production  and  sale  of  the  detachable 
chain  belting  invented  by  Mr.  W.  D.  Ewart;  the 
Link-Belt  Machinery  Company,  which  facilitated 
tin-  introduction  and  use  of  the  chain  belting; 
and  the  Indianapolis  Malleable  Iron  Company — 
all  large  and  prosperous  industries.  From  this 
synopsis  of  Mr.  Coonley's  active  life,  it  will  be 
seen  that  he  was  a  resident  of  Chicago  for  only 
nine  years,  yet  in  this  brief  period  he  had  won  a 
conspicuous  place  as  an  energetic  and  successful 

man  and  a  g I  citizen.    While  vigilant 

m  business,  he  found  time  for  active  participation 
in   efforts  for  the  public  welfare  and  the  promo- 

1  n1.  I  le  was  one  of  1  he  or- 
ganizers of  the  Union  League  Club,  and  was 
serving    his    second    term    as  its  president    at    the 


time  of  his  death.  To  him.  more  perhaps  than  to 
an\  other,  is  this  club,  which  has  been  for  many 
years  a  potent  factor  in  Chicago  life,  indebted  for 
the  establishment  of  the  broad  and  liberal  yet 
aggressive  policy,  which  has  since  characterized 
its  efforts  in  the  cause  of  pure  and  honest  munic- 
ipal government.  Mr.  Coonley  was  a  man  of 
hands*  mie  and  commanding  presence. .  if  singularly 
genial  and  cordial  manners,  sincere  and  kind. 
His  high  character  and  manly  virtues,  his  sympa- 
thy, tenderness  and  uniform  courtesy  endeared 
him  to  all  who  knew  him,  and  when  death  sud- 
denly claimed  him,  in  seemingly  perfect  health 
and  \  igor,  and  in  the  prime  of  life,  it  was  recog- 
nized as  a  public  calamity. 


HARLOW  N.   HIGrlNBOTHAM. 

It  is  not  given  to  many  men  to  achieve  in  any 
walk  of  life  the  high  measures  of  success  attained 
by  Harlow  X.  Higinbothain.  A  native  of  Illinois, 
and  reared  and  educated  within  the  state,  Mr. 
Higinbotham  is  now  at  fifty-three  years  of  age,  an 
authority  in  mercantile  matters  and  one  of  the 
controlling  spirits  in  one  of  the  greatest  whole- 
sale houses  of  the  world.  His  advancement  is 
the  triumph  of  merit  based  upon  a  natural  busi- 
ness character,  and  therefore,  to  this  degree,  a 
beacon  of  hope  to  every  aspiring  man.  no  matter 
how  lowly  his  condition.  Harlow  X.  Higinbotham 
was  1  k .in  at  Joliet,  Illinois,  October  10,  1838.  His 
parents,  Henry  1).  and  Rebecca  Higinbotham,  nee 
Wheeler,  were  natives  of  Oneida  county.  New 
York,  ami  had  moved  to  Joliet  in  1834,  soon  after 
their  marriage.  Both  are  now  deceased.  Mr. 
Higinbotham  Sr.'s  death  occuring  at  Joliet  in  186."), 
and  that  of  his  wife  at  the  same  place  in  1888. 
Harlow  Higinbotham  was  a  farmer's  son  and  re- 
ceived only  such  preparatory  education  as  the 
common  schools,  which  were  of  good  grade  for 
that  period,  afforded.  This  with  a  term  at  Lom- 
bard University.  Galesburg,  Illinois,  and  a  com- 
mercial college  course  in  Chicago,  in  1856,  com- 
pleted his  career  as  a  student,  and  in  the  same 
year  of  his  release  from  study  he  began  work  as  a 
clerk  in  the  Will  County  Bank  at  Joliet.  Subse- 
quently he  went  to  the  Joliet  City  Bank  where 
he  remained  until  1859,  when  he  became  the  as 
sistant  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Oconto,  Wisconsin, 
a  position  he  held  until  1£61.  In  April  of  that 
year  Mr.   Higinbotham  came  to  Chicago,  and  was 


LIBRA! 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


339 


installed  as  entry  clerk  and  assistant  book-keeper 
with  the  dry  goods  firm  of  Cooley,  Farwell  &  Co., 
and  was  prospering  finely  when  in  August,  1862, 

he  found  himself  unable  to  longer  withstand  his 
country's  call  to  arms  and  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
the  Mercantile  Battery.  Before  the  command  en- 
teral active  service  however,  Mr.  Higinbotham 
was  transferred  to  the  chief  quartermaster's  office 
and  served  as  chief  clerk  of  the  department  of  the 
Ohio,  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  until  February. 
1863.  At  that  time  Mr.  Higinbotham  was  again 
transferred,  his  new  post  of  duty  being  in  the 
state  of  Ohio,  where,  under  Assistant  Quarter- 
master General  Thomas  Swords,  he  wasemployed 
in  adjusting  the  accounts  of  quartermasters.  This 
duty  done,  Mr.  Higinbotham  was  sent  to  Martins- 
burg  and  then  to  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  as  chief 
clerk  to  Quartermaster  (iillam.  He  severed  his 
connection  with  the  army  at  the  latter  town  in 
December  1864,  and  returned  to  Chicago.  In 
January  of  1865  he  was  hard  at  work  again  as  a 
civilian  clerk,  ha  vme;  secured  a  position  as  a  book- 
keeper with  Field,  Palmer  &  Liter.  From  that 
time  on  Mr.  Higinbotham's  advancement  was 
rapid  and  he  rose  through  various  departments 
of  importance  and  trust,  until  in  lsTs.  he  was  made 
a  partner  in  the  firm.  Mr.  Higinbotham  has  a 
happy  and  promising  family.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Rachael  D.  Davison,  of  Joliet,  in  1866,  and 
six  children,  two  sons  and  four  daughters,  have 
been  born  to  them.  Of  these,  two  daughters, 
.Marie  and  Helen  are  deceased.  Mr.  Higinbotham 
i^  prominent  in  many  large  enterprises  aside  from 
tin'  great  dry  goods  house  in  which  lie  is  a  poten- 
tial factor.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Worl  i'sColum- 
bian  Exposition,  the  Northern  Trust  Company, 
and  the  Chicago  Free  Kindergarten  Association. 
He  is  also  a  trustee  in  the  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity at  Evanston.  and  of  Trinity  M.  E.  Church,  in 
Chicago.  For  twelve  years  Mr.  Higinbotham 
has  been  president  of  the  Chicago  Home  for  In- 
curables, which  now  has  a  comfortable  home  at 
Fifty-tilth  street  and  Ellis  avenue,  and  with  an 
endowment  fund  of  S600.COO,  is  one  of  the  best 
supported  charitable  institutions  in  the  North- 
west.    The  placing  of  this  worthy  institution  on 

a  sound  basis  has  1 n  a  work  of  pride  with  Mr. 

Higinbotham.  and  he  labored  night  and  day  until 
he  accomplished  it.  The  Newsboys  and  Bootblacks 
Association  at  141>1  Wabash  avenue,  was  badly  in 
debt  and  on  the  verge  of  being  abandoned,  when 
Mr.  Higinbotham  came  to  the  rescue,  and  gave 
liberally  of  his  money  and  time  until  its  perma- 
nency  was   assured,  serving  fourteen    years    as 


director  and  treasurer  of  the  institution.     On  the 
o.-casion  of  the  first   anniversary   celebration  of 
the  Joliet  Steel  WorksClub.on  December 20, 1890, 
Mr.  Higinbotham  delivered   an   address   on   "Pa- 
triotism "   which  for  earnest  sentiment  and  clear- 
ness of  diction  is  worthy  of  imitation  by  many  more 
pretentious  talkers.     It  was  warmly  received  by 
an  enthusiastic  audience,  as  an  able  exposition  of 
the  patriotic  principles  which  must  prevail  if  the 
free  institutions  of  this  country  are  to  be  perpet- 
uated, and   was  given   unqualified   endorsement. 
The  publishers  of   "America,"  in  recognition  of 
the  educational  worth  of  the  address,  printed  it 
in  full  as  a  leader  in  the  issue  of  January  1,  1891. 
Mr.  Higinbotham  inherited  many  of   the   sterling 
qualities   which  combine   to  make  the  best   types 
of    western    men.     His  father    and    mother   were 
among  the  very  best  people  in  the  state,  and  were 
conspicuous  among  the  few  of  that  time,  who,  by 
economy,  industry  and  thrift,  accumulated  a  com- 
petency by  farming.     Mr.  Higinbotham's  boyhood 
was  spent  on  tin'  farm  and  he  entered  upon   his 
business  life  with  a  vigorous  constitution,  which, 
preserved  by  temperate  habits,  has  sustained  him 
through  all  the  anxieties,  perplexities  and  responsi- 
bilities, if  the  passing  years,  so  that  now  he  is  in  the 
prime  of  his  usefulness.     His  business  career   be- 
gan in  the  early  clays  of  western  development,  and 
during   the  last    thirty  years   he  has   grown   and 
broadened  in  the  same  measure  as  the  commercial 
interests  of  Chicago  and  the  West  have  increased. 
Possessed  of  the  natural  qualifications  which  make 
an  ideal  "credit  man,"  he  has  kept  pace  with  this 
enormous  growth,  and  with  keen  foresight  and  un- 
erring judgment,  has  so  controlled  the  trade   of 
the  great  house  with  which  he  is  connected,  as  to 
avoid  the  losses  usually  incurred  by  those   doing 
business  in  a  new  country  which  is  being  rapidly 
developed.     Not  conSning  himself  alone  to  finan- 
cial  statements,  it  is  his  practice  to  take  into  ac- 
count all  the  circumstances  likely  to  influence  the 
trade  of  a  customer,  oftentimes  extending   credit 
where  there  is   little    financial    basis   for   it.   but 
where  character  and  conditions  warrant  the   ex- 
pectation of  success;  and  many  firms  throughout 
the  West,  now  prosperous  and  independent,  owe 
their   success  largely   to  his  advice  and   fostering 
care   during  their  early  struggles.     His   business 
methods   are   characterized   by    thoroughness   in 
every  detail,  and  as  he  never  spares  himself,  his 
business  life  has  been  a  most  exacting  and  labori- 
ous one.     As  a  citizen,  lie  always   recognizes  the 
obligations  imposed  by  our  form   of  government, 
giving  freely  of  his  time,  his  advice  and  his  money 


540 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


to  the  furtherance  of  any  projecl  I'm-  the  public 
good.  In  politics,  he  is  a  Republican,  but  not  a 
partisan,  and  in  great  political  crises  during  the 
the  las!  twenty  years,  his  indefatigable  efforts  and 
personal  influence  have  been  potent  in  shaping 
the  poliej  to  he  pursued,  although  he  has  been 
neither  an  office  holder  nor  an  aspirant  Cor  politi 
caJ  favors.  He  is  in  active  sympathy  with  all 
measures  for  reform  in  city  and  county  govern- 
ment, without  regard  to  party,  and  the  es  •  ■ 
his  clear  judgment  and  practical  business  methods 
places  him  in  the  front  rank  of  our  public  spirited 
men.  He  is  deservedly  one  of  the  prominent  and 
valued  members  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
World's  Fair,  and  one  of  the  most  aggressive 
members  of  important  committees.  Notwith- 
standing his  busy  life,  he  finds  time  to  visit  the 
needy  sick  ami  suffering;  his  ears  are  ever  ready 
to  listen  to  the  story  of  sorrow,  financial  trouble, 
sickness  or  distress  of  any  kind,  and  his  purse 
is  always  open  to  afford  the  relief  that  money  can 
give.  He  is  connected  with  a  number  of  the  lead- 
ing charitable  institutions  of  the  city,  conspicuous 
among  which  are  the  Newsboys'  Home  and  the 
Home  for  Incurables.  During  the  early  struggles 
of  these  institutions,  he  projected  and  managed 
entertainments  giveD  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
money  for  their  use,  and  he  has  many  tines  per- 
sonally presented  their  claims  to  prominent  and 
wealthy  people  of  the  city  with  a  persistence 
which  always  insured  success.  For  many  years 
he  was  the  president  of  the  old  Home  for  Incura- 
bles, and  until  merged  into  another  institution  of 
the  same  name,  so  richly  endowed  by  Mrs.  Peck 
(and  of  which  he  is  now  the  president),  it 
was  dependent  upon  his  efforts  for  financial  sup- 
port. The  Newsboys'  Home  is  on  a  sound 
financial  basis,  and  besides  caring  for  and  sustain- 
ing these  homeless  boys,  it  gives  them  such  aid  at 
critical  times  in  their  lives  as  enables  them  to 
secure  steady  employment,  and  to  Income  good 
citizens  instead  of  vagabonds  or  criminals.  The 
careful  methods  which  prevail  in  his  commercial 
affairs  are  observed  hi  the  charitable  institutions 
with  which  he  is  connected,  and  he  has  thus 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago. 
They  are  ever  ready  to  respond  to  his  call,  feeling 
sure  that  the  money  thusgiven  will  be  judiciously 
expended  in  the  care  of  the  helpless  and  in  the 
endeavor  to  aid  the  unfortunate  to  better  their 
condition.  In  faith,  Mr,  Higinbotham  is  a  Univer- 
salist:  but,  recognizing  the  fact  that  all  church 
organizations  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  elevating 
and  christianizing  humanity,  he  does  not   restrict 


himself  to  denominational  lines;  and  his  scU'ts  to 
various  churches  in  the  city  and  country  have 
been  most  widely  distributed.  The  beautiful 
chapel  belonging  to  St.  Paul's  Universalist 
Church  was  built  by  the  joint  contributions  of  Mr. 
Higinbotham  and  one  of  his  friends,  who  is  also 
distinguished  for  his  liberality;  and  Marie  Chapel, 
a  Mission  of  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
was  so  named  by  the  trustees  for  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  Higinbotham's  in  acknowledgment  of  hisgen- 
erous  gift.  The  exacting  nature  of  his  business 
duties  and  the  attention  he  has  given  to  pub- 
lic affairs  have  not  been  permitted  to  overcome 
Mr.  Higinbotham's  natural  fondness  for  books, 
and  he  has  one  of  the  largest  and  best  selected 
private  libraries  in  the  city.  His  reading  has  per- 
haps not  been  as  extensive  as  it  would  have  been 
could  he  have  followed  his  inclinations,  yet  he  is 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  standard  works  of 
history,  fiction  and  poetry.  Appreciation  of  a 
moral  accountability  and  recognition  of  the 
responsibility  growing  out  of  increase  of  wealth, 
have  hail  a  controlling  influence  in  shaping  Mr. 
Higinbotham's  course  and  moulding  his  character; 
and  his  liberality,  prompted  by  the  highest  mo- 
tives, is  reciprocal  in  its  benefits.  Thus  he  stands 
to-day,  in  his  domestic,  social  and  business  life,  an 
ideal  man,  loved  by  his  friends  and  respected  by 
all  who  know  him. 


JAMES  II.   RICE. 

Among  the  prominent  business  men  who  have 
been  closely  allied  with  the  growth  of  Chicago  for 
marly  forty  years  is  James  H.  Rice,  president  of 
the  stock  company  which  bears  his  name.  Mr. 
Rice  was  born  in  the  town  of  Caroline,  Tompkins 
county.  New  York,  in  1830.  His  parents,  Asa  and 
Polly  (Reid)  Rice,  were1  most  estimable  people. 
Their  home  was  a  farm  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
Lake  Cayuga,  and  here,  with  seven  brothers  and 
two  sisters,  the  childhood  and  boyhood  of  Mr. 
Rice  wire  passed  amid  beautiful  and  pictur- 
esque scenery.  In  this  home  life  he  acquired 
those  habits  of  industry,  thrift  and  self-reliance 
which,  with  his  business  ability  and  integrity, 
have  made  his  career  a  very  successful  one.  Here 
it  was  that  he  formed  those  principles  which  have 
enabled  him,  while  building  for  the  beauty  and 
grandeur  of  Chicago,  to  build  for  himself  an  un- 
blemished character.     His  education  was  gained 


ZJ^?^<j 


/'/,,,  ,v,/u,,//'ui,/,.i/i,i,i/,V  /:,/,/, ,/r//i,//„  11,,,,,,/,, 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILUMOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


54  > 


in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  town.  At  the 
early  age  of  nineteen  he  left  the  country  school 
house  and  home  to  work  on  a  farm  in  Seneca 
county,  New  York.  l«ut  farm  life  was  not  in  har- 
mony with  his  tastes:  he  soon  evinced  an  inclination 
to  leave  the  harrow  for  the  hammer,  the  plough 
for  the  plane;  and  in  the  spring  18~j4  he  came  West 
and  was  employed  as  a  carpenter  at  Peru.  Illinois. 
In  July  of  the  same  year  his  life  in  Chicago  began 
as  a  day  laborer  at  his  chosen  trade,  his  first  work 
being  for  ex-Alderman  Sexton  in  building  a  dwell- 
ing-house at  the  corner  of  Indiana  avenue  and 
Twelfth  street.  He  was  also  employed  on  Park 
Row  and  in  the  construction  of  old  the  Richmond 
House,  at  the  cornerof  Michigan  avenue  and  Lake 
street.  With  the  exception  of  the  winter  of  1855  6, 
which  he  passed  on  a  plantation  in  Arkansas,  he 
worked  by  the  day  for  three  years.  In  ls.">7  Mr. 
Kiee  and  Ira  Foote  formed  a  co-partnership  as  ci  >n- 
tractore  and  builders  under  the  firm  name  of  F  ote 
&  Rice.  This  firm  did  an  extensive  business  for 
many  years.  They  built  the  old  Board  of  Trade 
building,  which  was  a  conspicuous  land-mark  in 
Chicago,  until  destroyed  by  fire  in  October,  1871. 
They  built  the  fine  residence  of  Peter  Schuttleron 
West  Adams  street,  for  a  long  time  the  best  pri 
vate  dwelling  on  the  West  Side.  When  the  excite- 
ment about  silver  mines  was  at  its  height  in  the 
vicinity  of  Pike's  Peak,  in  1860,  Mr.  Rice  took  to 
that  region  the  first  stamp  mill  that  was  ever  car- 
ried to  the  mining  districts  of  Colorado.  This  mill 
was  bought  of  P.  W.  Gates  A  Co.  and  was  moved 
by  rail  to  St.  Joseph.  Mo.,  and  from  there  by  ox 
teams  to  Nevada  City,  located  on  the  Kan- 
so-called,  about  sixty  miles  from  Denver.  The 
outfit  was  owned  by  Mr.  Rice,  Hon.  Charles  B. 
Lawrence,  late  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Illinois,  Judge  Schofield.  of  Quincy,  111.,  and 
Mr.  Henry  Ames.  He  sold  his  interest  in  Decem- 
ber, 1861,  when  he  returned  to  Chicago,  and, 
with  his  partner,  Mr.  Foote.  continued  the  busi- 
ness of  contractors  until  1870.  Many  mag 
buildings,  erected  by  this  firm  during  thl  - 
went  down  in  the  Chicago  fire.  Among  those 
still  standing  is  the  residence  on  Michigan  avenue 
near  Sixteenth,  built  for  the  late  Washington 
Smith,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Jacob  Rosen- 
berg.  Early  in  1871  Mr.  Rice  withdrew  from  the 
firm  of  Foote  &  Rice,  and  for  several  months 
traveled  in  Europe.  He  reached  home  a  few  days 
before  the  great  fire  of  1871,  which  swept  away 
his  fortune,  but  left  him  Ins  characteristic  energy 
and  undaunted  courage.  Another  partnership  was 
immediately   formed    between   Mr.  Rice    and   Mr. 


Foote  and  the  mw  firm  was  soon  ready  to  do  its  part 
in  raising  the  fallen  city.  The  first  brick  building 
in  the  burnt  district  was  erected  by  them  at  23 
Quincy  street.  This  was  followed  bya  building  for 
the  late  Cyrus  McCormick  at  the  corner  of  Clark 
and  Washington  streets.  They  erected  all  the 
buildings  for  the  Ira  Couch  estate,  including  the 
Commercial  Hotel,  which  was  finished  in  1S7J.  and 
the  Tremont House,  finished  in  1s7.'j.  Soon  after 
the  completion  of  this  house,  the  partnership  ex- 
isting between  Mr.  Foote  and  Mr.  Rice  was  dis- 
solved, and  a  business  as  importer  and  dealer  in 
foreign  and  American  window  glass  was  estab- 
lished at  80  and  B2  Adams  street.  Mr.  Foote 
owned  an  interest  although  his  name  never  ap- 
peared as  a  partner  in  the  firm.  The  business  was 
conducted  in  Mr.  Rice's  name  until  January  1. 
1881,  when  the  present  stock  company  was  incor- 
porated under  the  name  of  the  James  H.  Rice 
Company.  Since  its  incorporation  this  house  has 
taken  a  foremost  place  among  the  strong  business 
enterprises  for  which  Chicago  is  so  famous,  and 
in  its  special  line  is  second  to  only  one  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  the  first  exclusive  glass  house 
west  of  tin'  Allegheny  mountains  and  did  a  very 
large  importation  of  French  manufactured  goods 
consisting  of  plate  and  window  glass,  but  it  now 
confines  its  business  to  American  manufactured 
goods.  It  is  located  at  34, 36,  38  and  40  South 
Water  street.  Mr.  Rice  was  married  in  Septem 
ber,  1876,  to  Miss  Margaret  Gilliland,  of  Das 
Moines,  Iowa.  Their  home  on  Michigan  avenue 
is  one  of  quiet  elegance,  where  they  receive  and 
entertain  their  friends  in  a  most  cordial  and  hoi  - 
pitable  manner.  Mr.  Rice  is  a  typical  self-made 
man.  Fortunate,  while  young,  in  sell  cting Chicago 
as  the  theatre  of  his  efforts  he  did  not  fail  to  take 
advantage  of  its  growing  opportunities,  and  like 
many  others  enjoys  a  bountiful  reward.  While 
accumulating  a  fortune,  or  two  fortunes,  one 
before  and  one  since  the  great  fire,  he  has 
not  neglected  the  development  of  the  finer  at- 
tributes of  his  nature.  His  business  associates 
ever  find  in  him  a  man  who  wins  their  esteem 
and  confidence  by  his  uprightness  and  keen  sense 
of  justice.  The  poor  and  needy  find  in  him  a  friend 
of  noble  impulses,  kind  and  generous.  His  many 
deeds  of  charity  attest  his  real  character.  Mr. 
Rice  is  a  modest,  unostentatious  man,  who  does 
nothing  "  to  be  seen  of  men."  but  whose  daily  life 
is  rilled  with  acts  of  kindness  to  his  friends  and  to 
the  unfortunate  that  will  keep  his  memory  gre<  n 
in  the  hearts  of  many  long  after  he  has  passed 
away. 


34- 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


JOHN  (l.   SHORTALL. 


When  Horao  I  lre<  ley,  in  1854,  uttered  the  now 
famous  words,  "Go  west,  \<  ung  man,  go   west," 
blsadvice  was  followed  to  good  purpose   bj    at 
least  one  ambitious  young  lad.    At  that  timeJohn 
G.Shortall  was  in  Mr.  Greeley's  employ,  an  at- 
tache of  the  New  York  Tribune  and  had  been  for 
some  time  in  daily  association  with  that  eminent 
American,  and  his  associates,   Charles  A.   Dana. 
Bayard  Taylor,  George  Ripley,  George  M.  Snow, 
and  others,  profiting  by  their  friendly  counsel  and 
ripe   experience,   and    unconsciously    laying    the 
foundation  of  a  successful  business   and   profes- 
sional life.     Mr.  Shortall,  who  is  the  eldest  son  of 
John    Shortall,   Esq..   of    county   Kilkenny,   and 
Charlotte  Towson,  of  county  Dublin,  Ireland,  was 
born   in   Dublin.   September   20,   1838.      He   was 
brought    to  America  when  six  years  old,  the  fam- 
ily settling  in  New  York.     While  but   a  mere  boy, 
Mr.  Shortall's  parents  died,  and  he  earned  his  own 
living  in  the  service  of  the  Tribune  and  Horace 
Greeley   until  he  came  west,  in    1854.      His    first 
occupation  in  the  West   was  in  connection   with 
the  survey  and  completion  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railway  between  Scale's  Mound  and  Galena,  after 
which   he  returned  to  Chicago  and  was  employed 
on  the  Chicago  Tribune,  until  he  was  engaged  by 
the  late  J.  Mason  Parker  to  assist  him  in  his  com- 
pilation  of  the    real  estate   abstracts  or  digests 
of   the  land   records.     In  1S5G.  upon   their   com- 
pletion, Mr.  Shortall  leased  the  Parker  abstract 
books   or  records,   and  began   the  making  of  ab- 
stracts of  real  estate  titles,  in  which  he  continued 
after  the  expiration  of   his  lease,  with  the  firm  of 
i  ireenebaum  &  Guthmann,  until  his  purchase   of 
the  property  in  April,  1861 — at  the  breaking  out 
of  our  Civil  War.     In  1864  Mr.  Shortall  formed  a 
partnership  with  L.   D.  Hoard,  and  the  firm  was 
known  as  Shortall  &  Hoard,  until  the  merging  of 
his  firm's  property  with  those  of  Chase  Brothers 
and  Jones  &  Sellers,  in  1872;  these  being  the  prop- 
erties now  of  The  Title  Guarantee  A;  Trust  Com- 
pany, of  which  Mr.  Shortall  is  a   director.     The 
saving  of   these  invaluable   records   and  abstract 
books  during  the  great  tire  in  1871,  under  the  im- 
mediate direction  of  Mr.  Shortall,  constitutes  one 
of  the  mosl  exciting  incidents  of  that  memorable 
event   and  is  well  described  in  the  history  of  the 
lire.     Since  his  retirement    from  active    business, 
in   L872,  Mr.  Shortall  has  devoted  himself  mainly 
lo     charitable,     educational    and     humanitarian 
works.     He  is  deeply  interested  in  musical  matters 
and  has  sei  ved  as  a  director  of   the  early  Chicago 


Philham ic    Society,    and    for    many    years    as 

1, resident  of  the  Beethoven  Society.     He  has  also 
been  among    the   foremost    in  fostering   the    tine 
arts,  and  has  taken  a  high  position  in  literary  cir- 
cles, as  many  of   his  writings  in  the  best  publica- 
tions of   the  clay   attest.     He   is   at    this   writing 
president  of  the  board  of  directorsof  the  Chicago 
Public    Library,  elected  in  July,  1891,  to  succeed 
himself,  and  most  deeply  interested  and  energetic 
in  securing  the  site  for  and  the  construction   of 
the    new   Library    Building   on    Dearborn  Park. 
It  is  as  a  humanitarian  and   philanthropist,  how- 
ever, that  he  has  won  his   highest  houors.    For 
sixteen  years  Mr.  Shortall  has  directed  the  imp  ir- 
tant  work  of  the  Illinois  Humane  Society,  and  is 
still  serving  as  president  of  the  organization.     The 
society,  which  is  now  the  greatest  organized  force 
for  the  suppression  of   cruelty  and  oppression   in 
the  West,  was  formed  in  1869,  twenty-three  years 
ago,  and  until   Mr.   Shortall    took   charge   of   its 
affairs,  was  an  enthusiastic  group  of  willing  work- 
ers, but  comparatively  limited  in  scope  and  means. 
In  lST'J.at  Insurgent  solicitation  thesociety's  work 
was  extended  to  include  the  protection  of  children 
as  well  as  of  animals,  and  in  this  comprehensive  di- 
rection it  is  now  without  a  rival.     Mr.  Shortall  is  an 
honorary  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of   Cruelty  to  Animals,  and  has 
also  been  president  of  the  American  Humane  As- 
sociation, organized  at  his  suggestion  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  in    1877.     He  is  an  independent  in    politics. 
and  as  a  moving  spirit  in   the  Municipal  Reform 
Club  and  the  Citizens'   Association,   has   accom- 
plished much  in  the  way  of  securing  a   purifica- 
tion of  the  civil  service.     Patriotism  is  one  of  the 
distinguished  characteristics  of  the  Shortall  fam- 
ily, and  found  an  ardent  example  in  Mr.  Shortall's 
only  brother.  Pierce,  who  served  for  four  years  in 
the  late  Civil  War.  and  was   killed  in  the  last  bat- 
tle of  that   unfortunate   and  regretful   rebellion. 
In    everything  that  tends  to  the  advancement  of 
his  fellowmen,  and  the  liberalizing  of  society  upon 
broad  and  benevolent  principles,  Mr.  Shortall  is  a 
man  of   the  world.     Years  of   travel  and  observa- 
tion in  both  Europe  and  America,  have  broadened 
and   improved  a  naturally   liberal   and   cultured 
mind.     In   all  matters  pertaining  to  Christianity. 
Mr.  Shortall  is  governed  by  the  same  uniformly 
liberal  and  just  ideas.     By  birth  and  profession  he 
is  an  Episcopalian,  and  constant  in  his  support  of 
the  church,  as  of   the  highest  educational  value, 
and  to  be  sustained  upon  economic  as  well  as  re- 
ligious ground.     And  yet  so  great  is  his  admira- 
tion for  the  advanced  liberalism  and  broad  Chris- 


<7zYzzj^ 


unwwsTrtrfaA*06, 


I5IOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


543 


tianity  of  Prof.  David  Swing,  that  he  was  not  only 
one  nf  the  first  men  in  Chicago  to  guarantee  the 
support  of  the  Central  Church,  but  has  been  ever 
since  its  organization  a  constant  attendant  at  its 
services.  In  all  these  relations,  to  hi. me.  to  socie- 
ty, to  church  and  state,  we  may  fairly  designate 
Mr.  Shortall  as  standing  among  the  men  of  Chi- 
cago who  have  made  it;  who  have  so  honorably 
acquitted  themselves  as  to  be  entitled  to  distinc- 
tion as  its  representative  men  in  the  best  ei 
of  the  term.  As  an  expert  in  real  estate  values, 
his  judgment  is  highly  esteemed.  He  was  called 
upon  by  the  board  of  education,  in  1880,  to  assist 
in  the  appraisal  of  the  realty  owned  by  the  Chi 
cago  school  fund,  and  was  afterwards  selected 
by  Mayor  Harrison  to  represent  the  city  in  the 
readjustment  of  the  leases  of  this  property.  Tt  is 
tu  Mr.  Shortall.  in  conjunction  with  his  associates, 
Missis.  Mark  Kimball  and  Enos  Ayree,  that  Chi- 
cago is  indebted  for  the  adoption  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  basing  the  values  of  real  property  upon 
the  income  producing  power  of  the  land. 
These  gentlemen  were  the  first  to  apply  this 
rule,  representing  the  city  in  the  school  prop 
erty  appraisals  referred  to,  and  to  establish  this 
fair  and  wise  basis  in  the  calculation  of  values. 
Mr.  Shortall  was  married  September  5,1861,  to 
Mary  Dunham  Staples,  eldest  daughter  of  John 
X.  Staples,  nf  Chicago,  by  whom  he  has  one  son, 
John  Louis  Shortall,  who  was  born  in  1865.  For 
nineteen  years  Mrs.  Slim-tall  lived  a  life  of  unsel 
fish  and  affectionate  devotion  to  her  husband,  her 
son,  and  the  varied  Fecial,  religious  and  humani- 
tarian enterprises  in  which  both  were  mutually 
interested.  She  died  in  August.  1880,  beloved  and 
mourned  by  all  who  knew  her. 


CHARLES    II.  CIIArPELL. 

CHARLES  HENRY  CHAPPELL.  general 
manager  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railway,  was 
burn  in  Du  Page  county.  Illinois.  March  :>.  1841. 
His  parents,  Jason  and  Mary  (Germaine)  Chap- 
pell,  were  both  natives  of  the  Empire  state.  It 
was  in  1836  that  the  elder  Chappell  removed 
to  Illinois,  where,  for  several  years  he  fol- 
lowed the  calling  of  country  school  teacher,  an 
occupation  he  had  pursued  in  his  native  place. 
In  later  years  he  was  a  merchant  at  Batavia,  111., 
and  subsequently  in  Iowa  and  Nebraska.  Know- 
ing the    yalue  nl'   a   good   education,   it    was  but 


natural  that  his  children  should  have  received  the 
best  educational  advantages  possible  at  that  day 
and  place,  and  thus.  Charles  acquired  at  the  pub- 
lic schools  such  learning  as  was  necessary  to  equip 
him  for  intelligent  citizenship  and  for  the  proper 
performance  of  such  duties  as  might  eventually 
devolve  upon  him.  It  is  quite  customary  in  speak- 
ing of  men  who  have  developed  exceptional  ability 
or  genius  in  any  particular  calling,  to  characterize 
him  as  a  "bum  general."  a  "born  lawyer,"  a  "born 
inventor,"  etc.,  and  of  Mr.  Chappell  it  can  be  truly 
said  that  he  was  not  only  a  born  railroad  man.  but 
to  become- one  was  his  first  ardent  passion.  Prom 
the  moment  he  saw  the  first  locomotive  come 
steaming  into  the  village  of  Batavia  he  became 
possessed  of  an  irrepressible  desire  tu  become  a 
"railroad  hand."  It  is  said  of  him  that  even  then 
In  seemed  to  comprehend  and  understand  the 
rules  and  regulations  in  train  service:  and  from 
the  first  to  the  last  position  he  has  ever  held  in 
railway  service,  he  seemingly  had  no  need  to  learn 
his  duties  incident  thereto.  He  knew  them 
already.  It  was  not  long  after  that  train  arrived  in 
Batavia  before  young  Chappell,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen,  had  obtained  a  position  as  freight  brakeman 
on  the  C,  B.  A  Q.  R.  R..  and  from  that  day  in  1857 
up  to  tin-  present  time,  a  period  of  thirty-five 
years,  has  he  lived  a  day  not  rendered  in  railway 
service — years  tilled  with  varied  responsibilities 
and  arduous  toil.  He  did  not  remain  long  as 
brakeman.  for  shortly  he  was  made  conductor,  and 
litth-  later  train-master.  He  seemed  already  quali- 
fied to  fill  any  position  connected  with  train  ser- 
vice, and  was  soon  promoted  to  the  duties  of  train 
dispatcher,  a  position  at  this  present  day  of  grave 
responsibility.  In  1865,  when  but  twenty-four 
years  of  age.  he  was  appointed  the  general  agent 
of  the  eastern  division  of  the  C,  B.  &  Q.  road.  In 
July,  1869.  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  super- 
intendency  of  the  second  division  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  he  held  until  the  latter 
part  of  1870.  Returning  again  to  his  "first  love," 
he  became  assistant  superintendent  of  the  eastern 
division,  but  in  1872  was  made  division  superin- 
tendent at  Burlington.  Mr.  Chappell's  splendid 
abilities  had  not  failed  to  attract  the  attention  of 
managers  of  other  corporations,  so  that  in  1871  he 
was  offered  by  the  Missouri.  Kansas  &  Texas  Rail- 
road Company  the  position  of  general  superin- 
tendent. This  he  accepted  and  for  two  years 
rendered  invaluable  service  to  that  company. 
During  1877, '78  and '79  Mr.  Chappell  was  super- 
intendent of  the  western  division  of  the  Wabash 
R.  R„  with   headquarters  at   Springfield,  111.,  but 


544 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


in  1880  he  was  induced  by  Mr.  T.  B.  Blackstone, 
president  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  R.  R..  who  has 
always  sought  oul  the  highest  order  of  talent  for 
headsof  departments,  to  accept  the  position  of 
assistant  general  superintendent  of  that  road.  In 
one  year  he  had  been  made  general  superintend- 
ent; five  months  later  assistant  general  manager; 
in  L882  acting  general  manager;  and  in  1883,  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  entire  system.  Mr.  Chappell 
has  now  held  this  responsible  position  for  nine 
years,  and  has  during  that  time  rendered  most 
conspicuous  services  to  the  C.  &  A.  Railroad. 
From  every  point  of  view  Mr.  Chappell  is  essen- 
tially a  man  of  affairs,  and  those  associated  with 
railway  interests  wholly  and  entirely.  Never  for 
a  moment  has  his  mind  been  directed  in  other 
channels  or  been  diverted  from  the  one  great  and 
abiding  ambition  of  his  life — to  become  just  what 
he  is  to-day,  a  potential  force  in  the  railway  world. 
Personally  he  is  one  of  those  modest,  unobtrusive 
men  usually  possessed  with  a  latent  power  which 
manifests  itself  only  when  and  where  occasion 
suggestsor  where  duty  demands  its  exercise.  Mr. 
Chappell  has  had  but  one  ambition  in  his  life  and 
to  that  he  lias  surrendered  the  fullest  measure  of 
intellectual  and  physical  endeavor  that  nature 
has  given  him.  He  would  rather  be  at  the  head 
of  a  great  railway  than  to  hold  the  most  coveted 
public  position.  He  is  no  more  esteemed  for  his 
genius  and  abilities  in  his  ehosen  field  than  for 
his  uncompromising  honesty  and  purity  of  char- 
acter. His  tastes  and  habits  are  plain  and  unos- 
tentatious, and  whether  in  his  official  capacity  or 
in  social  intercourse  he  is  the  same  sincere  and 
courteous  gentleman.  Mr.  Chappell  married  Jan- 
uary 25,  1865,  Miss  Anna  Ward,  of  Galesburg,  111., 
who  has  borne  him  two  boys,  aged  seventeen  and 
nineteen  respectively. 


RICHARD    YATES. 

EON.  RICHARD  YATES,  the  "War  Governor" 

of  Illinois,  was  born  at  Warsaw.  Gallatin  county, 
Kentucky,  on  the  L8th  of  January.  1818.  His 
great-grandfather.  Dr.  Michael  Yates,  emigrated 
from  England  to  America  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, settled  in  Virginia,  and  married  Martha 
Marshall,  sister  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  Their 
son.  Abner,  had  two  children,  Henry  and  Martha, 
lie  moved  to  Payette  county.  Kentucky,  in  17SS, 
and  died  there.    After  two  or  three  removals  the 


family  settled  in  Gallatin   county  in  1804.     Here, 
in  after  years,  grew  up  Warsaw,  which   became 
the    county   scat.     In    1809   Henry    married   his 
cousin,  Millicent  Yates,  and  had  eleven  children, 
of  whom  live  died  young.     Six  were  living  when 
they  removed   to   Sangamon   county,   Illinois,  in 
1831.     Richard  was  thirteen   years  old  when  his 
father  came  to  this  state.     He  had  attended  school 
at  Warsaw,  and  was  then  sent  to  Miami  University. 
Ohio,  and  afterwards  to  Georgetown  College.  Ken 
tucky.  to  continue  his  studies.     On  the  opening  of 
Illinois  College,  at  Jacksonville,  he  was  among  the 
first  students  that  entered,  and  was  one  of  the  two 
first  graduates  of  that  institution.     During  one  of 
his  vacations  he  went    with  some  of  his  fellow- 
students  to  their  homes  in  the  vicinity  of   New 
Salem,  111.,  where  he  first  made  the  acquaintance 
of   Abraham  Lincoln.     The  future  president  re- 
ceived the  boys  kindly,  and  soon  made  them  feel 
quite  at  Imnie  by  telling  them  some  of  his  inim- 
itable  stories.     After  graduating.   Mr.  Yates  en- 
tered the  law  office  of  Col.  John  J.  Hardin,  and 
finished  his  preparation  for  the  liar  by  taking  a 
course    of    lectures    at    Transylvania  Law  School. 
Lexington, Kentucky.     He  then  returned  to  Jack 
sonville  and  commenced   practice.    Being  gifted 
with  ready  speech,  logical  in  argument,  and  care- 
ful in  the  study  of  his  cases,  he  rapidly  rose  to 
distinction.    In  the  canvass  of   1810  he  was  an 
active  campaigner  on  behalf  of  General  Harrison. 
In   1812  he  was   elected  to   the   legislature,  and 
afterwards  re-elected  for  three  terms.     "This  suc- 
cessful legislative  experience,"  says  the  author  of 
"Fifty  Years"  Recollections,"  "paved  the  way  for 
his  nomination  for  his  nomination  for  a  seat  in 
Congress  in  1850.     The  counties  comprising  the 
district   were  the  same  that  Hardin,  Baker  and 
Lincoln  had  represented  from  1842  to  1848,  and  he 
made  a  personal  canvass  as  they  had  done.     The 
Democratic  candidate  was  Major  Thomas  L.  Har- 
ris, the  sitting  member.    They  made  the  canvass 
of  the  district  in  company;  speaking  alternately, 
and  each  arousing  the  enthusiasm  of  their  friends. 
Both  were  good  speakers,  but  Yates  was  the  most 
fascinating  and  persuasive,  and  was  elected  over 
his  military  competitor."     He  was  again   elected 
in  1852,  and  during  his  second  term   took  a  very 
active  part  in  the  discussion  on  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,   which  he   vigorously  and 
eloquently    opposed.     In    several  speeches  during 
this  term     which  was  the  period  when  the  Repub- 
lican party  was  gradually  taking  organized  shape 
and  form    Mr.  Yates  took  an  advanced  position 
among  the  opponents  of  slavery,  and  acquired  a 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


345 


national  reputation  as  one  of  the  rising  band  of 
young  politicians  to  whom  the  party  of  abolition 
looked  with  hope.  Senator  Douglas  wae  i  I  e  of 
the  strong  advocates  of  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise.  His  influence  was  sufficient  to  cany 
the  state  of  Illinois  in  1854,  and  Mr.  Yates  shared 
the  fate  of  his  party,  being  defeated  bj  a  small 
majority.  From  this  time  until  1860  he  applied 
himself  closely  to  professional  business  and  to  the 
promotion  of  the  interests  of  the  Tonica  &  Peters 
burg  R.  R.  Co.  (now  the  Chicago  &  Alton)  of 
which  company  he  was  the  president,  only  revis- 
iting the  arena  of  politics  to  make  some  speeches 
on  behalf  of  John  C.  Fremont  as  the  presidential 
candidate  in  1856,  and  taking  the  stump  during 
the  contest  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas  in  1858, 
giving  his  aid  toward  reducing  or  overcoming 
Democratic  majorities  in  central  Illinois.  The  re- 
sults of  the  election  of  1860  are  historical.  Illinois 
then  declared  herself  to  be  a  Republican  state 
and  has  so  continued  ever  since.  At  the  same 
election  by  which  Abraham  Lincoln  was  placed 
in  the  chair  as  president  of  the  United  States, 
Richard  Yates  was  promoted  to  that  of  governor 
of  the  state  of  Illinois.  There  were  three  com 
petitors  for  the  honor  in  the  state  Republican 
convention  Senator  Norman  B.  Judd,  of  Cook 
county,  Senator  Leonard  Swett.  of  McLean,  and 
Richard  Yates,  of  .Morgan.  Judd  led  in  the  first 
balloting,  presenting  his  full  strength  at  the  out- 
set. Swett's  support  came  from  the  middle, 
northern,  and  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  the 
state,  with  a  few  from  southeastern  Illinois  who 
were  sure  to  go  for  Yates  if  they  failed  to  secure 
their  first  choice.  The  first  ballots  showed  that 
the  choice  was  between  Yates  and  Judd.  where- 
upon nearly  all  of  Swett's  friends  voted  for  Yates, 
and  before  the  announcement  of  the  vote  both 
Judd  and  Swett  were  withdrawn  and  the  nomina- 
tion of  Mr.  Yates  was  made  unanimous.  The  con- 
vention rose  in  a  body  to  receive  the  successful 
candidate,  who  briefly  expressed  his  faith  in  Re- 
publican principles  ami  in  tin'  great  future  that 
was  before  the  country.  Mr.  Judd  and  Mr.Swett 
also  made  brief  speeches,  expressing  their  confi- 
dence in  the  nominee  and  their  cordial  acquies- 
cence in  the  result.  A  full  state  ticket  having 
been  nominated,  John  Hanks,  of  Macon  county, 
presented  to  the  convention  two  of  the  rails  made 
by  Abraham  Lincoln  the  first  year  after  lie  came 
to  the  state.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  in  the  hall,  but 
was  sent  for  and  in  a  short  time  made  his  appear- 
ance, the  delegates  rising  to  cheer  him  as  he  en 
tered  the  hall.     When  quiet  was  restored.  Richard 


J.  Oglesby  rose  and  addressing  the  presiding 
officer  said:  "An  old  citizen  of  Macon  county 
wishes  to  make  a  presentation  to  the  convention." 
On  this  announcement  two  old  fence  rails  were 
borne  forward  to  the  stand,  inscribed  "Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  rail-splitters"  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency in  1800.  Two  rails  from  a  lot  of  three  thou- 
sand, made  in  1830  by  Thomas  Hanks  and  Abe 
Lincoln,  whose  father  was  the  first  pioneer  of  Ma- 
con county."  After  the  cheering  had  subsided, 
Mr.  Lincoln  told  in  his  happiest  manner  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  making  of  the  rails  used 
in  fencing  a  Held  and  building  a  cabin  for  his 
father,  the  first  work  he  did  in  Illinois.  The  na- 
tional convention  to  nominate  a  candidate  for 
the  presidency  was  held  at  Chicago  a  few  weeks 
later.  Mr.  Yates  was  not  a  member  of  that  con- 
vention, lmt  contributed  as  much  as  any  individual 
man  to  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  At 
the  election  in  November  he  ran  ahead  of  the  en- 
tire state  ticket,  receiving  ninety-one  more  votes 
than  the  presidential  candidate  himself,  —  Mr. 
Lincoln's  majority  being  12,852,  and  Mr.  Yates', 
12,943.  He  entered  on  his  duties  as  governor  on 
the  14th  of  January,  1861.  In  his  inaugural  ad- 
dress he  anticipated  the  conflict  that  was  impend- 
ing and  soon  to  break  out.  insisted  upon  the  per- 
petuity of  the  constitution  and  the  government 
organized  under  it.  and  declared  that  "the  whole 
material  of  the  government, moral,  political  ami 
physical,  if  need  lie,  must  lie  employed  to  preserve. 
protect  and  defend  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States."  Fort  Sumter  surrendered  on  the  11th  of 
April,  and  the  President's  first  call  for  troops  was 
reiterated  to  the  people  and  the  legislature  by 
( fovernor  Yates.  The  country  was  in  commotion, 
and  the  people  rushed  to  arms  in  such  numbers 
that  all  could  not  be  received  into  the  service. 
The  governor,  in  a  message  to  the  Legislature  con- 
vened April  23, 1861. said:  "Party  distinctions  van 
ished  as  a  mist  in  the  night,  as  if  by  magicand  party 
and  party  platforms  were  swept  as  a  morning  dream 
from  the  minds  of  men,  and  now  men  of  all  parties 
by  thousands  are  begging  for  places  in  the 
ranks."  Twice  as  many  men  as  the  state  was 
called  upon  to  furnish  had  offered  their  services 
within  ten  days  after  the  governor's  proclamation. 
Under  the  different  calls  made  before  tin-  1st  of 
January,  1862,  over  60,000  men  were  received  into 
the  service.  More  than  100,000  had  offered  them 
selves  and  Governor  Yates  uged  the  government 
to  accept  them.  On  the  6th of  July,  1862, another 
call  was  made  for  300,000  more,  Illinois*  quota  of 
this   to  be   nine   regiments.     Governor  Yates  is 


546 


BIOGEAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Bueda  proclamation  urging  promptness  in  filling 
the  call,  in  which  fate  recounted  the  successes 
already  achieved  bj  the  Union  anus,  and  said: 
"The  coming  of  the  brave  boys  of  Illinois  will  be 
nailed  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  and  James 
rivers  with  shouts  of  welcome.  You  will  be  hailed 
as  the  brothers  of  the  men  who  have  faced  the 
storm  of  battle  and  gloriously  triumphed  at  Don- 
elson,  Pea  Ridge,  Shiloh  and  other  memorable 
fields."  He  also  paid  a  tribute  to  "the  noble 
women  of  the  state  lor  their  assistance  to  our  sol- 
diers in  the  field."  This  patriotic  call  was  enthu- 
siastically responded  to,  and  soon  the  enlistment 
rolls  were  filled.  On  the  11th  of  July  Governor 
Yates  wrote  to  President  Lincoln,  urging  him  to 
accept  the  services  of  all  loyal  men  who  offered 
themselves,  and  recommending  the  enlistment  of 
"  loyal  blacks  who  offer  us  their  labor  and  seek 
Bhelter  beneath  our  flag."  Within  two  years  after 
the  first  call,  Illinois  had  placed  135,440  men  in 
the  field.  In  his  loyalty  to  the  Constitution,  and 
his  devotion  to  the  cause  for  which  the  armies  of 
the  Union  were  fighting,  Governor  Yates  did  not 
rest  content  with  promoting  measures  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  enlisted  troops,  but  when  a  disaffected 
majority  obtained  control  of  the  state  legislature 
in  18C3,  and  used  all  their  efforts  to  obstruct  the 
passage  of  bills  which  he  thought  necessary,  he 
promptly  suppressed  them  by  the  exercise  of  his 
executive  power.  The  Legislature  met  in  January 
and  had  remained  in  session  till  June  without 
paying  any  heed  to  the  recommendations  of  the 
governor  for  the  protection  of  the  civil  rights  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  field.  There  were  even  expres- 
sions on  the  Moor  of  the  house  that  the  war  was  a 
failure  and  should  be  stopped  at  all  hazards.  The 
two  houses  being  unable  to  concur  on  a  motion 
for  adjournment.  Governor  Yates  availed  himself 
of  his  executive  right  and  suddenly  appeared  in 
person  in  the  hall  of  .representatives  and  read  his  of- 
ficial message  proroguing  the  legislature.  Thesame 
message  was  read  simultaneously  in  the  senate 
chamber,  and  the  obstructionists  were  sent  adrift, 
( lovernor  Yates  taking  charge  of  the  war  operations 

of  the  state  until  tl lection  of  a  loyal  Legislature 

in  the  following  year.  In  1864  the  Republicans 
carried  their  state  and  national  ticket  by  an  over- 
whelming majority.  The  constitution  of  Illinois 
Eorbade  a  governor  being  re-elected  as  his  own 
successor,   and   Richard   J.  Oglesby   was   elected 

gover ■  t  isucceed  Mr.  Yates.    The  Legislature 

which  assembled  the  following  January  was  pre- 
ponderating!^- Republican,  and  in  grateful  reeog 
n'l  mm  of  ( lovernor  Yates'  services  they  elected  him 


to  the  United  States  Senate  for  a  term  of  six 
years,  expiring  March  4,  1871.  During  this  period 
he  touk  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  reconstruc- 
tion measures  of  the  government,  the  question  of 
national  sovereignty  and  state's  rights,  the  home- 
stead law,  and  the  bill  for  the  construction  of  the 
Pacific  Railway.  He  specially  distinguished  him- 
self by  his  speech  on  the  impeachment  of  Andrew 
Johnson  in  favor  of  conviction.  At  the  close  of 
his  term  Mr.  Yates  returned  to  private  life  and  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  his  profession  until  his 
death  in  1873.  Although  he  died  eight  years  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  he  died  a  victim  to  the  fear- 
ful strain  of  that  awful  struggle,  with  its  sleepless 
nights,  its  terrible  anxieties,  its  numberless  emer- 
gencies, its  anguish-laden  days  and  all  its  under- 
mining tendencies.  His  wife,  daughter,  Catherine, 
and  two  sons,  Henry  and  Richard,  survived  him. 
The  daughter  died  in  1888.  Henry,  the  elder  son. 
was  for  years,  deputy  of  the  Jacksonville  post- 
office,  while  Richard,  the  younger,is  a  lawyer,  now- 
spoken  of  as  a  candidate  for  Congress.  To  recite 
in  detail  the  many  extreme  difficulties  Governor 
Yates  experienced  in  managing  the  affairs  in  this 
border  state,  many  of  whose  inhabitants  were  from 
the  South  and  full  of  fight  and  disloyalty  to  the 
Union,  would  lay  before  the  reader  a  story  not 
wanting  in  dramatic  action — a  story  replete  with 
acts  of  heroism,  of  days,  weeks  and  months  of  the 
most  serious  thought  and  contemplation  of  ques- 
tions fraught  with  the  gravest  consequences  to 
the  state  and  to  the  Union  cause;  all  of  which  he 
met  and  mastered  with  a  patriotism  and  sagacity  of 
the  highest  order.  Illinois  was,  as  a  state,  loyal 
and  patriotic;  but,  as  in  Indiana,  there  was  much 
organized  disloyalty  that  harassed  the  executive 
and  weighed  him  clown  with  ever  increasing  diffi- 
culties. He  held  the  reins  of  executive  power 
in  Illinois  at  a  trying  crisis  in  her  history, 
and  will  be  remembered  with  Morton,  of  Indiana, 
and  Buckingham,  of  Connecticut,  as  worthy  of  the 
the  highest  honor  for  the  help  they  afforded  to 
President  Lincoln  and  his  administration  when 
the  fortunes  of  the  American  republic  seemed  to 
be  at  the  lowest  ebb.  When  the  United  States 
government  at  Washington  failed  to  find  the  let- 
ter of  U.  S.  Grant,  offering  his  services  to  the  gov- 
ernment which  had  educated  him,  and  when  his 
native  state,  Ohio,  had  failed  to  recognize  the 
coming  hero,  Richard  Yates  attached  his  seal  of 
state  to  the  commission  of  U.  S.Grant  as  colonel 
of  the  '.list  regiment  of  Illinois  volunteers  in  June. 
1861,  and  first  started  that  illustrious  warrior  upon 
his  march  down  the   history  of  the  republic. 


LIBRA,;. 

OF  THK 

DIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


347 


JOHN  M.    LOOM  IS. 

COLI  >NEL  JOHN  MASON  LOOMIS,  who  was 
born  at  Windsor,  Conn.,  January  5, 1825,  is  the  de- 
scendant of  an  old  English  family,  of  which  the 
pioneer  in  this  country  was  Joseph  Loomis,  of 
Braintree,  Essex  county,  England.  He  came  to 
this  country  from  London  on  the  ship  Susan  and 
Ellen,  reaching  Boston,  July  17,  1638.  The  rec- 
ords at  Windsor  show  that  he  bought  a  piece  of 
land  at  the  confluence  of  the  Farmington  and 
Connecticut  Rivers,  in  what  is  now  Hartford 
county,  February  24,  1010,  and  this  estate  is  still 
in  possession  of  the  family.  The  father  of  John 
Mason  Loomis  was  Colonel  James  Loomis,  a  na- 
tive of  Windsor,  who  was  a  farmer,  merchant  and 
miller  in  that  part  of  the  state.  He  was  for  sev- 
eral years  Colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Con- 
n  ■ctieut  State  militia,  and  was  a  great  admirer  of 
John  Mason,  a  famous  New  England  soldier,  in 
admiration  of  whose  prowess  lie  named  his  son. 
The  mother  of  John  Mason  Loomis  was  in  maiden 
life  Abigail  Sherwood  Chaffe.  She  was  a  native 
of  Greenfield  Hill,  Fairfield  county,  Conn.,  and 
the  descendant  of  a  family  notedfor  its  high  social 
standing,  and  the  large  number  of  successful 
practitioners  it  furnished  to  the  medical  profession. 
John  Mason  Loomis  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  schools  and  academies  of  Con- 
necticut, and  he  afterward  had  some  practical 
business  training  in  his  father's  store,  il  came 
of  lighting  stock,  however,  and  the  charms  of  mil- 
itary and  naval  life  had  more  attraction  for  the 
resolute,  high-spirited  boy  than  did  the  mails  of 
trade.  The  first  recognition  of  his  ability  as  a 
leader  of  men  was  in  his  selection,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  as  captain  of  a  company  of  militia  which 
in  those  days  made  "training  day"  an  event  of  im- 
portance in  Windsor.  Before  this,  of  his  own  voli- 
tion, he  had  been  appointed  a  midshipman  in  the 
navy,  but  being  on  a  list  of  supernumeraries,  he 
became  tired  of  waiting  to  be  detailed  for  service, 
and  shipped  in  the  China  tea  trade,  lie  served 
in  the  various  grades  of  a  sailor  until  he  be- 
came tired  of  the  sea,  and  finding  nothing  in  the 
way  of  business  opportunities  ia  his  natr-  st  it 
to  satisfy  his  ambitious  nature,  he  finally  resolved 
to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  new  West,  and  arrived 
at  Chicago  in  the  fall  of  1S1G.  Being  unsuccess- 
ful in  his  search  for  employment  he  went  to  Mil- 
waukee. Here  he  finally  found  employment  as 
clerk  and  bookkeeper  in  a  lumber  yard.  He  knew 
nothing  of  bookkeeping  nor  of  the  business,  but  it 
was  a  matter  of    necessity  that   he   should   have 


work  and  he  soon  mastered  all  obstacles.  His 
first  year's  salary  was  $62.  In  1818,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  his  employers, he  bought  their  stock  with- 
out a  dollar  of  capital,  giving  his  notes  for  the 
purchase.  He  prospered  from  the  start,  and  with 
the  exception  of  his  army  service  during  the  war, 
has  been  in  the  lumber  trade  ever  since.  Mr. 
Lo  imis  was  a  very  frugal  man,  and  lived  in  his 
small  office  building  until  1S49,  when  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Mary  Hunt,  daughter  of  Hon.  Milo 
Hunt,  of  Chenango  county.  New  York.  A  number 
of  children  were  born  to  them,  but  all  died  in  in- 
fancy. In  1S.V2  Mr.  Loomis  transferred  his  busi- 
ness to  Chicago.  He  located  at  the  corner  of 
Madison  and  Market  streets,  and  soon  afterwards 
formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  James  Lud- 
ington,  of  Milwaukee,  the  firm  being  Loomis  &Lud- 
ington.  From  this  beginning,  a  business  was 
built  up  which  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1861 
was  as  extensive  and  profitable  as  the  trade  of  any 
lumber  firm  in  the  Northwest.  The  first  sound  of 
war's  alarms  fired  the  patriotic  and  military  spirit 
of  Mr.  Loomis,  and  he  was  eager  for  the  fray. 
Soon  after  coming  to  Chicago  he  had  joined  the 
famous  Light  Guard.  Of  this  organization  Mr. 
Loomis  was  at  one  time  first  lieutenant,  and 
his  reputation  as  a  skilled  and  able  military  leader 
caused  Governor  Yates  to  ask  him  to  take  com- 
mand of  a  regiment  for  service  in  the  field.  To 
this  request,  backed  by  the  earnest  appeals  of  in- 
fluential citizens  of  Chicago,  Mr.  Loomis  re- 
sponded with  a  favorable  answer,  and  in  August 
1861,  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  i2Gth  Illi- 
nois Infantry  as  colonel.  The  record  of  his  ser- 
vice  isb  st  told  in  the  patriotic  wordsof  Governor 
Yates  on  the  re-enlistment,  for  the  war,  of  the  reg- 
iment at  Springfield,  Illinois,  at  the  close  of  its 
three  years'  service.  "When  I  selected  Colonel 
Loomis  as  the  commanding  officer  of  this  regi- 
ment." Governor  Yates  said,  "it  was  not  because  he 
raised  it.  I  selected  him  for  his  ability  to  command, 
for  his  military  talent,  and  for  his  devotion  to  his 
country;  and  I  have  not  mistaken  the  man.  He 
has  been  equal  to  the  emergency.  The  names  of 
New  Madrid,  of  Island  No.  in.  or  Iuka,  Corinth, 
Farmington,  Yicksburg.  Jackson.  Tunnel  Hill  and 
Chattanooga,  which  are  inscribed  upon  your 
battle-worn  flags  and  upon  those  fields  your  valor 
won,  afford  ample  evidence  of  the  valuable  service 
which  you  performed  there.  We  have  watched 
you  through  your  long  and  tedious  marches, 
through  your  sufferings  and  your  trials.  In  that 
memorable  battle  of  Tunnel  Hill  we  saw  you 
march   undismayed  at  the  head  of  the  army  and 


348 


DIodll.MMlV  OF    [LLINOIS. 


receive  Eor  your  valor  the  praise  of  your  command- 
ing generals  Grant  and  Sherman,  [nthename 
.if  the  people,  and  of  every  loyal  near!  in  the  state 
we  welcome  you,  Colonel  Loomis,  and  your  men  to- 
day." While  in  the  field  Colonel  Loomis  was  in 
command  of  the  brigade  to  which  his  regiment  was 
attached,  and  while  lie  was  known  as  a  fighting 
colonel,  rigid  in  discipline,  and  unyielding  in  his  de- 
mand for  honest,  faithful  service,  the  soldiers  hon- 
oredandloved  himas  a  father  and  trusted  leader. 
Colonel  Loomis  was  not  a  dashing,  fiery,  martial 
enthusiast.  He  was  cool,  tenacious  and  intrepid, 
and  imbued  Ids  men  so  largely  with  like  qualities 
that  the  regimen!  reflected  his  chief  characteris- 
tics. Then'  was  no  march  too  long,  no  fatigue 
too  great,  no  effort  too  supreme  for  the  26th  Illi- 
nois Infantry  so  long  as  Colonel  Loomis  was  at 
its  head.  On  leaving  the  army  in  1864,  Colonel 
Loomis  found  his  business  affairs  gone  entirely 
into  other  hands  and  he  was  utterly  without 
money.  He  describes  his  condition  as  that  of  a 
man  who  did  not  have  cash  enough  to  buy  a  suit 
of  clothes.  Grave  as  was  the  situation  Colonel 
Loomis  was  undaunted  and  soon  began  in  the 
lumber  business  anew  as  a  commission  merchant. 
His  trade  was  small  at  first,  but  his  efforts  soon 
secured  a  good  patronage  and  two  or  three  years 
of  close  economy  gave  him  capital  enough  to  he- 
gin  the  purchase  of  pine  lands  in  Michigan.  Colo- 
nel L  >omis  organized  the  Pere  Marquette  Lumber 
Company  and  has  directed  its  management  from 
the  day  the  corporation  began  business  up  to  the 
present  time.  It  has  been  a  very  prosperous 
company,  and  through  this  and  his  other  lum- 
ber interests  he  has  accumulated  a  large  for- 
tune, much  of  which  is  invested  in  real  estate 
in  the  business  districts  and  fine  residence  quar- 
ters of  ( 'li'n -a go.  Colonel  Loomis  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Chicago  Re 
lief  and  Aid  Society  after  the  great  fire  of  1871, 
and  with  his  usual  energy  and  vigor  entered  act- 
ively upon  the  work  of  distributing  thegreat  fund 
which  had  been  raised  to  alleviate  the  sufferings 
of  the  thousands  of  homeless  and  destitute  per- 
sons then  thrown  upon  public  charity.  He 
served  the  s  iciety  as  auditor  in  1ST:!  and  was  a 
member  of  the  auditing  committee  from  1*71  to 
1881.  For  nearly  twenty  years  Colonel  Loomis 
lias  given  freelj  of  his  time  and  means  in  be- 
half of  this  great  charity,  lie  became  an  active 
member  of  the  Citizen's  Association  of  Chi- 
cago soon  after  its  organization  in  1874.  I 'pun  the 
organization  of  the  committee  on  military  affairs, 
he    became  a   member  of  that  committee,  and 


served  as  its  chairman  from  1*70  to  IKS.'!  when  he 
resigned.  The  financial  affairs  of  the  National 
Guard  of  Illinois  were  at  that  time  in  a  deplorable 
condition,  owing  to  the  lack  of  sufficient  appro 
priations  by  the  state.  During  Colonel  Loomis' 
administration  not  less  than  $50,000  was  raised 
by  popular  subscription  under  his  direction,  and 
applied  to  the  purchase  of  arms,  clothing  and 
equipments  for  the  National  ( luard,  and  it  is  con- 
ceded by  all  that  Colonel  Loomis  was  the  life  of 
that  organization  during  the  period  of  his  chair- 
manship. In  the  words  of  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Citizen's  Association  "he  was  just  the  man 
for  the  place.  His  practical  knowledge  of  military 
affairs;  his  sound  judgment  and  executive  ability 
in  business  matters  were  fully  equalled  by  the 
force  and  energy  with  which  he  executed  his 
plans.  He  was  solicited  to  retain  the  chairman- 
ship of  this  committee,  but  the  state  of  his  health 
at  the  time  would  not  permit  it."  In  connec- 
tion with  other  members  of  the  Loomis  family 
he,  in  187S,  incorporated  the  Loomis  Insti- 
tute of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  for  the  free  edu 
cation  of  all  persons  (giving  preference  to  those 
belonging  to  the  Loomis  family  by  name  or  con- 
sanguinity i,  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and 
twenty  years  who  can  read  and  write,  and  who 
understand  the  elementaries  of  arithmetic,  gram- 
mar and  geography.  Under  the  provisions  of  an 
act  of  the  Connecticut  Legislature,  the  Loomis 
family  is  accumulating  a  fund  for  the  endowment 
of  the  Institute,  which  will  eventually  amount  to 
from  $1,500,000  to  82.000,000.  In  addition  to  the 
monetary  gifts  and  bequests  made  by  will,  and 
the  investment  of  large  funds  in  good-paying  real 
estate  for  the  benefit  of  the  Institute,  the  five 
members  of  the  family  who  are  parties  to  the 
compact,  have  devised  the  old  homestead  at  Wind 
sor  for  a  building  site.  The  trustees  are  author- 
ized p.  select  fifty  acres  of  this  estate  for  Insti- 
tute grounds,  and  provision  is  made  for  their  per- 
manent maintenance.  The  generosity  of  this 
part  of  the  noble  gift  can  be  better  under- 
stood when  it  is  known  that  this  land,  which 
is  known  as  "the  island."  is  not  only  of  large 
nemey  value,  but  possesses  great  historic  attrac- 
tion especially  to  the  Loomis  family,  in  whose 
possession  it  has  been  ever  since  it  was  first 
bought  by  Joseph  Loomis  in  1640.  Through 
;  even  generations  some  member  of  the  Loomis 
family  has  occupied  it  and  tilled  its  soil  with  am- 
ple recompense  for  his  labor.  The  present  occu- 
pant is  Hon.  Thomas  W.  Loomis,  who  is  a  first 
cousin  of  Colonel  Loomis.   None  of  the  living  male 


£     £     St-     S~J. 


~~/J  ,       ///  '  r  n  *y& 


lilOOKAl'HY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


549 


members  oE  Colonel  James  Loomis'  family  have 
children  living,  and,  wore  it  not  for  the  bequest 
to  the  Institute,  the  land  would  soon  pass  to  the 
female  branch  of  the  family  and  the  place  would 
lose  its  historic  name  and  traditions.  The  com- 
pact  between  the  m  imbers  of  the  family  to  thus 
provide  for  the  p  irp  stuity  of  the  name  was  made 
in  1874,  but  it  was  not  until  1S7S  that  the  legis- 
lature passed  the  act  legalizing  it.  Colonel 
L  lomis.  by  reason  of  his  army  experience,  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  tlie  veteran  soldier  organizations 
and  is  active  in  their  support.  He  was  one  of 
the  charter  members  of  the  L  >yal  Ei3gion,  and 
01  1  ssl  sieve  ■  I  d  ( i.oi  Til  Sheri  la  n  as  cu  :n  ma  n  ti- 
er of  the  Illinois  C  immandery.  He  is  a  member 
of  George  H.  Thomas  Post.  (1.  A.  R.,  and  holds 
the  honorary  position  of  colonel  for  life  of  the 
military  association  of  the  survivors  of  the  26th 
Illinois  Infantry  Veteran  Volunteers.  Colonel 
Loomis  has  been  a  member  of  Grace  Episcopal 
Church  since  he  first  came  to  Chicago.  He  finds 
pleasure  in  associating  with  other  bright  men. 
and  to  that  end  is  interested  in  the  Chicago,  Cal- 
umet, Union,  Washington  Park,  Tolleston  ami 
other  clubs  of  which  he  is  a.  member.  In  polities 
lie  is  a  strong  Republican,  and  while  not  what 
can  be  called  a  politician  he  is  active  in  the  selec- 
tion of  good  men  for  office  and  the  securing  of 
good  government. 


PATRICK  A.    FEEHAN. 

THE  MOST  REVEREND  PATRICK  \V 
(JUSTINE  FEEHAN.  I).  D.,  Archbishop  of 
( Ihicago,  was  born  in  Springhill,  county  Tipperary, 
Ireland,  August  29,  1829.  His  father  was  Patrick 
Feehan.  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was  Judith 
Cooney.  They  were  both  descendants  from 
ancient  and  respectable  families,  and  traced  their 
lineage  back  to  the  early  and  heroic  days  of 
Ireland.  The  English  laws  deprived  them,  as  it 
has  thousands  of  others,  of  the  right  to  own  any 
part  and  parcel  in  the  soil  of  the  country,  but  the 
family  had  for  many  generations  held,  the  same  as 
landed  proprietors,  large  tracts  which  they  culti 
vated.  They  were  of  the  class  known  as  gentlemen 
farmers,  who,  in  position  and  wealth  were  often  in 
the  lead  of  the  nobility.  Archbishop  Feehan  came 
to  Chicago  in  1330,  ami  has  been  instrumental  in 
advancing  the  Catholic  church  in  Illinois  in.. re  rap 
idly  in  the  past  twelve  years  than  it  had  advanced  in 


several  previous  decades.  The  church  in  Chicago 
at  the  time  of  bis  advent,  had  not  even  recovered 
from  tli"  losses  sustain"  1  at  the  time  of  the  great 
tire,  iiiel  he  made  it  his  task  to  rebuild  the  edifices 
that  had  been  destroyed,  and  to  adopt  measures 
best  calculated  to  increase  the  Catholic  population 
and  the  power  and  influence  of  the  church  at 
large.  A  reh bishop  Feehan's  life  has  been  devoted 
not  only  to  the  advancement  of  Catholicism,  but 
also  to  the  cause  of  universal  charity  and  to  sell' 
sacrificing  labors  in  behalf  of  his  fellow  creatines. 
Among  the  biographies  of  men  in  all  countries 
and  ages  in  which  deeds  of  heroism  have  been 
rec  nded,  where  the  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
humanity,  where  patienc  ■  ami  endurance  have 
been  in -et  led.  where  leal  til  an  1  life  itself  have  been 
freely  risked  in  the  labor  of  saving  human  life  and 
in  contributing  relief  to  human  suffering,  none 
can  be  found  deserving  a  more  emphatic  record 
than  Archbishop  Feehan.  It  seems  to  have  been 
his  lot  to  ! ;ist  in  regions  where  the  opportuni- 
ties f..r  h.r  .if  action  occurred  with  great  fre- 
qu  mcy,  and  he  has  never  flinched  from  duty;  he 
has  hardly  remembered  that  he  himself  was  but 
human,  and  that  human  endurance  has  a  limit, 
so  unmindful  has  he  been  of  self,  in  his  desire  to 
do  good  to  his  fellow  creatures.  He  has  been 
through  the  terrible  ravages  of  cholera  and  yellow 
fever  when  they  were  epidemic  in  the  S  mth,  and 
during  which  dreadful  time  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  human  beings  were  stricken  down. 
Besides  his  acts  of  charity  and  devotion,  Arch 
bishop  Feehan  has  applied  such  excellent  business 
methods  and  shown  such  marked  executive  ability 
in  all  his  undertakings,  that  church  societies  have 
grown  ami  prospered  under  his  fostering  care. 
While  a  youth  he  was  destined  for  the  priest- 
hood, and  no  man  could  have  been  better  fitted 
by  nature  to  enter  holy  orders.  His  parents  were 
in  a  position  to  give  him  a  good  education,  and  he 
received  the  most  thorough  training  that  could 
be  obtained,  under  the  best  of  teachers.  He  wa< 
sent,  when  sixteen  years  ..Id.  to  the  Heel  ssiastical 
Seminary  at  Castleknock,  and  two  years  later  to 
St.  Patrick's  College.  Maynooth.  He  was  a  natural 
student  and  gave  such  untiring  attention  to  his 
books  that  at  both  the  college  and  the  seminary 
he  distinguished  himself,  and  won  the  highest 
encomiums  from  his  masters,  while  he  called  out 
the  respect  ami  admiration  of  his  fellow  students 
by  his  amiable  characteristics.  He  was  anxious 
to  enter  as  soon  as  possible  upon  the  duties  of  the 
priesthood,  and  in  1852,  though  he  was  fully  en- 
titled to  a  place  in  the  Dunboyne  establishment, 


3^ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


he  took  upon  himself  the  holy  orders  and  was 
ordained  a  priest  on  November  1,  of  that  year. 
He  selected  the  Archdiocese  of  St.  L  mis,  Missouri, 
as  the  field  of  his  future  labors,  and  he  remained 
there  and  taught  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Seminary 
and  preached  in  the  Cathedral,  alternately  with 
Bishop  Kenrick,  and  two  young  priests  now  in  the 
Episcopate,  until  July,  1853.  He  was  then 
appointed  assistant  at  St.  John's  Church,  St  Louis, 
[t  was  about  this  time  that  the  terrible  cholera 
epidemic  broke  out  in  St.  Louis,  and  raged  with 
all  its  fierceness  for  weeks.  It  was  a  trying  time, 
and  called  forth  all  the  energy,  bravery  and 
heroism  the  citizens  of  the  stricken  city  possessed. 
While  many  Hed  for  their  lives  and  escaped, 
others-  and  I  nave  hearts  they  were  remained  to 
assist  in  caring  for  the  sick  and  dying.  There  are 
alive  to-day  many  who  passed  through  that  awful 
scourge,  and  who,  but  for  the  care,  patience  and 
self -sacrifice  of  a  devoted  band  of  good  Samaritans 
would  have  died  of  that  dread  disease.  The  young 
priest,  Father  Feehan,  was  among  the  most  ener- 
getic and  fearless  of  the  life-saving  corps.  Day 
after  day  and  night  after  night  he  continued  his 
work  of  mercy,  now  relieving  the  suffering  of 
soinc  stricken  mortal,  and  later  administering  such 
last  consolation  as  only  a  tender  hearted  priest 
can  to  the  dying.  Father  Feehan,  besides  these 
acts  often  found  it  necessary  to  prepare  for  burial, 
the  bodies  of  those  whom  friends  and  relatives 
had  in  the  panic  of  fear,  deserted.  Terrible  as 
was  the  scourge  at  St.  Louis,  and  heavy  as  was 
the  death  rate  during  those  fearful  days  of  July, 
1852,  many  lives  were  saved  and  much  suffering 
averted  by  the  kind  offices,  the  zeal,  the  Christian 
conduct  and  humanity  of  young  Father  Feehan. 
In  July,  1854,  two  years  after  the  epidemic,  he 
was  appointed  president  of  the  Educational  Semi- 
nary, a  position  which  he  filled  with  distinction 
for  tour  years,  resigning  it  only  to  accept  the 
pastorate  of  St.  Michael's  Church.  Here  he  re- 
mained but  a  year,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, and  continued  there  until  November, 
1865.  This  was  the  end  of  Father  Feehan's  min- 
istrations in  St.  Louis.  His  course  was  onward 
and  upward,  and  Ids  abilities  were  such  as  must 
receive  recognition.  If  he  felt  regret  at  leaving  a 
place  where  lie  had  labored  so  long  and  to  such 
good  purpose,  it  was  nothing  to  that   felt  by   the 

I pie  among   whom   he  had  labored   and   who 

loved  him  for  his  good  deeds  and  venerated  him 
for  his  high  Christian  character.  The  time  had 
i  ome,howi  ver,  for  further  advancement  and  he  was 


under   orders   from  Rome.     He  was  consecrate,] 
Bishop  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  at  once  removed 
to  his  new  home.     Fathers  Riordan  and  Walsh  of 
St.  Louis,  both  accompanied  the  newly   created 
bishop  to  the  new  field  of   labor,  and  with  sorrow 
it  is  written,  both  fell  victims  to  the  yellow  fever 
scourge  at  Memphis  in  1S7S,  where   they  went  to 
minister  to  the  suffering  and  the   dying.     Bishop 
Feehan  found  a  great  field  for  his  energie3and  am- 
bition in  the  advancement  of  the  church   in  Nash 
ville.  He  found  on  looking  into  the   condition   of 
affairsin  his  diocese,  that  the  Catholic  community 
was  small  in  numbers.  The  institutions  consisted 
of  a  convent  of  sisters  in  Memphis,  an  academy  and 
an  orphan  asylum  conducted  by  the  sisters  of  the 
same  order,  near  Nashville,  and   the  ministers  in 
all  the  diocese  consisted  of  a  few  Dominican  fathers. 
The  academy  had  been   permitted   to   run   down 
and   was   so   heavily    in    debt   that   shortly  after 
Bishop  Feehan's  arrival  it   was   sold   at    auction. 
This   was  bought   in  by  him  for  the  sisters,  thus 
securing  their  lasting  gratitude  and  preventing  a 
great  loss  to  the  Catholic  community.     By  his  un- 
tiring efforts  and  constant   attention   to  duly,  he 
brought   the   people   to   the   sacraments;    he   in- 
structed and  prepared  the  children  for  first  com- 
munion and   confirmation,   and   by   his   business 
talent  won  the  confidence  of  public  men.     He  was 
most  assiduous  in  preaching  and  instructing  the 
people,  and  many  new  Catholics  were  received  in- 
to the  church,  some   of   whom   were   among   the 
old   settlers   and   wealthy  citizens.     By   his   zeal. 
his  energy  and  untiring  devotion  to  duty,  Bishop 
Feehan    succeeded    in     the    short   space  of   six 
months  in  bringing  order  out  of  chaos  and  in  or- 
ganizing  a   perfect  system  throughout  his  entire 
diocese.     Prosperity  was  evident  on   every   hand, 
and  the  people,  individually  and  as  a  community, 
began  to  show  the  good   results  of  the  Bishop's 
zeal.     But   a   calamity   was   at  hand,  and  Bishop 
Feehan  was  destined  to  again  go  through  the  ter- 
rible ordeal  of   a  fearful   epidemic.     In    August, 
18GC,    the   cholera    made   its  appearance  in  Nash- 
ville, raging  there  for  weeks,  creating  dire  havoc 
and  distress.    Homes  and  business  were  deserted 
and  a  general  panic  prevailed.  As  a  bishop,  as  well 
as  when  a  modest  priest,  this  man  whose  heroism 
had   no   bounds,   whose   duty  was  his  only  guide, 
no  matter  into  what  dangers  it  led,  and  what  de- 
gree of  patience  and  endurance  it  entailed,  again 
threw  himself  into   the   vortex   of   suffering  and 
death,  lending  aid  where  he  could,  relieving  suffer- 
ing where  opportunity  offered  and  administering 
consolation  to  the  dying.     He  labored  unceasingly 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


0  3 


as  he  had  previously  done  at  St.  Louis,  and  was 
rewarded  by  the  knowledge  that  he  had  done  his 
duty.  At  the  close  of  the  epidemic  he  did  not 
seek  for  rest,  but  at  once  applied  himself  to  the 
labor  of  re-establishing  order  and  peace  in  the 
diocese  so  upset  by  the  fearful  scourge.  He  pur- 
chased a  home  on  one  of  the  finest  sites  in  Nash- 
ville and  established  a  community  of  the  Sisters 
of  Mercy  from  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  The 
sun  of  prosperity  was  again  shining  brightly  over 
the  field  where  Bishop  Feehan  was  laboring  so 
faithfully,  when  again  in  1877  the  yellow  fever 
scourge  broke  out  in  Memphis,  and  followed  up 
its  death-dealing  work  in  1878.  During  these 
years  the  scenes  of  distress  were  terrible  and  the 
suffering  was  something  awful  to  contemplate. 
Twenty-three  priests,  who  with  love  and  charity 
in  their  hearts,  wenl  there  to  aid  in  the  allevia- 
tion of  suffering,  fell  victims  to  the  scourge,  and 
now  till  the  graves  of  martyrs.  The  work  of  re- 
cuperation was  once  more  entered  into  by  Bishop 
Feehan  with  the  same  vim  and  energy  that  had 
characterized  every  act  of  his  life,  and  again  the 
diocese  was  enjoying  health  and  prosperity.  At 
this  time  the  news  came  from  Rome  that  he  had 
been  appointed  first  archbishop  ot Chicago.  The 
deatli  of  the  Right  Rsverend  Thomas  Foley,  D.D. 
Administrator  of  Chicago,  had  created  a  vacancy 
in  the  hierarchy  difficult  to  fill,  but  Bishop  Fee- 
han was  the  choice  made,  and  on  September  Id. 
L8S0,  tlie  appointment  was  given  to  the  world.  It 
was  the  occasion  of  great  regret  on  the  part  of 
both  the  bishop  and  the  people  of  Nashville.  The 
ties  which  bound  him  there  were  very  strong  and 
his  enforced  going  created  a  void  in  that  diocese 
which  saddened  all  hearts.  But  the  mandate 
from  Rime  had  been  issued  and  Archbishop  Fee- 
han again  began  his  residence  among  strangers. 
They  were  not  strangers  long,  however.  His  rep- 
utation had  preceded  him  and  the  people  among 
whom  he  was  sent  were  prepared  to  welcome  him 
and  to  honor  him.  His  arrival  in  Chicago  was 
the  i  cca  ton  ■■(  a  great  demonstration.  He  found 
that  his  new  charge  comprised  eighteen  counties 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  The 
needs  of  the  Catholics  in  this  arch-dk'cese  were 
zealously  looked  after  by  one  hundred  and  eighty 
priests,  who  had  in  charge  one  hundred  and  sixty 
churches.  Affairs  were  generally  in  a  fairly  pros- 
perous condition.  His  predecessors  had  done 
mosl  i  scellent  work  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
times,  but  Chicago  had  not  yet  recovered  from 
the  great  tire,  which  had  destroyed  nearly  all  the 
Catholic-  churches  and  educational  structures  of 


importance  in  the  city.  The  rapid  growth  in  pop- 
ulation made  it  almost  an  impossibility  to  keep 
pace  in  the  way  of  church  edifices:  they  could 
hardly  be  erected  fast  enough.  Here  again  Arch- 
bishop  Feehan  began  the  display  of  that»energy 
and  business  ability  that  had  proved  so  valuable 
to  the  charges  previously  laid  under  his  care.  Under 
his  administration  there  have  been  built  in  the 
areh-dioeese  of  Chicago,  a  large  number  of  church 
edifices  and  parochial  schools.  Old  ones  have 
been  enlarged  and  improved  so  that  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  Catholic  children  are  now- be- 
ing educated  in  these  structures  The  same  busi- 
ness instincts  which  have  made  it  possible  for 
Archbishop  Feehan  to  build  churches,  schools, 
asylums  and  institutions  of  charity  and  learning, 
have  led  him  to  look,  with  assiduous  care,  after 
the  financial  interests  of  his  arch-diocese,  and  it  is 
to-daj  one  of  the  richest  and  most  prosperous  in 
tlie  United  States.  There  have  been  erected  and 
are  now  in  a  prosperous  condition,  homes  for  the 
ispitals  for  the  sick.  Houses  of  Providence 
for  young  worn  in,  orphan  asylums,  and  foundling 
asylums,  all  of  which  attest  to  the  far  seeing  care 
of  Archbishop  Feehan  to  meet  the  man} 
a  large  center  of  population.  He  has  so  encour- 
aged a  school  for  deaf  mutes  that  it  is  now  in  ex- 
cellent condition,  and  is  accomplishing  a  great 
work  in  helping  this  almost  helpless  portion  of 
the  human  family  to  earn  their  own  living.  He 
lias  given  wise  direction  in  the  establishing  of 
the  Chicago  Industrial  School  for  girls:  he  has 
made  munificent  donations  to  St.  Mary's  Training 
School  for  boys  at  Feehanville,  a  town  about  fif- 
teen miles  from  Chicago,  named  after  Archbishop 
Feehan.  He  has  now  the  whole  state  of  Illinois 
under  his  charge,  with  a  Catholic  population  of 
nearly  a  million  people.  There  is  hardly  a  section 
of  the  City  of  Chicago  or  the  arch-diocese  that 
has  not  felt  his  zeal  for  religious  charity  and 
Christian  education,  while  St.  Patrick's  Academy, 
the  pastorate  of  the  Holy  Name  Cathedral  and 
his  own  archi-episcopal  residence  will  always 
stand  as  monuments  to  his  munificence  and  desire 
to  have  the  ardent  faith  of  his  devoted  and  liberal 
people  appear  even  in  material  structures.  The 
latter  stands  not  only  superior  to  any  other  eccle 
siastical  residence  in  Chicago,  but  has  few  equals, 
if  any  at  all.  on  the  continent.  Archbishop  Fee- 
han is  a  giant  in  works  as  he  is  in  stature.  He  is 
a  fluent  orator,  ami  as  a  legislator  he  has  been 
prudent   and   conservative.     He   participated    in 

the  pr clings  of  the  Second  Plenary  Council  of 

Baltimore  in  1860;  he  took  an   active  part   in   the 


35- 


IJKHiltAPHY  Ol'1   ILLINOIS. 


general  council  of  the  Vatican;  he  was  one  of 
those  summoned  to  Rome  to  formulate  the  Sche- 
mata of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore, 
which  took  place  in  L884,  and  he  is  deserving  of 
great  c^dit  for  the  pari  taken  in  the  deliberations 
of  thai  body.  A  writer  in  speaking  of  the  ad- 
vancement made  by  the  Catholic  Church  in  Chi- 
cago said:  "  The  material  prosperity  and  progress 
of  the  great  West  finds  an  example  in  Chicago, 
and  in -no  other  diocese  perhaps  can  the  church 
show  such  a  proportional  increase  with  the  secu- 
lar advance  in  population  ami  in  wealth.  A  half 
century  ago  Chicago  had  but  one  priest,  one 
church,  and  about  three  hundred  Catholics.  To- 
day it  has  a  Catholic  population  of  over  four 
hundred  thousand,  ministered  to  by  over  three 
hundred  priests;  and  churches,  colleges,  schools 
and  religious  institutions  abound  in  every  section 
of  the  arch-diocese  whose  suffragan  sees  are  mul- 
tiplying almost  as  fast  as  the  churches  did  fifty 
years  ago." 


NATHAN    S.  DAVIS. 

NATHAN  SMITH  DAVIS,  M.  D.,  LL.D.,  was 
bom  on  the 9th  of  January,  1817.  Hisparents,  Dow 
and  Eleanor  Smith  Davis,  were  among  the  pioneer 
settlers  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Greene  town- 
ship, Chenango  county.  New  York,  and  Nathan 
was  the  youngest  of  seven  children  born  in  the 
primitive  log  house  built  in  the  forest.  His  mother 
died  in  1824,  but  his  father  lived  to  the  ripe  old 
age  of  ninety  years.  From  his  childhood  Nathan 
was  of  spare  habit  and  active,  nervous  tempera- 
ment. His  education  was  acquired  in  the  com- 
mon school  of  the  district  during  the  winter 
mouths,  and  in  summer  he  worked  diligently  on 
his  father's  farm  until  he  was  about  sixteen  years 
of  age.  This  outdoor  life  and  manual  labor  assisted 
much  in  the  development  of  a  healthy  physical 
organization.  His  unusual  aptitude  for  learning 
and  inherent  love  of  study  determined  his  father 
tu  procure  for  him  the  best  education  his  means 
would  afford,  and  with  this  view  he  was  sent  in 
his  sixteenth  year  to  Cazenovia  seminary,  New 
York,  where  he  studied  chemistry,  natural  phil- 
osophy, and  the  classics.  In  April,  1834,  he  com- 
menced the  studj  i if  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr. 
Daniel  Clark,  of  Smithville  Plats,  Chenango 
county.  New  York,  ami  in  October  Eollowing 
matriculated  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  of  the  Western  District  of  New  York, 


located  in  Fairfield,  Herkimer  county.  On  his 
return  from  college  he  entered  the  office  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Jackson  at  Binghamton,  where  he  re- 
mained until  he  had  completed  the  required  three 
years  of  study,  spending  four  months  of  each  year 
in  the  medical  college.  He  graduated  with  honor 
from  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at 
Fairfield  on  the  31st  of  January,  1837.  Shortly 
before  the  close  of  his  third  college  term  he  was 
recommended  by  the  faculty  as  assistant  to  Dr. 
Chatfield,  of  Vienna,  Oneida  county,  who  was  in 
failing  health,  and  commenced  practice  there  in 
February,  1837.  In  July  of  the  same  year  he  re- 
moved to  Binghamton  and  opened  an  office.  Here 
he  soon  won  the  confidence  of  his  professional 
brethren  and  the  esteem  of  the  community.  On 
the  5th  of  March,  1838,  he  married  Anna  Maria, 
daughter  of  Hon.  John  Parker,  of  Vienna,  to  whom 
he  had  become  attached  during  his  brief  residence 
in  that  town  the  previous  year.  During  his  resi- 
dence in  Binghamton,  while  engrossed  in  a  labori- 
ous practice,  he  sedulously  pursued  his  scientific 
inquiries.  Among  the  sciences  that  early  engaged 
his  special  attention  were  practical  chemistry, 
medical  botany,  geology,  and  political  economy. 
In  studying  the  last  named  science  he  embraced 
th«'  most  liberal  views  of  free  trade.  He  sought 
to  perfect  himself  in  surgical  anatomy  and  at  the 
same  time  instruct  the  resident  medical  students 
by  dissecting  one  or  two  subjects  each  winter,  and 
at  the  same  time  by  special  request  gave  lectures 
in  the  Binghamton  academy  and  some  of  the 
larger  district  schools  on  topics  connected  with 
chemistry,  botany,  and  physiology.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Lyceum  debating  society 
of  Binghamton,  and  the  frequent  intellectual  con- 
tests it  afforded  overcame  his  natural  diffidence 
so  effectually  that  his  professional  contemporaries 
only  knew  him  as  a  ready  and  forcible  speaker. 
Soon  after  he  went  to  Binghamton  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Broome  County  Medical  Society. 
in  which  he  took  an  active  part,  holding  the  office 
of  secretary  during  the  years  1841.  1842,  and  1843, 
and  that  of  librarian  from  the  last  named  year 
until  1S47,  when  he  removed  from  the  county. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  censors 
several  years.  In  1843  he  was  appointed  as  a  dele 
gate  to  represent  the  county  society  in  the  New- 
York  State  Medical  Society,  and  faithfully  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  that  office  for  the  succeeding 
three  years.  He  was  already  favorably  known-  to 
the  members  of  the  state  society  by  his  contribu- 
tions. In  1840,  only  three  years  after  his  gradua- 
tion, he  was  awarded  the  prize  offered  by  the  state 


9, 


Li,'.. 
OF  THE 

umvEBsmr  of  Illinois. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLIXi  US. 


353 


society  for  the  best  essay  "ii  "the  diseases  of  the 
spina]  column,  their  causes,  diagnosis,  history, 
and  mode  of  treal  ment."  In  1841  he  received  the 
prize  offered  for  the  besl  "analysis  of  the  discoi 
eries  concerning  the  physiology  of  the  nervous 
system,  from  the  publications  of  Sir  Charles  Bell 
to  the  present  time;"  and  in  1842  he  contributed 
to  the  transactions  of  the  society  a  Bupplementarj 
paper  entitled  "A  Brief  Review  of  Dr.  Marshall 
Hall's  Views  on  the  Excito-Motary  System  of 
Nerves,"  for  which  he  received  the  thanks  of  the 
society.  In  taking  his  seat  in  the  annual  meeting 
at  Albanj  for  the  first  time  in  February,  1844,  he 
offered  a  series  of  resolutions  proposing  a  higher 
standard  of  medical  education  by  lengthening  the 
annual  course  of  instruction  in  medical  colleges, 
grading  the  branches  of  study,  transfer) 
power  of  licensing  practitioners  from  the  colleges 
to  an  independent  board  of  examiners,  ami  requir- 
ing a  laii-  standard  of  general  education  in  students 
before  entering  upon  the  study  of  medicine. 
-olutions  led  to  an  interesting  discussion, 
which  was  resumed  at  the  next  annual  meeting 
in  1st",,  at  the  closi  of  which  a  resolution  offered 
by  Dr.  Davis  was  adopted  bj  the  soci  t; 
mending  that  a  national  convention  representing 
all  the  medical  societies  and  colleges  in  the  coun- 
try be  held  in  New  York  city  in  May,  1846,  to 
adopt  a  concerted  plan  of  action  for  the 
of  the  standard  of  medical  education  in  the  United 
States.  A  successful  convention  was  held  at  the 
time  and  place  designated,  resulting  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  American  Medical  Association.  When 
the  time  for  winch  he  had  been  elected  a  delegate 
to  the  New  Fork  State  Medical  Society  expired  in 
184U.  he  became  a  permanent  member;  and  in  1866 
was  elected  an  honorary  member.  He  was  pres- 
ent at  the  organization  of  tic  American  Medical 
Association,  and  has  only  been  absent  from  four 
of  its  annual  meeting*  during  the  forty-five  years 
that  have  since  passed  away.  In  the  summer  of 
1847  he  removed  with  his  family  to  New  York  city 

and  entered  upon  general  practice.  In  the  follow- 
ing  autumn  and  winter,  at  the  solicitation  of  the 
demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  New  fork,  he  took  charge 
of  the  dissecting  rooms  and  gave  the  instruction 
in  practical  anatomy,  and  by  invitation  of  the  fac- 
ulty he  gave  the  spring  course  on  medical  .juris- 
prudence. Almost  from  the  first  year  of  his 
graduation  he  had  been  a  frequent  contributor  to 
the  leading  medical  journals,  and  in  1848   lie   took 

editorial  charge  of  the  Annalist,  a  semi-monthly 

medical   journal   then  commencing  its  third  vol- 


ume, and  continued  his  editorial  work  with  ability 
until  he  removed  from  that  city  in  August,  1849. 
He  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  physiology  and  gen- 
eral pathology  in  Rush  Medical  College,  Chicago, 
in  July.  1849,  and  accepted  the  position.  He  ar- 
rived in  the  city  which  was  henceforth  to  be  his 
home  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  and  gave 
the  introductory  lecture  at  the  opening  of  the 
college  course  in  the  first  week  of  October.  From 
that  time  until  the  present  he  has  been  actively 
identified  not  only  with  medical  teaching,  but 
with  almost  every  important  educational,  scien- 
tific, and  sanitary  interest  in  Chicago.  At  the 
time  of  his  arrival  the  population  of  the  city  was 
little  more  than  23,000, located  on  a  lowandnearly 
level  prairie,  with  a  substratum  of  tenacious  blue 
clay,  for  the  most  part  obtaining  water  from  shal- 
low wells,  and  no  sewerage.  They  had  suffered 
severely  from  the  epidemic  of  cholera  during  the 
preceding  summer,  and  the  same  disease  recurred 

aree  succeeding  summers.  T.i  arouse  pub- 
lic sentiment  in  favor  of  better  sanitation,  he 
delivered  a  course  of  six  public  lectures  during 
the  summer  of  1850  in  the  old  State  street  market. 
In  these  he  pointed  out  the  necessity  of  a  more 
abundant  supply  of  purer  water  from  Lake  Michi- 
gan and  a  general  system  of  sewerage,  and  demon- 
strated by  detailed  illustrations  tic  feasibility  of 
both.  The  lectures  were  well  attended,  and  the 
money  received  from  a  small  admission  fee  was 
expended  for  twelve  beds,  constituting  the  begin- 
ning of  what  is  now  known  as  the  Mercy  Hospital, 
the  oldest  and  one  of  the  most  important  hospitals 
in  the    city,    accommodating    350    patients    and 

j  the  most  liberal  facilities  for  clinical 
instruction.  Dr.  Davis  is  still  one  of  the  attend- 
ing physicians,  and  has  been  for  forty  years.  At 
the  close  of  his  first  course  of  instruction  in 
the  chair  of  physiology  and  pathology  he  was 
transferred  to  the  chair  of  principles  and 
practice  of  medicine  in  Bush  College,  and  of  clin- 
ical medicine  in  the  hospital  opened  the  following 
summer,  which  positions  he  held  until  1859.  Dr. 
Davis  still  continued  to  advocate  a  high  standard 
of  medical  education,  while  Bush  College  adhered 
to  the  requirement  of  only  two  annual  courses  of 
four  months  each  for  graduation.  A  new  college 
was  organized  in  thespringof  1859,  which  is  now 
known  as  the  Chicago  Medical  College  and  med- 
ical department  of  the  Northwestern  University, 
on  the  plan  of  three  annual  courses  of  six  months 
each,  with  a  moderate  standard  of  preliminary 
education  and  attendance  on  regular  hospital 
clinical  instruction:  and  Dr.  Davis  without  hesita- 


554 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    ILLINOIS. 


lii. n  sacrificed  the  popular  position  he  held  in 
Rush  College  to  accept  a  corresponding  position 
in  the  new  institution,  which  now  ranks  with  the 
best  of  its  kind  inthe  country.  Finding  on  his 
arrival  in  Chicago  no  medical  society  and  no  state 
medical  organization,  he  began  to  discuss  the  ad- 
vantages derived  from  closer  professional  inter- 
course, and  before  the  close  of  1850  he  had  assisted 
in  organizing  the  Illinois  Stat''  Medical  Society 
and  the  Chicago  Medical  Society,in  both  of  which 
he  has  remained  an  active  member  until  the  pres- 
ent time.  He  was  elected  president  of  the  state 
society  in  1855,  and  served  as  secretary  of  the  same 
societj  for  twelve  consecutive yearB.  His  contribu- 
tions to  the  transactions  of  both  societies  have 
been  very  numerous.  He  began  writing  for  the  Chi- 
cago Medical  Journal  soon  after  his  arrival,  and 
in  1855  became  its  editor.  In  1859  he  transferred 
the  journal  to  Dr.  Brainerd,  president  of  Rush 
Medical  College,  who  claimed  that  it  had  been 
established  as  an   organ   of   that    faculty;  and  in 

January,  1860,  started  a  new  magazi lalled    tie' 

Chicago  Medical  Examiner,  which  he  continued 
as  an  independent  journal  until  1873,  when  both 
publications  were  merged  together  under  the 
title  of  the  Chicago  Medical  Journal  and  Ex- 
aminer. He  has  twice  been  honored  with  elec- 
tion to  the  presidency  of  the  national  society,  the 
American  Medical  Association,  and  has  steadily 
kept  in  view  the  elevation  of  the  standard  of 
medical  education,  bringing  over  the  faculties  of 
most  of  the  colleges  and  the  profession  at  large  to 
his  views.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  associa- 
tion in  1883,  it  was  decided  to  publish  its  transac- 
tions in  the  form  of  a  weekly  journal  instead  of 
an  annual  volume,  and  he  was  chosen  editor  of  the 
new  publication,  which  is  known  as  the  Journal 
of  the  American  Medical  Association.  He  con- 
tinued its  editorial  management  with  the  same 
ability  and  good  judgment  which  had  character- 
ized all  his  previous  work  until  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary. 1889.  In  1884,  the  eighth  International  Med- 
ical Congress,  then  in  session  in  Copenhagen, 
agreed  to  hold  the  ninth  meeting  in  1SST  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.  During  1885  an  executive  com 
mittee  was  organized  to  make  arrangements  for 
the  meeting,  of  which  Dr.  Davis  was  secretary. 
While  actively  conducting  the  correspondence  of 
this  office,  in  addition  to  his  editorial  and  profes- 
sional work,  he  awoke  one  morning  in  January. 
1886,  with  complete  hemiplegia  of  the  right  half 
of  lie  bod)  "iel  extremities.  The  paralysis,  how- 
ever, proved  temporary,  and  after  a  rest  of  three 
or  four  weeks  lie  was  able  to    resume    his    duties. 


In  August,  1S\?.  the  ninth  International  Medical 
Congress  was  held  in  Washington,  and  in  point  of 
attendance  and  amount  of  practical  work  done 
was  fully  equal  to  any  of  its  predecessors.  Dr. 
Davis  presided  over  its  deliberations,  and  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  his  high  office  with  an 
ability  and  urbanity  highly  satisfactory  to  all 
concerned.  In  addition  to  his  literary  and  educa- 
tional work,  Dr.  Davis  has  during  his  long  life 
been  unremitting  in  his  devotion  to  the  sick  under 
his  care.     From  six    in    the  morning  till  noon  his 

office  has  1 n    tilled    with    patients;  visiting  and 

lecturing  at  the  college  or  hospital  took  up  the 
rest  of  the  day.  and  his  labors  generally  occupied 
him  until  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  He 
has  always  been  remarkably  punctual  in  his  en 
gagements  with  his  patients  and  in  consultation 
with  his  professional  brethren.  He  lias  taken  an 
active  part  in  many  important  educational  and 
moral  enterprises.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Northwestern  University,  the  Chicago  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences,  the  Chicago  Historical  Society, 
the  Illinois  State  Microscopical  Society,  the  Union 
College  of  Law — in  which  he  is  a  professorof  tned 
ical  jurisprudence — the  Washingtonian  Home  for 
Inebriates,  and  one  of  his  earliest  organizations 
was  for  a  systematic  relief  of  the  destitute.  Ho 
has  never  used  alcoholic  drinks  nor  tobacco. 
Since  his  sixteenth  year  he  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  church,  and  has  given  encourage- 
ment and  help  t"  religious  institutions.  His  pub- 
lic and  private  charities  have  been  large  and  con- 
tinuous. With  a  practice  larger  than  that  of  any 
other  western  physician,  he  never  refuses  the  call 
of  the  sick  poor.  The  Chicago  tire  of  1S71  con- 
sumed nearly  all  the  accumulations  of  his  profes- 
sional life,  but  with  unwearying  energy  and 
patience  he  commenced  anew  .  and  soon  was  able 
to  re-establish  his  household  in  affluence  and 
comfort.  In  his  declining  years.  Chicago  has  no 
more  honored  citizen.  To  make  even  a  selection 
from  the  list  of  his  published  writings  would  ex- 
ceed our  available  space, bul  tin'  most  important 
are  a  text-book  on  agricultural  chemistry,  used  in 
district  and  public  schools,  for  which  a  prize  was 
awarded  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society  "I'  New 
York  in  IStS;  a  "History  of  Medical  Education 
and  Institutions  in  the  United  States."  from  the 
first  settlement  of  the  British  provinces  to  the 
year  1850;  a  lecture  on  the  effects  of  alcoholic 
drinks  on  the  human  system,  and  the  duties  of 
medical  men  in  relation  thereto;  and  clinical  lei' 
tures  on  various  important  diseases,  published  in 
187o. 


UBR**Y 

umwT7ofVmo\s. 


S^n^*j 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


355 


SAMUEL    J.   JONES. 

SAMUEL  J.  JONES,  M.  D.,  L.L.  D.,  an  emi 
nent  physician  of  Chicago,  professor  of  ophthal- 
mology and  otology  in  the  College  of  Medicine  of 
Northwestern  University  (Chicago  Medical  Col- 
lege), was  born  at  Bainbridge,  Pennsylvania. 
March  22,1836.  His  father,  the  late  Dr." Robert 
H.  Jones,  a  native  of  Donegal,  Ireland,  was  grad- 
uated from  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  in  1830,  and  practiced  his 
ii  m  in  the  Keystone  State  up  to  the  date  of 
his  death  in  1863.  His  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Sarah  M.  Eke],  is  a  daughter  of  .John 
Ekel,  of  Swiss  descent,  who  was   an  old  and  re- 

s| ted  citizen  of  Lebanon.  Pennsylvania.     In  his 

boyhood  the  subject  of  this  sketch  enjoyed  ex- 
ceptional educational  advantages.  He  early  de- 
veloped a  taste  tor  study  and  in  his  seventeenth 
year  entered  Dickinson  College,  at  Carlisle.  Penn- 
sylvania. In  1S.T7  he  was  graduated  from  that  in- 
stitution with  the  degree  of  Batchelor  of  Arts. 
During  his  course  in  college  he  began  the  study 
of  medicine,  and  upon  finishing  the  classical 
course, prosecuted  his  professional  studies  under 
the  preceptorship  of  his  father.  In  1858  he  en 
tend  the  medical  department  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  Here  he  completed  the  curri- 
culum and  in  1860  received  the  degn f   Doctor 

of  Medicine.  His  alma  mala-  conferred  upon 
him,  t lie  same  year,  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
A  career  in  the  navy  seemed  to  him  at  that  time 
to  present  many  attractions,  and  after  submitting 
to  a  competitive  examination  he  secured  an  ap- 
pointment therein  as  an  assistant  surgeon,  and  re- 
ceived his  commission  only  a  Eew  months  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  In  April,  1861,he  was  or 
dered  to  duty  on  the  United  States  steam  fi  igate, 
Minnesota,  which,  with  a  crew  composed  of  eight 
hundred  officers  and  men.  sailed  from  Boston  on 
May  S.  L861,  under  sealed  orders,  as  the  flag-ship  of 
the  Atlantic  blockading  squadron.  From  tin-  tine 
of  her  departure  until  the  return  to  the  same  pori 
in  February,  1S63,  for  repairs,  the  fires  on  the 
•■  Minnesota  "  were  not  allowed  to  go  down,  as  the 
vessel  was  in  active  service  during  this  entire 
period.  Assistant  Surgeon  Jones  participated  in 
the  naval  battle  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of 
the  Confederate  forts  at  I  la  tt  eras  Inlet,  in  August, 
1861,  which  put  a  stop  to  the  troublesome  block- 
ade-running at  that  point  on  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina.  At  the  opening  of  that  engagement, 
whilst  an  effort  was  being  made  to  land  the  com- 
bined   military    and    naval     forces    on    Hatteras 


Island,  on  which  forts  Hatteras  and  Henry  were 
located,  and  when  but  a  small  contingent  had  ef- 
fected a  lauding,  a  storm  arose  and  the  fleet  was 
compelled  to  put  to  sea.  leaving  about  three  hun- 
dred men  on  shore,  entirely  unprotected  because 
of  the  loss  of  arms  and  ammunition  in  their  peril 
ous  landing.  Fortunately  for  them  night  was  ap- 
proaching,  and  the  Confederates,  wdio  numbered 
fifteen  hundred,  supposing  that  the  whole  force 
from  the  vessels  had  been  landed,  retired  within 
their  forts  and  made  preparations  for  defense 
in  the  anticipated  attack.  Nor  did  they  dis- 
cover their  mistake  until  the  following  mora- 
ine;, when,  after  a  night  of  anxious  solicitude 
on  board  ship  for  the  comrades  and  shipmates  left 
on  shore,  the  fleet  had  returned  from  sea  and  the 
engagement  was  renewed  and  continued  until  the 
surrender.  Among  those  set  ashore  before 
the  storm  was  Assistant  Surgeon  Jones,  who  still 
retains  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  landing  on  that 
stormy  coast  and  of  that  night's  experience  of  the 
handful  of  men.  left  on  the  sandy  beach  without 
food,  arms  or  ammunition,  in  sight  of  the  enemy, 
and  in  momentary  expectation  of  capture.  It 
may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection  that  the 
Confederates,  recognizing  that  their  defeat  had 
been  compassed  by  the  naval  rather  than  the 
land  forces,  declined  to  surrender  to  the  general 
commanding  the  latter  who  was  the  ranking  of- 
ficer— until  he  had  been  specially  delegated  by  the 
the  flag  officer  of  the  fleet  to  receive  the  surrender 
in  the  name  of  the  navy.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note 
that  this  was  the  first  naval  battle  in  history  in 
which  steamships  were  used  ami  kept  in  motion 
while  in  action.  A  few  weeks  previous  to  the 
deadly  conflict  with  the  Confederate  ram  "Merri- 
mac"  in  Hamilton  Roads.  March  s.  1862,  in  which 
the  " Minnesota "  participated,  and  in  which  the 
United  States  vessels  "Cumberland"  and  "Con- 
gress" fell  victims  to  the  rebel  iron-clad,  Assist- 
ant Surgeon  Join's  was  detached  temporarily,  and 
ordered  to  accompany  the  Burnside  and  Golds- 
borough  expedition  against  Roanoke  Island,  as  tile 
medical  officer  of  the  staff  of  Plag-Officer  Golds- 
borough,  and  participated  in  the  capture  of  that 
island  stronghold.  After  the  battle,  and  on  the 
return  of  Flag-Officer  Goldsborough  to  the  ■•Min- 
nesota." he  was  assigned  to  duty  on  the  staff  of 
Commander  Rowan  in  the  expedition  which  re- 
sulted in  the  capture  of  the  formidable  approaches 
to  Newbern,  and  subsequently  in  the  taking  of 
Washington  and  other  important  points  on  the 
inner  waters  <  if  Ni  nth  Carolina.  The  W(  irk  of  these 
expeditions   having    been    accomplished    he    re- 


356 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


Burned  his  duties  on  the  "  Minnesota,"  and  during 
that  time  went  with  a  special  expedition  under 
command  of  the  intrepid  Lieutenant  Cushing 
.if  "Albemarle"  fame,  and  Lieutenant  Lamson,  a 
no  less  daring  officer,  in  their  operations  on  the 
Nansemond  river,  which  were  designed  to  relieve 
the  Union  forces  under  General  Peek,  then 
hemmed  in  by  Longstreet's  command,  at  Suffolk, 
Virginia,  This  latter  service,  performed  with  an 
extemporized  flotilla,  was  about  as  perilous  as 
any  in  which  the  naval  forces  took  part  during 
the  war,  and  for  which  the  officers  engaged  in  it 
received  special  commendation  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy.  In  the  spring  of  1863  Assistant 
Surgeon  Jones  was  assigned  to  duty  at  Philadel- 
phia, and  there  passed  his  second  examination 
for  promotion,  and  some  months  later  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  grade  of  surgeon.  Subsequently 
he  was  transferred  to  the  naval  rendezvous  at 
Chicago,  and  was  detailed  as  examiner  of  those 
wishing  to  enter  the  medical  corps  for  duly  in  con- 
nection with  the  Mississippi  river  squadron.  He 
was  also  charged  with  the  physical  examination 
of  a  large  number  of  Confederate  prisoners  of  war 
confined  at  Gamp  Douglas.  Chicago,  at  Etocls 
Island  and  Alton.  Illinois,  and  at  Columbus, Ohio, 
who,  having  made  representation  to  the  United 
States  authorities  that  they  were  forced  into  the 
rebel  ranks  but  preferred  to  light  for  the  Union  and 
not  against  it,  were  permitted  to  enter  the  Federal 
service.  Some  three  thousand  of  these  men  were 
passed  upon  favorably  by  Surgeon  Jones,  who  vis 
ited  the  several  military  prisons  named  for  this 
purpose,  and  were  duly  enlisted  in  the  navy, 
and  shipped  aboard  vessels  sailing  for  for- 
eign ports,  thereby  releasing  a  corresponding 
number  of  tried  and  experienced  men  from  duty 
at  those  ports,  and  allowing  them  to  be  brought 
back  for  active  service  in  suppressing  the  Rebel 
lion.  In  the  summer  of  1861  Surgeon  Jones  was 
ordered  to  report  to  Admiral  Farragut.  then  com- 
manding the  W.st  (bdf  blockading  squadron, 
and  was  assigned  temporarily  to  the  sloop  of  war 
••Portsmouth."  Later  he  was  detached  and  as- 
signed to  duty  as  surgeon  of  the  New  Orleans 
Naval  Hospital  and  purveyor  of  medical  supplies 
for  the  squadron.  While  on  this  duty  he  was 
brought  into  direct  contact  with  yellow  fever,  as 
a  number  of  sufferers  from  that  disease  were 
treated  by  him  and  his  assistants  at  the  hospital 
during  the  closing  months  of  1864.  In  tie'  study 
of  this  disease  made  at  that  time  by  the  United 
States  military  and  naval  medical  men.  Surgeon 
Jones  took  an  active  part,  and  shares  the  credit 


for  the  investigations  made  and  suggestions  put 
forth,  which  not  only  then  but  ever  since  have 
been  productive  of  beneficial  results  in  prevent 
ing  the  development  and  checking  the  spread  of 
this  dreadful  Southern  scourge.  The  war  hav- 
ing ended,  the  naval  hospital  at  New  Orleans 
was  closed  in  the  fall  of  1865,  and  Surgeon  Jones 
was  ordered  to  duty  at  the  navy  yard  and  naval 
hospital  at  Pensaeola,  Florida,  where  he  remained 
until  1866,  when  he  was  again  assigned  to  duty  at 
Chicago.  Subsequently  the  marine  rendezvous 
at  that  port,  to  which  h«'  was  attached,  was  closed. 
After  awaiting  orders  for  a  time  he  was  assigned 
to  duty  as  surgeon  of  the  United  States  frigate 
"Sabine" — a  practice  ship  for  naval  apprentices, 
then  cruising  on  the  Atlantic  coast — on  which  he 
remained  for  some  months.  On  March  1,  1868, 
after  nearly  eight  years  of  active  service  in  time  of 
war.  and  during  much  of  the  time  hazardous  in 
character,  he  resigned  from  the  navy  to  engage  in 
private  practice.  Returning  to  his  native  state, 
he  spent  some  little  time  in  Philadelphia,  and 
soon  thereafter  was  accredited  a  delegate  from 
tie-  American  .Medical  Association — of  which  he 
had  become  a  member— to  the  medical  societies 
of  Europe.  At  the  same  time  he  received  from 
Governer  Geary,  of  Pennsylvania,  a  commission 
to  investigate  and  report  upon  hospital  and  sani 
tary  matters  in  Great  Britain  and  upon  the  conti- 
nent in  the  interest  of  that  state.  While  abroad 
he  attended  important  medical  conventions  at 
Oxford,  Heidelberg  and  Dresden,  and  in  the  last- 
named  city,  in  September,  18lis,  was  a  member 
and  participate,!  in  the  deliberations  of  the  first 
Otological  Congress  ever  held.  It  was  organized 
during  the  annual  session  of  the  Association  of 
German  Physicians  and  Naturalists,  which  was 
being  held  in  that  city.  After  investigation  of 
matters  pertaining  to  medical  science,  prosecuted 
in  various  parts  of  Europe,  Dr.  Jones  returned  to 
America.  In  December,  1868,  he  established 
himself  in  private  practice  in  Chicago,  making 
a  specialty  of  diseases  of  theeyeandof  the  ear. 
to  which  for  some  years  previously  he  had  given 
particular  attention.  A  few  months  later,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  to  the  professional  stall'  of 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  he  organize. 1  therein  a  de- 
partment for  these  diseases,  and  he  has  been 
actively  connected  with  that  hospital  since  that 
time.  A  portion  of  1870  was  devoted  to  a  see- 
ond  visit  to  Euroiie  again  as  an  accredited  dele 
gate  from  the  American  Medical  Association, 
making  further  researches  and  investigations, 
and  everywhere    received     marked    courtesy    and 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


357 


assistance  in  his  labors.  Shortly  before  his  de- 
parture for  Europe  he  was  appointed  to  the 
newly-created  chair  of  Ophthalmology  and  Otol- 
ogy in  the  College  of  Medicine  of  the  North 
western  University  (Chicago  Medical  College). 
On  his  return  from  abroad  he  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  this  professorship,  and  enlarged  the  fa- 
cilities for  clinical  instruction  by  providing  an  eye 
and  ear  department  in  Mercy  Hospital,  and  also  in 
the  South  Side  Dispensary,  both  of  which  depart- 
ments he  personally  conductedfornearly  ten  years. 
During  a  portion  of  this  period  he  was  also  a 
member  of  the  surgical  staff  of  the  Illinois  Chari- 
table Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary.  'Since  1870  he  has 
limited  his  work  in  active  practice  to  diseases  and 
defects  of  the  eye  and  of  the  ear,  although  for 
some  years  he  was  a  member  and  president  of  the 
board  of  examining  surgeons  for  United  States 
pensioners,  at  Chicago.  The  year  he  established 
himself  in  Chicago  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Ilinois  State  Medical  Society,  and  in  1876,  he  was 
a  delegate  from  that  body  f,.  the  Centennial  In- 
ternational Medical  Congress,  held  at  Philadel- 
phia. In  1881  he  was  a  delegate  from  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association  and  The  American 
Academy  of  Medicine  to  the  Seventh  Interna- 
tional Medical  Congress,  held  in  London,  and 
in  1887  he  was  president  of  the  Section  of  Otol- 
ogy in  the  Ninth  International  Medical  Congress, 
which  met  in  Washington,  and  as  such  was  ex- 
officio  a  member  of  the  executive  committee, 
charged  with  the  preparations  for  the  congress 
and  the  entertainment  of  the  foreign  dele- 
gates. Professor  Jones  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Medicine  in  1880, 
and  in  1889,  having  then  served  two  terms  as  one 
of  its  vice  presidents,  was  chosen  its  president. 
The  American  Academy  of  Medicine  is  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  and  representative  organiza- 
tions of  medical  men  in  the  Western  Hemisphere, 
membership  therein  being  confined  to  those  who, 
previous  to  entering  upon  professional  study, 
have  received  a  literary  degree,  asevidenceof  a  lib- 
eral education.  It  was  organized  at  Philadelphia 
in  1876, and  embraces  in  its  roll  of  fellows  manj  of 
the  most  prominent  American  physicians.  Among 
those  who  have  held  the  presidency  have  been 
some  of  the  best-known  physicians  and  surgeons  of 
the  country,  and  election  to  this  office  is  probablj 
one  of  the  highest  honors  that  an  American  medi- 
cal man  can  receive  at  the  hands  of  his  colleagues, 
and  is  correspondingly  esteemed.  With  the  con- 
servatism characteristic  of  a  large  part  of  Amer- 
ican  physicians,  Professor  Jones  has   always    re 


trained  from  active  participation  in  political  life, 
feeling  that  his  duty  restricts  him  to  the  Held 
for  which  nature,  education  and  experience  have 
qualified  him.  Identified  with  medical  science 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  he  has  risen,  by  earn- 
est, enthusiastic  and  conscientious  professional 
labor,  to  a  leading  position  among  the  medical 
men  of  his  native  land,  and  he  is  not  without 
honor  abroad.  In  Chicago,  where  he  has  made 
his  home  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  indeed 
through  the  entire  West,  he  ranks  with  the  most 
devoted  and  progressive  members  of  his  profes- 
sion, for  the  advancement  of  which  he  has  con- 
stantly and  industriously  striven  by  all  honorable 
means.  His  opportunities  have  been  exceptional 
in  many  respects,  and  his  experience  unusually 
broad.  There  are  few  men  of  his  age  in  the  pro- 
fession who  have  in  active  practice  and  as  a 
teacher  and  medical  editor,  come  into  closer  con- 
tact with  flic  leaders  of  medical  thought.  In  the 
field  of  his  special  work,  as  a  member  .if  the 
American  Ophthalmological  and  Otological  so- 
cieties, he  has  been  the  associate  of  the  prominent 
men  in  that  specialty  in  this  country.  His  attain- 
ments in  general  medicine  are  also  noteworthy. 
and  his  culture  is  of  the  broadest  description.  In 
private  life  he  is  an  exemplar  of  those  qualities 
which  in  every  age  and  country  seem  to  stamp  in 
an  especial  manner  the  educated  man  of  science. 
In  1884,  at  the  101st  commencement  of  Dickinson 
College,  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
was  conferred  on  him  by  his  nlmn  mater. 


HENRY  T.   BYFORD. 

HENRY  TURMAN  BYFORD,  M.  D.,  Profes- 
sor of  Gynaecology  in  the  Chicago  Post  Graduate 
Medical  School,  and  of  Clinical  Gynaecology  in  the 
Woman's  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  and  ex- 
president  of  the  Chicago  Gynaecological  Society. 
was  born  in  Evansville,  Indiana.  November  12, 
1853.  He  is  the  second  and  only  surviving  son  of 
the  late  Dr.  William  Heath  Byford,  of  Chicago, 
and  Mary  Ann  Byford,  his  wife,  the  latter  a  daugh- 
ter of  Hezekiah  Holland,  a  physician  of  Mt.  Ver- 
non, Indiana.  The  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  a  man  of  high  character,  broad  culture 
and  extended  observation  and  experience  in  his 
profession.  Discerning  in  his  sons  those  mental 
qualities  which  even  in  earliest  life  give  promise  of 
a  successful  future,  he  afforded  them  every  facility 


S58 


BIOGRAPHY  OP   ILLINOIS. 


for  improving  their  minds  and  increasing  their 
store  of  know  ledge,  his  hope  being  to  tit  them  prop- 
erly for  entrance  into  one  or  other  of  the  learned 
professions.  The  foundation  of  Henry's  education 
was  laid  in  the  excellent  public  and  private  schools 
of  ( Ihicago  which  even  in  his  boyhood  had  begun  to 
rival  those  of  the  older  and  more  populous  cities  of 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Attheage  of  twelve  years 
lie  terminated  his  connection  with  these  to  accom- 
pany his  elder  brother  to  Europe,  where  he  spent 
nearly  four  years  in  study  and  travel.  Prom  1865  to 
1863  he  attended  the  high  school  of  Berlin,  Ger- 
many, and  readily  acquiring  proficiency  in  the 
( lerman  tongue  pursued  the  full,  regular  classical 
curriculum  including  Latin  and  Greek — side  by 
side  with  the  pupils  of  nativs  birth,  and  m  gradu- 
ating took  the  prizes  in  divinity  and  also  in  Ger- 
man composition.  While  abroad  he  also  mastered 
the  French  language.  Upon  returning  to  Ameri- 
ca he  entered  the  Chicago  University,  designing 
to  take  higher  honors  in  the  classics,  but  discov- 
ering after  a  brief  experience  that  his  tastes  were 
inclining  naturally  to  the  sciences,  he  abandoned 
his  original  project,  and  entered  the  scientific 
department  of  Williston  Seminary  at  East  Hamp- 
ton, Mass..  while  he  was  graduated  in  1S70.  He 
then  entered  the  Chicago  Medical  College,  took 
the  three  years'  course,  and  was  graduated  in  1873, 
having  the  honor  of  being  selected  valedictorian 
of  his  class.  A  reference  to  the  college  records 
shows  him  to  have  been  marked  with  the  full  one 
hundred  per  cent,  in  all  branches  of  medicine 
taught,  except  in  the  specialty  of  diseases  of  the  eye 
and  ear— to  which,  at  thattinie.it  was  not  custom- 
ary to  devote  very  much  attention  yet  even  in  this 
lie  was  as  high  as  t  he  average.  During  his  second 
year,  he  attended  of  his  own  accord  the  lectures 
and  demonstrations  given  to  the  senior  class  and 
at  the  end  of  that  year  successfully  passed  a  com- 
petitive examination  in  all  branches,  and  fairly 
won  the  position  of  interne  at  Mercy  Hospital. 
He  was  prevented  from  finishing  his  hospital 
course,  and  from  delivering  his  valedictory  address 
bj  reason  of  enforced  absence  from  the  city,  occa- 
sioned by  the  sudden  illness  of  his  brother,  who 
was  in  Louisiana,  and  in  need  of  his  fraternal 
ministrations.  Notwithstanding  his  absence  at 
the  time  of  the  commencement  exercises  of  the 
college,  the  faculty  granted  him  the  degree  and 
diploma  of  I  >octor  of  Medicine  without  an  exami- 
nation, being  moved  to  this  extraordinary  act  by 
the  scarcely  less  extraordinary  proficiency  and  ex- 
ceptional standing  of  the  young  student,  then  but 
hum  teen  and  a  half  \  ears  of  age.    Out  of  regard  for 


the  usual  custom  which  discourages  the  practice 
of  medicine  by  minors,  however  proficient,  the  fac- 
ulty attached  a  condition  to  the  granting  of  the  de- 
gree, viz.:  that  the  young  graduate  was  not  to  enter 
upon  professional  work  until  he  became  of  age. 
Deeply  concerned  for  the  health  of  his  brother. 
Dr.  Byford  now  gave  himself  wholly  to  his  service, 
spent  a  year  with  him  in  Colorado,  and  was  hap- 
pily rewarded  for  his  zeal  and  devotion  by  wit- 
nessing his  recovery  before  the  period  of  his  own 
probation  from  practice  had  fully  expired.  When 
free  to  enter  upon  the  active  duties  of  his  profes- 
sion, his  father  offered  him  the  privilege  of  his  of- 
fice and  partnership,  but  these  he  respectfully  de- 
clined, choosing  to  establish  himself  indepen- 
dently in  a  less  fashionable  quarter  of  the  city,  as 
the  associate  of  his  college  friend.  Dr.  J.  A.  St. 
John.  Energetic  as  well  as  competent,  he  enjoyed 
unusual  prosperity  from  the  first,  and  by  the 
spring  of  1879,  he  had  saved  enough  to  enable  him 
to  make  an  eighteen  months'  tour  of  Europe. 
Returning  from  his  sojourn  abroad,  which  had 
been  about  equally  divided  between  travel  and 
study  in  the  hospitals  of  the  capital  cities,  he  asso- 
ciated himself  in  practice  with  his  father,  the  prin- 
cipal share  of  his  work  being  in  the  departments 
of  obstetrics  and  diseases  of  children;  but  he 
steadily  worked  toward  the  goal  of  his  life,  viz.: 
diseases  of  women  and  abdominal  surgery,  to 
which  lie  has  of  late  years  confined  his  practice. 
Apart  from  his  private  practice,  Dr.  Byford  has 
been  extremely  active  in  various  official  profes- 
sional capacities.  He  was  at  one  time  curator  of 
the  Museum  of  the  Chicago  Medical  College;  sub- 
sequently lecturer  on  Diseases  of  Children  in  that 
institution;  and.  still  later,  lecturer  on  Obstetrics 
in  Rush  Medical  College;  but  each  of  these  posi- 
tions was  given  up  in  turn  in  order  to  gain  more 
time  for  the  study  of  his  chosen  specialty.  In 
December,  1888,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of 
Gynaecology  in  the  Chicago  Post  Graduate  Medi- 
cal School,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders. 
and  in  the  following  year  was  chosen  professor  of 
Clinical  Gynaecology  in  the  Woman's  Medical  Col- 
lege. For  several  years  past  he  has  been  gynaecol- 
ogist to  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  and  also  surgeon  to 
the  Woman's  Hospital.  Dr.  Byford  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Medical  Association,  of  the  Illi- 
nois State  Medical  Association,  of  the  American 
Gynaecological  Society,  of  the  Chicago  Medical 
Society,  of  the  Chicago  Medico-Legal  Society. anil 
of  the  Chicago  Gynaecological  Society,  and  was 
president  of  the  last  named  in  1887.  He  has  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  original  and 


IJTOORAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


359 


progressive  men  in  his  specialty  in  the  United 
States,  and  has  invented  a  number  of  new  opera- 
tions which   have  been   very    generally  approved 

and   adopted.      Among    these     may    be    nai 1 

inguinal  suspension  (it  tin-  bladder,  shor- 
tening of  the  saero-uterine  ligaments,  bilateral 
elytrorrhaphy,  subcutaneous  perineal  tenotomy, 
etc.,  etc.  One  of  his  methods,  the  vaginal  fixation 
of  the  stump  in  abdominal  hysterectomy,  is  said 
to  have  opened  a  new  field  for  operation.  Many 
new  forms  of  instruments  devised  by  him  and  ap- 
propriately called  by  his  name,  have  I n   found 

of  greal  utility,  and  are  in  daily  use  by  surgeons. 
As  a  clinical  lecturer,  Dr.  Byford  has  achieved 
great  success  and  a  wide  repu  tation.  He  is  also  a 
writer  of  marked  ability,  and  a  frequent  contribu- 
tor to  medical  literature.  He  is  one  the  editors  of 
the  last  edition  of  Byford's  "  Diseases  of  Women." 

a  work   originally   from   the    pen    of   Ids   ; in 

plished  father.  In  addition  to  his  professional 
attainments.  Dr.  Byford  is  an  artist  of  no  mean 
skill  having  studied  and  practiced  drawing  of  the 
human  figure  in  the  famous  Art  School  of  Julian 
at  Paris,  and  landscape  painting  from  nature  un- 
der other  European  celebrities;  and  in  the  studies 
of  art  and  literature  he  finds  his  favorite  recrea- 
tions. He  was  married  on  November  9,  1882,  to 
Mrs.  Lucy  L.  Richard,  daughter  of  Frederick 
Lamed,  and  has  four  children,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters. 


PERKY  H.   SMITH. 

One  of  the  most  notable  of  the  many  able  men 
in  the  railway  and  legal  fraternities  in  Chicago 
was  Perry  H.  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Augusta, 
Oneida  county.  New  York,  on  March  18,  1828. 
His  father  was  Timothy  Smith,  for  many  years 
prominent  in  the  business  circles  of  Watertown, 
Jefferson  county.  New  York.  Perry  Smith's  boy- 
hood was  remarkable  for  studiousness,  and  il  was 
his  pride,  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  to  spell  down 
the  entire  roll  of  students  at  the  Clinton.  N.  Y.. 
Liberal  Institute — the  academy  which  has  re 
cently  been  prominently  noticed  as  the  school 
which  educated  ex-President  Cleveland.  Perry 
Smith  entered  Hamilton  College  when  he  was 
only  fourteen  years  old.  and  graduated  when  he 
was  eighteen,  standing  second  in  his  class.  He 
entered  the  law  office  of  N.  S.  Benton,  at  Little 
Falls,  New  York,  and  on  coming  of  age,  March  18, 


1849,  was  admitted  to  practice  by  Judge  Peckham, 
at  Albany,  by  special  commission.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year  he  started  for  Appleton.  Wisconsin, 
which  he   thought  was   an  inviting  field  for   the 

practice  of  his  profession.     At  that    time  Wist 

sin  was  without  railways,  and  Appleton,  which 
had  just  been  platted,  was  .in  one  of  the  rapids  of 
tin'  Fox  liver.  To  reach  the  young  village  Mr. 
Smith  walked  one  hundred  miles  through  a  heav- 
ily-timbered country,  which  by  treaty  with  the 
Indians,  had  jusl  been  opened  to  settlement.  It 
was  here  that  Amos  Lawrence  established  the 
famous  Lawrence  University,  the  fame  of  which 
was  one  of  the  attractions  which  drew  people  to 
Appleton,  and  made  ..I'  it  a  thriving  business  ami 
educational    centre.      When     the    village    became 

the  county  seat  of  the  new  county  of  Outagi 

Mr.  Smith,  then  only  twenty- three  years  old. 
was  made  the  first  judge  of  its  courts  of  probate, 
equity  and  common  law.  and  presided  with  marked 
ability  ami  dignity.  He  was  shortly  afterwards 
elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture by  the  Democrats,  and  later  was  sent  to  the 
State  Senate  by  the  same  political  constituency, 
and  held  that  honorable  position  for  live  years. 
In  1855  he  was  chairman  of  the  legislative  com- 
mittee which  investigated  the  charges  of  corrup- 
tionand  fraud  against  the  governor  of  tin- state. 
and  wrote  the  able  and  decisive  report  on  the  final 
disposal  of  the  ease.  In  18.">(>  Mr.  Smith  was 
made  a  member  of  tin.'  special  committee  to 
which  the  subject  of  land  grants  made  by  the 
federal  government  to  the  state  was  referred. 
One  of  the  first  grants  following  the  settlement 
of  this  matt  it  was  made  to  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul 
&Fond  du  Lac  Railway  Company,  of  which  or- 
ganization Mr.  Smith  was,  in  ls."i7.  when  only 
twenty-nine  years  old.  chosen  vice  president.     (  )n 

anization  of  this  company  into  the  Chi- 
cago &  North-Western  Railway,  Mr.  Smith  was 
made  vice  president  of  the  new  corporation,  and 
held  the  office  until  his  retirement  from  the  road, 
in  1869.  He  had  perfected  plans  for  his  election 
to  the  United  States  Senate  from  Wisconsin,  but 
at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  J. 
Tildcn.  ll.n.  W.  I!.  <  >yden  and  others, he  surren 
dered  his  political  ambition  in  order  to  devote  his 
time  and  talents  to  the  office  of  managing  director 
of  the  Chicago  &  North-Western  Railway,  to 
which  he  had  been  named.  Mr.  Smith  accumu- 
lated a  fortune  in  Wisconsin,  and  in  1850  re- 
moved to  Chicago,  where  he  made  his  home  up  to 
tin-  time  of  his  death,  retaining  for  two  years  his 
seat  in  the  Wisconsin  Senate,  devoting  his  time 


360 


BIOCKAI'HY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


to  the  increasing  interests  of  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western Railway  and  to  his  own  private  business, 
which  had  assumed  vasl  proportions.  He  was 
very  fortunate  in  his  numerous  ventures;  and  suc- 
cessful investments  in  western  railroads, mines  and 
other  enterprises  made  him  a  very  wealthy  man. 
Liberal  in  his  disposition  and  refined  in  his  tastes, 
the  accumulation  of  riches  by  Mr.  Smith  became 
a  benefit  t<»  mankind.  One  of  his  great  gifts  is 
the  Perry  Smith  Hall  for  the  library  of  Hamilton 
College.  His  immense  picture  galleries  and  pri- 
vate library,  not  only  before  the  tin'  of  1871,  but 
in  their  restored  state,  are  see.. ml  to  none  in  Chi- 
cago,  and  are  greatly  admired  by  the  thousands 
of  visitors  who  see  them  yearly.  Mr.  Smith  was 
a  man  of  generous  impulse;  the  destitute  and 
needy  always  had  a  warm  place  in  his  heart,  and 
his  kindly,  neighborly  feelings  were  among  the 
many  good  features  of  his  character.  One  of  Mr. 
Smith's  great  business  enterprises  was  the  build- 
ing of  the  North  Shore  Railroad  of  Canada,  from 
Quebee  to  Montreal.  The  work  was  undertaken 
shortly  after  the  Chicago  tire,  and  was  managed 
with  so  much  ability  and  success,  in  tin  Eace  of 
serious  obstacles,  that  Sir  Hugh  Allen  paid  Mr. 
Smith  and  bis  associates $1,000,000  for  the  transfer 
of  the  worktohim.  Still  another  great  monument 
to  his  business  ability  and  sagacity  was  the  con 
struction  of  the  Chicago  division  of  the  Wabash 
Railway,  and  the  Wabash  grain  elevator  in  this  city. 
with  a  capacity  for  storing  1,650,000  bushels  of 
grain.  Mr.  Smith's  success  was  due  to  sol  id  prepar- 
ation, based  upon  sound  education,  and  a  habit  of 
accuracy  in  every  detail,  however  trivial  or  complex. 
He  possessed  the  power  of  absolute  concentra- 
tion, and  a  grasp  of  mind  which  was  as  far-reaeh- 
ing  as  his  subject.  His  memory  retained  the 
smallest  circumstance,  and  he  extended  a  broad 
and  liberal  fairness  to  any  question  or  individual. 
It  was  a  happy  combination  of  these  and  other 
equally  manly  characteristics  which  attracted 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  who  met  him. 
Such  names  as  Timothy  O.  Howe.  General  Grant, 
E.  B.  Washburne  and  other  staunch  Republicans 
occur  as  warmest  among  his  friends.  No  one 
feared  betrayal  at  his  hands,  and  everyone  sought 
the  benefit  of  his  accurate  judgment.  Xor  was 
he  less  liberal  in  other  matters  than  in  politics— 
he  believed  in  the  largest  charity,  and  always  re- 
spected worth  wherever  found,  among  the  laborers 
in  the  ditch  as  well  as  among  those  in  highest  sta 
tion.  His  acts,  if  liberality  in  politics,  in  religion, 
in  the  arts,  and  to  innumerable  personal  friends, 
attested  his  generous  heart  and   nobility  of  soul. 


While  in  Paris  during  the  Commune  the  official 
journal  one  day  published  a  decree  to  demolish 
the  house  of  M.  Thiers — President  of  France  and 
scatter  its  rare  contents  to  the  winds.  Our  then 
minister  to  France,  Mr.  Washburne.  writing  of  this 
incident  in  his  memoirs,  concludes:  "And  I  might 
here  mention  incidentally  that  a  distinguished 
and  wealthy  citizen  of  Chicago,  Mr.  Perry  11. 
Smith,  who  was  in  Paris  at  the  time,  mad.'  everj 
effort  to  purchase  these  things  himself  in  order 
that  they  might  be  saved  for  M.  Theirs,  but  un- 
fortunately he  was  unable  to  accomplish  the  pur 
pose  which  did  him  so  much  honor."  There  are 
two  excellent  full  length  portraits  of  Mr.  Smith 
one  in  Memorial  Hall.  Hamilton  Coll.-..  the 
other  in  the  Wisconsin  Historical  rooms,  at 
the  capitol  in  Madison.  He  was  married  in 
1857  to  Miss  Emma  A.  Smith,  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Reeder  Smith,  of  Appleton,  Wisconsin. 
Four  children  three  sons  and  one  daughter — 
were  born  to  them.  Mr.  Smith  was  a  life  long 
Democrat,  and  was  a  great  admirer  of  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  whom  he  helped  to  bring  out  as  a  presi 
dential  candidate  in  1870.  and  whose  chief  per- 
sonal representative  he  was  for  the  entire  North- 
west, during  the  presidential  campaign  which  fol- 
lowed. Mr.  Smith  was  opposed  to  the  formation 
of  the  Electoral  Commission,  and  the  handing  over 
of  the  unfortunate  dispute  to  that  body  for  decis- 
ion  was  contrary  to  his  advice  and  counsel.  Mr. 
Smith  was  always  a  gentleman,  very  neat  in  his 
dress  and  elegant  in  speech,  but  was  democratic 
to  the  core,  and  extended  the  same  address  to 
poor  and  rich  alike.  None  were  more  punctilious 
than  he,  yet  upon  occasion,  no  man  used  mi  .re  cut 
ting  satire,  none  more  stinging  rebuke.  His  man 
ners  were  polished,  and  in  the  drawing  room  he 
moved  with  grace  ami  gentleness,  yet  in  the  forum 
or  uiion  the  platform,  he  stood  unflinchingly,  and 
knew  well  how  to  force  success,  and  to  insist  upon 
the  right.  He  attracted  his  auditors  by  his  learn 
ing  and  judgment,  and  inspired  confidence  by  his 
energy  and  integrity.  He  was  genial  in  his  busi- 
ness, princely  in  his  entertainments,  but  never  a 
courtier.  He  always  led— never  followed  in  any 
train.     It  is  known  that  while  abroad  a  friend,  then 

representing  this  government  at  one  of  tin nit-. 

desired  to  present  him  to  the  king— a  man  of 
broad  culture  and  liberal  mind,  and  much  inter 
ested  in  tin-  commercial  problems  of  all  lands. 
But  the  court  dress  of  gold  braid,  the  sword,  etc., 
were  too  theatrical  for  this  plain  democrat,  and  not 
until  a  private  party  was  arranged  at  the  palace, 
where  he    might   wear   his    American    dress  suit. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


.    , 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


.6  I 


would  Mr.  Smith  consent  to  l'o.  Once  there  he  so 
impressed  the  kinu'.  that  in  a  discussion  about 
American  railroad  policy,  the  latter  in  his  enthu- 
siasm, graciously  placed  his  hand  upon  Mr. 
Smith's  shoulder,  saying  heartily,  "I  concur  with 
you,  Monsieur,  as  against  these  gentlemen."  Death 
ended  this  too  short  life  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven 
years,  on  Palm  Sunday,  1885,  after  a  lingering  ill- 
ness, the  seeds  of  which  dated  back  to  his  earlier 
labors  in  behalf  of  thegreat  railway  whose  founda- 
tions he  so  largely  laid.  One  who  for  many  years 
was  the  Wisconsin  state  agent  at  New  York,  and 
a  life-long  friend,  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  in  those  days  at  the  Wall  streel  office  be  both 
in  vented  the  legislative  and  financial  measures,  and 
drafted  with  his  own  hand  the  voluminous  legal 
papers  necersary  to  perfeel  the  same,  not  taking 
the  aecessary  time  to  rest  and  recuperate,  but  de 
aying  himself,  in  order  to  work  out  and  perfeel 
the  business  in  hand  for  the  approval  of  his  co- 
laborers.  Nor  did  these  officers  in  but  rareexcep- 
tion,  find  it  expedient  to  more  than  formally  ap- 
prove his  papers,  so  efficiently,  and 

detail  diet  he  ace plish  his  task.    In  returning 

from  his  office  at  the  close  of  a  busy  daj  it  was  his 
habit  to  talk  on  these  subjects  with  his  - 
with  a  mind  surcharged  with  the  daily  routine 
of  business  of  the  railroad  corporation,  yet  tore- 
call  after  twenty  years  the  correct  conjug 
Greek  verbs.  Nor  was  it  merely  an  accomplish- 
ment of  memory  most  unusual  that  commands 
our  wonder,  but  the  taste  for  the  beautiful  in 
thought  and  language  which  marked  his  whole 
career.  One  friend.  Robert  Rae,  Esq.,  of  the  Chi- 
cago bar.  once  told  the  writer  it  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  his  friend  to  recite  from  memory  extracts 
fri  'in  Horace  and  i  ither  i  if  his  favorite  Latin  poets. 
A  distinguished  citizen  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  a 
life-long  friend  of  Mr.  Smith,  in  writing  of  him, 
says  language  at  his  command  could  never   con 

vey  his  high  admiration  for  the  g 1  qualities  of 

his  friend,  and  continues.  "His  was  the  brightest 
intellect  I  ever  met — he  was  a  courteous  gentle- 
man, and  thoroughly  self-pos-osed.  He  had  at 
instant  command  all  his  faculties,  always  Btriving 
and  succeeding  in  surpassing  others  in  generous 
acts  and  kindly  attentions." 


GEORGE  HOWLAND. 

GEORGE  HOWLAND  was  born   in   Conway. 
Franklin  county,  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts. 

He  is  the  son  of  William  A.  and  Hannah   Morton 


Howland.  His  father  was  a  lineal  descendant  of 
John  Howland,  who  came  from  England  on  the 
May  Flower.     His  mother,  too,  came  from   a   pil- 

grim  ancestry,  being  a  descendant  of  Clark. 

whose     l b  tone    at    Plymouth.    Massachusetts. 

bears  the  information  that  he  was  mate  of  the 
May  Flower.  The  family,  with  its  several  genera- 
tions, remained  in  Massachusetts  until  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  and  perhaps  others  of  his 
immediate  family  left  that  state  for  the  great 
West.  It  was,  therefore,  a  family  of  Puritanic  and 
New  England  firmness  of  character  and  sterling 
merit.  The  father  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and 
also  a  farmer  on  a  small  scale.  Young  Howland 
spent  his  boyhood  upon  his  father's  farm,  divid- 
ing much  of  his  time  bet  ween  assisting  his  father 
and  attending  the  district  school  of  his  native 
town.  He  also  attended,  during  some  of  the  time, 
a  select  school  which  was  under  the  management 
of  Deacon  John  Clary.  In  the  course  of  time  he 
entered  the  Williston  Seminary,  at  East  Hamp- 
ton. Mass..  then  under  the  principalship of  Luther 
Wright.  Having  here  prepared  himself  for  col 
lege,  he  entered  Amherst  in  1846,  continuing, 
withoul  interruption  through  the  course,  he 
graduated  in  1850,  and  delivered  the  salutatory  of 
his  class.  After  graduating  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  the  schools  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  thus 
employed  for  about  two  years.  He  then  returned 
to  Amherst  and  tilled  the  position  of  tutor  for 
ars,  when  lie  was  appointed  instructor  in 
Latin,  German,  and  French,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  for  two  years.  He  then  left  the  college 
and  entered  the  law  office  of  Beach  &  Bond,  of 
Springfield,  Mass..  where  he  remained  until  the 
autumn  of  Wo.  when  he  came  to  Chicago,  arriv- 
ing here  in  the  month  of  December.  In  January 
of  the  following  year  he  began  his  splendid  career 
as  an  educator  in  Chicago,  in  which  he  developed 
one  of  the  finest  school  a  the  world;  won 

for  himself  a  fame  that  is  world-wide,  and  sent 
out  into  practical  life  thousands  of  men  and 
women  whose  characters  and  minds  have  been  in- 
delibly impressed  by  the  influences  of  his  methods 
as  a  teacher  and  superintendent,  his  scholarly  at- 
tainments  and    high  moral    character.     His  first 

connection  with  the  Chicago  public  scl Is  was  as 

assistant  in  the  Chicago  high  school,  which  at 
the  time  was  under  the  principalship  of  Mr.  C.  A. 
Dupee.  who  is  now  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Cook  county  bar.  In  I860  Mr.  Dupee  resigned 
ami  Mr.  Howland  was  elected  principal  of  the 
school,  a  position  which  he  filled  for  twenty  years. 
In  1880  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  the  pub- 


36: 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


lie  schools  of  Chicago,  which  position  he  retained 
until  his  resignation  in  the  summer  i>l'  1891.  The 
office  of  superintendenl  of  the  Chicago  schools  is 
a  highly  important  office  and  one  thai  is  exceed- 
ingly difficu.11  1"  fill.  When  Mr.  Howland  entered 
upon  tlic  discharge  of  the  duties  of  assistant  in 
the  Chicago  high  school,  the  Dumber  of  schools, 
besides  the  high  school,  was  only  ten,  and  there 
wit.'  l.ut  eighty  teachers.  A.t  the  presenl  time 
there  are  about  two  hundred  schools  and  over 
twenty-six  hundred  teachers.  To  insure  anything 
like  efficiency  in  a  system  of  education  that  em- 
braces such  a  number  of  schools  and  teachers, 
requires  superior  executive  ability  in  its  head. 
But  under  Mr.  Hem-land's  direction  the  entire 
system  worked  harmoniously  and  with  the  most 
perfect  satisfaction  to  the  public.  Mr.  Howland 
is  an  educator  pure  and  simple.  His  life -work  has 
been  to  educate  the  children  of  the  city,  and  to 
that  grand  work  he  devoted  all  his  energies  and 
great  abilities.  He  never  paid  the  slightest  atten- 
tion to  the  occasional  side  issues  which  people  at- 
tempted  to  drag  into  the  school  system.  For  an 
applicant  to  obtain  a  position  as  teacher  in  the 
Chicago  public  schools,  the  only  question  to  be 
settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  superintendent 
was  the  question  of  character  and  competency. 
Considering  the  many  interests,  prejudices  and 
opinions  in  a  city  like  Chicago,  and  the  fact  that 
there  are  those  who  believe  that  politics  should 
be  introduced  wherever  a  public  appointment  is 
to  be  made,  and  that  there  arc  others  who  insist 
that  the  public  schools  should  be  places  for  re- 
ligious instruction — provided,  of  course,  that  it 
should  be  of  this  kind  or  that,  according  to  the 
different  faiths — it  borders  on  the  wonderful  that 
nobody  seriously  attempted  to  influence  Mr.  How- 
land with  the  advocacy  of  any  of  these  peculiar 
notions.  Mr.  Howland  is  a  tireless  worker.  Be- 
sides attending  to  the  intricate  details  necessary 
for  the  management  of  a  great  school  system,  he 
has  found  time  for  considerable  literary  work  of 
great  merit.  He  prepared  a  translation  of  Virgil's 
".Eneid,"  which  was  published  in  two  volumes, 
about  1870  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co.  He  also  pub 
lished  a  volume  of  poems,  some  years  since,  enti 
tied  "Little  Voices."  a  second  edition  of  which  was 
issued  in  1891.  In  1889,  Appletons  published  a 
volume  of  ten  papers  by  Mr.  Howland  on  educa 
tional  subjects,  in  the  International  Series,  edited 
by  \V.  T.  Harris  of  the  Washington,  I).  C,  Bureau 
of  Education.  He  is  also  the  author  of  an  English 
grammar  which  was  published  by  Geo.  Sherwood 
A-  Company.     In   addition   to   these  he  has  trans- 


lated all  the  Odes  of  Horace,  many  of  which  have 
not    yel    been    published.     Pew   lives   have   been 

more    useful    to    the    world    than    Mr.  Rowland's. 

The  public  school  system  of  Chicago  has  devel 
oped  into  its  present  perfection,  seemingly  without 
an  effort,  but  it  is  largely  the  work  of  the  modest, 
energetic  educator  who  was  so  long  at  its  head. 
Unostentatious,  faithful  to  duty  and  practical  in 
thought  and  method,  this  man  has  done  a  work 
for  Chicago  which  will  be  felt  as  long  as  time 
lasts;  and  for  the  splendid  work  he  accomplished 
the  people  of  Chicago  honor  him.  At  the  Sep 
tember  ils'.di  meeting  of  the  principals  of  the 
Chicago  schools  the  committee  previously  ap- 
pointed reported  the  following  resolutions  on  Mr. 
Howland's  resignation,  which  were  adopted  unani- 
mously: 

"For  eleven  years  we,  the  principals  of  the  <  'lii 
cago  schools,  have  followed  our  trusted  leader. 
We  have  trusted  because  we  could  trust.  We 
have  followed  gladly,  cheerfully,  confidingly,  be- 
cause our  leader  was  easily  Chief.  It  is  written 
that  the  ehiefest  of  all  is  the  servant  of  all. 

••To  whom  of  us  has  not  our  chief  rendered  mani- 
fold service?  What  one  of  us  is  not  conscious 
that  his  life  is  enlarged,  enriched,  ennobled  by  the 
ministrations  of  this  friend  of  ours'/  Had  ever  an 
association  like  this  so  genial  a  leader,  teacher, 
and  friend? 

"On  the  retirement  of  Ceo.  Howland  from  the 
siiperinlcndency  of  the  public  schools  of  Chicago, 
the  Principals'  Association,  in  appreciation  of  his 
public  service,  voices  its  united  sentiment  in  the 
following: 

"Be  it  recorded:  That  the  eleven  years  of  Mr. 
Howland's  administration  have  been  eleven  years 
of  continual  and  increasing  prosperity  to  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Chicago. 

"That,  called  to  the  work  of  supervision  after 
long  experience  as  a  teacher,  Mr.  Howland,  as 
superintendent,  never  ceased  to  be  a  teacher. 

"Thai  in  the  discharge  of  the  manifold  duties 
with  which  the  Board  of  Education  has  invested 
the  offices  of  the  superintendent  of  schools  Mr. 
Howland  exercised  power  without  ostentation; 
authority  with  quiet  firmness,  and  without  vacil- 
lation. His  counsels  were  without  dissimulation, 
and  his  decisions  without  shadow  of  turning. 

"Of  Mr.Howland.it  pleases  us  to  record  that 
Ids  wide  cult  ure,  broad  and  liberal  scholarship  set 
him  free  from  all  narrowness. 

"That  his  intensely  poetic  temperament  allied 
him  in  closest  sympathy  with  childhood;  giving 
to  him  an  unwavering  faith  in  the  possibilities  of 

children;  an  absolute  loyalty  to  them,  and  prompt- 
ing him  to  constant  efforts  for  the  promotion  of 
t  heir  highest   interests. 

"That  in  his  high  ideals,  in  his  happy  expression 
of  Doble  thought,  and  in  Ids  appreciation  of  worthy 
effort,  he  has  afforded   an   inspiration    to  a    in    I 
tudc  of  co-workers  in  the  educational  field. 

"As  ( in  of  letters.  Ceorge  Howland,  discours- 
ing of   every  day  school    matters,  maybe   read  at 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


563 


the  same  sitting  with  George  William  Curtis' 
'Easy  Chair.'  One's  literary  sensibility  may  not 
be  shocked  by  the  contiguity.  Anything  common- 
place is  foreign  to  the  pen  of  either. 

"We  believe  that  Mr.  Howland'e  work  is  an- 
chored  on  so  secure  a  basis  that  his  fame  as  a 
worker  in  the  educational  Held  will  prove  en- 
during. 

•'His  annual  reports  to  the  Board  of  Education, 
and  his  'Practical  Hints  to  Teachers'  breathe  the 
spirit  of  his  administration  as  superintended  of 
the  Chicago  schools. 

"That  spirit  will  outlive  us  all. 

"Mr.  Howland's  life  record  in  Chicago  is  thai  of 
the  model  teacher,  the  model  principal,  the  model 
superintt  ndent. 

"With  grief  and  regret  have  we  learned  of  Mr. 
Howland's  severance  of  his  recent  relations  with 
the  ( Jhicagi  1  schools. 

"For  marly  two  score  of  years  he  has  walked  in 
and  out  among  us.  and  not  a  few  of  us  have 
[earned  to  regard  him  as  guide,  philosopher  and 
friend. 

"In  whatever  surroundings  his  lot  may  hence- 
forward lie  cast.  we  earnestly  bespeak  for  liim 
heaven's  choicest  blessings;  blessings  richly  de- 
served by  one  who  has  spent  the  working  years  of 
his  life  for  others. 

"May  he  live  long  to  see  tin  •fruition  of  his  labors 
in  the  advancement  of  our  schools  till  they  occupy 
tin'  plane  upon  which  it  has  been  his  endeavot  to 
place  them." 


RICHARD  EDWARDS. 

Illinois  takes  high  rank  among  its  sister  states 
in  the  number  and  character  of  its  educational 
institutions.  In  no  part  of  the  Union  is  the  school 
system  better  organized,  more  extensive,  or  so  sat 
isfaetory  in  its  results.  Earnest  desire  and  intelli- 
gent direction  on  the  part  of  the  men  who  have 
been  entrusted  with  this  great  work,  has  been 
highly  productive  of  good  to  the  state.  To  tins  end 
few  men  have  labored  more  zealously  than  Dr. 
Richard  Edwards,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  now  the  president 
of  Blackburn  University,  at  Carlinville,  Illinois. 
Km-  thirty  years  Dr.  Edwards  has  been  actively 
identified  with  the  schools  of  Illinois.  He  has  been 
an  instructor  and  director  in  the  academies  and 
colleges  and.  as  state  superintendent, an  organizer 
and  developer  of  the  entire  school  system.  At  sev- 
enty years  of  age  he  is  still  doing  his  full  share  in 
everything  that  tends  to  improve  the  educational 
interests  of  the  state.  Dr.  Edwards  is  of  Welsh 
nativity  and  parentage.  He  was  born  near  Ab- 
erystwith.  in  Cardiganshire.  Wales.  December  23, 
H'J'J.  His  father  was  a  mechanic  ami  his  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  a  small  farmer.     The  family 


came  to  America  in  1833,  and  settled  on  a  farm  of 
fifty  acres  mar  Portage,  Ohio.  At  that  time  they 
all  spoke  the  Welsh  language  and  as  educational 
facilities  were  rather  crude,  the  acquirement  of 
the  English  tongue  was  by  no  means  an  easy  task. 
Dr.  Edward's  early  years  in  the  Ohio  forests  were 
ones  of  toil  and  privation.  He  labored  hard  to 
assist  his  father  in  "clearing"  the  farm  and  with 
thi  1  sception  of  a  few  weeks  in  the  winter  season 
had  no  opportunity  to  attend  school.  Before  he 
was  twenty  two  years  old  he  had,  by  severe  exer- 
tion, managed  to  get  two  terms  of  instruction  at  a 
village  school  and  had  also  learned  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter.  The  lack  of  school  training  was  in 
part  made  up  by  diligent  reading,  an  occupation 
of  which  he  was  very  fond  and  in  which  he  passed 
every  spare  moment  of  his  time.  Young  Edwards 
showed  such  aptitude  in  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge that  he  was  urged  to  tit  himself  for  a  pro- 
fession, and  with  this  object  he  went  to  Bridge- 
water,  Massachusetts,  in  1*44.  where  he  attended 
tic  state  normal  school.  He  had  no  money  and 
Milled  to  live  a  life  of  extreme  self-denial, 
teaching  school  at  times  to  get  the  means  for 
support  while  he  was  studying.  In  this  way 
he  completed  the  course,  and  by  the  same  hard 
effort  was  enabled  to  pay  his  way  through  the 
Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Troy,  New 
York,  from  which  he  graduated  with  honor. 
During  his  course  at  the  Uridgewater  Normal 
School,  he  had  attracted  the  attention  of  New 
England  educators  and  when  he  had  completed 
his  studies  at  Troy  there  was  a  demand  for 
his  services  as  an  instructor.  He  was  first  a 
teacher  in  the  normal  school  at  Bridgewater,  and 
then  principal  of  a  similar  institution  at  Salem. 
under  state  supervision,  lb'  next  accepted  a  call 
to  the  principalship  of  the  St.  Louis  (Mo.)  Normal 
School  and  was  afterward  made  principal  of  the  St. 
Louis  city  high  school.  About  that  time  the  peo- 
ple of  Illinois  concluded  that  the)  needed  the  ser- 
vices of  Dr.  Edwards,  and  in  1862  he  was  given 
charge  of  the  state  normal  school  at  Normal.  Illi- 
nois, when'  he  remained  thirteen  and  one-half 
years.  During  his  control  of  the  school  the  num- 
ber of  students  was  increased  from  '_'8(>  to  777.  and 
the  fame  of  the  institution  as  one  of  model  control, 
economical  management  and  beneficial  results 
became  wide  spread.  In  addition  to  having  di- 
rect charge  of  the  normal  school,  Dr.  Edwards 
took  an  active  part  in  school  interest  throughout 
the  state.  His  services  as  an  organizer  were 
always  in  request  and  he  labored  incessantly  to 
build    up    the    grand   system   of   schools   which 


Sh 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


is  imiu  such  a  source  of  just  pride  for  the  people 
of  Illinois.    In  this  grand  work  he  was  ably  sus- 
tained  by   the  state   board  of  education  with  a 
unanimity   that    was  surprising,  considering  the 
height  to  which  political  prejudicesat  limes  arose 
The  announcement  by  Dr.  Edwards  in  December, 
L875,  of   bis  intention  to  resign  the  management 
of  the  normal  school  on  January  1,  1876,  brought 
out  a  strong  protest  from   the  board;   Democrats 
and  Republicans  joined  in  a  request  that  be  would 
withdraw  his  resignation,  but  without  avail,  and 
they  reluctantly  consented  to  the  separation.    In 
the  formal  resolution   of  acceptance  of  Dr.  Ed- 
wards'resignation  it  was  put  on  record  that  the 
board  endorsed  his  wise  management  and  control 
of  the  school  and  gave   him  credit   for  making  it 
the  "best  normal  school  on  the  continent."     For 
the  nine    years,  from    1S7G   to   1885,  Dr.  Edwards 
was   pastor   of   the     Congregational    Church    at 
Princeton,  111.,  and   his  success  in  the  pulpit  was 
fully  as   great   as  at   the  teacher"s  desk.     During 
these  nine  years  he  kept  up  his  educational  work 
almost  without   interruption.     He   had   no  direct 
connection  with  any  school  or  college,  except  for 
eighteen  months  when  he  acted  as  financial  agent 
for  Knox  College,  Galesburg.  111.,  but  he  was  con- 
stantly addressing  teachers'  institutes,  giving  ad- 
vice to  school  boards  and  counselling  with  young 
instructors  and  students.     In    188G   Dr.  Edwards 
was  elected  by  the  Republicans  as  superintendent 
of    public   instruction   for   the   state   of   Illinois. 
He  was  in  office  four  years  and  in  that  time  the 
school  law  was  revised  and  codified  under  his  per- 
sonal direction.     A  syllabus  of  work  for  teachers' 
institutes  was  prepared,  and  a  course  of  study  for 
country  schools   mapped  out.  a  committee  of   the 
county  superintendents  assisting  in  the  task.   The 
energetic  manner  in  which  the  office  was  admin- 
istered convinced  the  Legislature  that  the   state 
superintendent  of  schools  was  an  important  mem- 
ber of  the  government   and   a  law  was  passed,  en- 
larging his   duties  and  powers.     By  the  same  act 
he  was  made  a   member  of  the  boards  of  trustees 
for    the   State    University  at  Champaign,  and   tin- 
state  normal  school  at  Carbondale,  and  did  much 
to  bring  both  of  these  institutions  to  a  high  state 
of  perfection.      Dr.  Edwards  was  renominated  in 
L890,  but   it  was  a  year  of  Republican  defeats,  and 
as  a   strong  feeling  against    the  compulsory  edu- 
cation law.  of  which  he   was  one   of    the  support- 
ers, had  been  worked  up  by  the  politicians,  he  was 
not   re-elected.     At    the  expiration  of  his  term  in 
1891, Dr. Edwards  waselected  to  the  presidencj  of 
Blackburn   University  at   Carlinville,   where    he 


now  is.  in  the  prime  of  a  vigorous  manhood,  labor 
ing  not  alone  for  the  benefit  of  his  immediate 
charge, but  for  tin'  general  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  education.  Dr.  Edwards'  attainments 
as  a  scholar  and  his  efforts  as  an  instructor  have 
ignized  in  the  bestowal  of  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  by  Harvard  University  and  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  by  Shurtleff  College.  He  is  in 
many  ways  a  remarkable  man.  Strong  and  con- 
vincing as  a  public  speaker,  and  familiar  with 
everj  detail. if  t  lie  public  school  problem;  quick 
of  thought  and  resolute  in  action.  Dr.  Edwards  has 
had  unbounded  success  where  a  man  of  less 
ability  would  have  failed. 


DAVID   S.  SMITH. 

PROFESSOR  D.  S.  SMITH,  M.  D.,  late  presi- 
dent of  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chi- 
cago,  was  born  in  Camden.  New  Jersey.  April  28, 
1816.  His  parents  were  both  natives  of  New  Jer- 
sey. His  father.  Isaac  Smith,  was  born  in  Salem 
county  of  that  state.  His  mother's  family  name 
was  Wheaton,  a  family  of  Welsh  extraction.  The 
sturdy,  manly  principles  which  mark  the  career  of 
Professor  Smith  are  largely  due  to  the  character- 
istics  inherited   from    his   parents.      They   were 

botl ted  for  great   force  of  character  and    they 

trained  their  children  in  ways  of  strict  righteous-  . 
ness  and  integrity.  Besides  this  training.  David 
received  from  his  parents  a  nature  full  of  energy 
and  perseverance,  attributes  which  were  strong 
factors  in  leading  him  to  a  grand  success  in  the 
field  of  labor  he  eventually  chose  as  his. life  work. 
From  his  mother,  particularly,  he  received  a  taste 
for  learning  that  led  him  to  become  a  most  dili- 
gent student.  He  made  rapid  progress  in  his 
studies  and  early  evinced  a  strong  inclination  bli- 
the study  of  medicine.  In  this  he  was  encouraged 
and,  when  only  seventeen  became  a  medical 
student  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Isaac  Mulford,  of  Cam 
den,  N.J.  He  was  given  excellent  opportunities, 
to,-  he  was  permitted  to  attend  three  full  terms  of 
lectures  at  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Phila- 
delphia and  from  then-  he  graduated  in  1836. 
This  college  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  one  of  the 
foremost  medical  schools  on  the  continent,  and  its 
diploma  could  only  be  earned  by  a  thorough  mas 
tery  of  the  science  of  medicine.    Just  about  this 

time  the  great  Wist    began   to  attract    the    enter 
prisingand  energetic  youth  of  theolder  East.     The 


LIBHAHY 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


565 


young  doctor  was  allured  to  this  spot  that  prom- 
ised so  well,  and  with  his  diploma  as  his  reference 
began  practice  in  Chicago.  His  tirst  year  was  far 
more  successful  than  he  could  have  hoped,  and  in 
1837  he  went  Lack  to  Camden  to  visit  his  parents. 
It  was  a  momentous  visit,  as  it  was  then  Dr. 
Smith  obtained  the  first  insight  into  the  then  new 
doctrine  of  homoeopathy.  So  interested  did  he  be 
emne  in  the  subject  that  he  resolved  to  investigate 
it  thoroughly.  He  bought  all  the  books  he  could 
find  in  the  English  language,  treating  upon  the  mat- 
ter, and  brought  them  with  him  when  he  returned 
to  the  West.  Circumstances  led  him  to  remove 
to  Joliet  for  a  time,  and  there  he  studied  assidu- 
ously the  doctrine  of  Hahnemann.  Theworldof 
medicine  today  knows  the  result  of  his  researches. 
Dr.  Smith  brought  the  new  science  to  the  front 
to  such  purpose  that  he  has  been  called  the 
"Father  of  Western  Homoeopathy."  He  procured 
from  the  Illinois  Legislature,  in  1854-55,  the  char- 
ter of  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chicago. 
The  original  draft  of  this  charter  was  written  by 
Dr.  Smith  in  the  law  office  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
at  Springfield.  Illinois.  The  achievemenl  of  con 
ceiving  and  establishing  this  college  gave  to  Dr. 
Smith  great  honor  and  credit.  The  young  physi- 
cian did  not  accept  the  teachings  of  his  books 
without  the  closest  investigation.  In  fact,  com  ic 
tionof  the  t lion. ugh  reliability  of  homoeopathy  did 
not  reach  him  until  it  was  brought  to  him  in  his 
own  practice  and  in  his  own  family.  While  in 
Philadelphia  his  Hist  child  was  taken  seriously 
ill,  and  as   the  case  would  not    yield  to    allopathic 

treatment,  he  resorted  to  homoeopathy  and  with 
very  gratifying  results.  From  that  time  his  eon 
fidence  in  the  doctrines  of  Hahnemann  became 
thoroughly  established.  Dr.  Smith  remained  in 
Joliet  until  1S42.  whin  he  returned  to  Chicago. 
He  retained  the  old  form  of  practice  for  a  short 
time.  hut.  although  he  met  with  average  sueeess. 
the  disinclination  to  practice  it  grew  stronger  and 
stronger  upon  him.  He  again  went  east  in  1843, 
where  he  procured  more  books  upon  his  favorite 
subject.  When  he  returned  to  Chicago  in  the 
spring  of  that  year  he  had  fully  determined  to 
adopt  the  new  system  in  his  practice.  He  was 
thus  the  hist  physician  to  introduce  homoeopathic 
practice  west  of  the'  great  lakes,  a  region  that  now 
has  six  medical  schools,  twiee  as  many  hospitals  and 
more  than  two  thousand  practitioners  to  represent 
what  he  stood  for  singly  and  alone.  He  himself 
was  surprised  but  gratified  at  the  favor  with  which 
the  new  system  was  received  by  the  public.  He 
soon  had  more  calls  than  he  could  respond  to.  and 


other  practitioners  were  attracted  to  his  side.     So 
rapidly  did    the  new  school   increase    in    members 
that  a  medical  body  was  soon  formed  whose  power 
has  kept  pace  with   the  other  great    factors  in  the 
growth    of    the    Western    metropolis.     Dr.  Smith 
was  naturally  elected   president  of   the  board  of 
trustees  of   Hahnemann  Medical  College  when  it 
was  organized.     He  held  that  position  until  1871, 
when  he    resigned   in   favor  of  the  late  Dr.  A.  E. 
Small.     At   the  death  of   the  latter,  he  was  again 
elected  president  and  held  the  office  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death.     Dr.  Smith  was  ever  a  most  inde- 
fatigable worker  and  his  arduous  duties  at  length 
overtaxed  his  strength  and  he  was  obliged  to  seek 
rest.     In  L856  he  went  to  Waukegan.  III.,  for  this 
purpose.  I'Ut  as  soon  as  he  felt  able  he  returned  and 
at    once    resumed  his   labors.      In    1866   he   was 
again  obliged  to  desist  on  account  of  failing-health 
and  went  to  Europe,  where    lie    spent    a    year    in 
travel.     His  reputation  had  preceded  him  and  he 
was  received  at  the  various  hospitals  and  colleges 
which  he  visited  with  the  friendliest  attention  and 
consideration  from  the  distinguished  members  of 
his  profession.     When  he  returned   home  in  1867 
he  felt  that  he  was  in  full  possession  of  his  health 
and  strength  and  he  at  once  entered  upon  his  pro- 
fessional duties,  and  from  that  time  they  were  in- 
terrupted   only   by   his   last     illness    and    death. 
Through  the  influence  of  his  mother,  in  early  life. 
Dr.  Smith    became  imbued    with   deep   religious' 
convictions.     He  was  an  attendant  of   the   Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.   He  was  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity  and   unflinching   uprightness,  simple  in 
his  habits,  dignified,  urbane   and   generous.    His 
noble  efforts  and  humane  spirit    were    recognized 
when  tin-  cholera  epidemic  fell  upon  the  city  from 
ISIS    to   1854.     Instances  of   his   devotion  to  the 
wants  of  the  suffering  poor  at  that  time  can  be  re- 
lated   which    place   him  in  the  ranks  of  the  most 
noted    benefactors  of  the   human  race.    He  was 
hospitable  in  the  extreme  and  an  attentive  listener 
to  all  who  sought  his  ear  for  counsel.  Thoroughly 
accurate  in   his  own  habits,  he  was  a  strict  disci 
plinarian   and   demanded   the   same  adhesion  to 
duty  which    he  rendered  himself.     In  recognition 
of    his  ability  and    in  appreciation  of    his  services 
to  the  cause  of  homoeopathy,  an  honorary  degree 
was  conferred  upon  him   in  1856   by  the  Homoeo- 
pathic  Medical   College  of     Cleveland,  Ohio.     In 
1857  he  was  elected  general  secretary  of  the  Amer- 
ican Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  in  18.74  was  chosen 
president  and   in  1865   treasurer  of   this  national 
association.      Naturally,     with     his     many    pro- 
fessional  duties  Dr.   Smith   never   sought   polit- 


;66 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


ieal  honors,  but  he  lived  and  died  a  stalwart 
Republican.  He  was  president  of  the  Second 
Ward  Republican  Club  in  its  palmiest  'lays 
during  the  Eayes  campaign.  He  was  at  tin' 
time  of  his  death  the  honored  and  popular 
president  of  the  old  Tippecanoe  Club  of  Chi- 
cago, which  was  organized  in  July,  lssv.  bj  those 
who  had  voted  for  General  Harrison  in  1840.  It 
can  hardly  be  estimated  how  important  a  Eactor, 
the  various  organizations  of  Tippecanoe  Clubs 
throughout  the  country  were  in  the  election  of 
General  Benjamin  Harrison  to  the  Presidency  of 
tin-  United  States.  Dr.  Smith  was  married  in  1837 
to  Miss  Rebecca  Ann  Dennis,  a  native  of  Salem. 
New  Jersey,  who  survives  him.  She  cametoChi- 
cago  in  IS.'!.")  with  her  uncle,  E.  H.  Mulford,  in 
whose  family  she  resided  until  her  marriage. 
Four  children  blessed  this  union,  two  of  whom 
survive.  The  eldest.  Mrs.  Whitehead  is  thewidow 
of  the  late  Major  F.  F.  Whitehead,  of  the  United 
States  Army,  who  died  in  Washington,  in  October, 
1888,  and  Caroline,  wife  of  J.  L.  Ely,  of  New  York 
City.  In  alluding  to  his  marriage  once,  before  a 
class  of  students,  the  doctor  naively  remarked: 
■•Yes.  we  have  spent  fifty  years  of  married  life  in 
Chicago  and  neither  one  of  us  has  ever  applied 
for  a  divorce,  I  think  it  is  due  to  Chicago's  fair 
name  that  sueh  records  be  published."  Chicago 
lias  certainly  reason  to  congratulate  herself  that 
fate  led  the  steps  of  this  young  anil  energetic 
physician  to  her  threshold.  He  achieved  honor 
Eor  the  city  of  his  adoption,  he  gained  honor  for 
himself.  Sueh  talents  as  his  would  have  won  their 
reward  wherever  fortune  might  have  east  his  lot. 
Dr  Smith  di  3d  at  his  home  in  Chicago,  after  a 
long  illness,  April  29,  1891.  The  following  resolu- 
tions were  adopted  bj  the  faculty  of  the  Hahne- 
mann Medical  College  and  Hospital  of  Chicago, 
and  the  members  of  the  hospital  staff: 

"Inasmuch  as  we  have  been  deeply  grieved  by 

the  death  of  our  worthy  and  venerable  colleague. 
I  >r.  I  >a\  id  S.  Smith,  we  as  a  faculty,  in  expression 
of  deep  sorrow,  and  in  acknowledgement  of 
his  inestimable  service,  do  hereby  adopt  the  fol- 
li  iv,  ii  .    resolutions: 

"Resolvi  'I,  That  we  recognize  flrstof  all,  the  loss 
to  the  profession  at  large,  in  which  as  the  firs! 
representative  of  our  school  of  practice  in  this 
locality,  Ins  undaunted  energy  and  marked  ability 
duringthe  pioneer  days  have  given  the  imprint 
of  success  and  of  character  to  the  modern  standard 
of  medicine.  What  he  knew  to  he  right  he  faith- 
fully prescribed.  What  he  honestly  believed  he 
bravely  defended  and  earnestly  applied.  To  his 
ability  and  his  faithfulness  the  followers  of  I  inane 

opatln  owe  a  debl  of  gratitude,  and  the  genera- 
tions in  come  will  how   in  reverence  to  his  name. 


"Resolved,  That  as  the  President  of  our  College 
and  Hospital,  we  shall  miss  his  guiding  spirit  and 

his  encouraging  presej In  all  our  workhe  has 

ever  been  a  willing  helper  and  a  good  adviser, 
lbs  life  was  consecrated  to  the  college  he  estab- 
lished and  loved,  ami  his  pride  was  centered  in 
her  prosperity.  The  joy  of  his  last  days  was  the 
realization  that  'old  Hahnemann'  had  fulfilled  the 
desire  of  his   heart  and  had  become  the   largest 

llom pathic   College   in   the   world.    To   everj 

student  his  words  were  an  encouragement  to  hon- 
est ambition.  To  every  graduate  he  gave  the  in- 
spiration of  hope. 

"Resolved,  That  more  than  all  we  admire  the 
manly  quality  and  llie  Christian  character  of  his 
life.  In  all  tilings  he  was  ennobling.  At  all  times 
the  silent  dignity  of  his  faith  gave  a  strength  to 
his  work.  His  absence  will  ever  be  mourned  and 
his  memory  forever  honored.  In  our  losswe  shall 
sacredly  prize  the  record  he  leaves  us. 

"Resolved,  Thattohis  bereaved  family  we  tender 
our  sincere  sj  mpai  hy,  and  offer  the  token  of  love 
we  bore  our  departed  friend  and  associate  in  their 
sorrow." 

The  funeral  services  were  held  at  his  late  resi- 
dence. No.  L255  Michigan  boulevard.  The  floral 
tributes  were  numerous  ami  beautiful,  and  the 
sen  ices  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  F.  M.  Bristol, 
pastor  of  the  Trinity  M.  E.  Church,  assisted  by 
the  Rev.  Lewis  P.  Mercer,  of  the  Swedenborgian 
Church,  were  most  simple  and  impressive.  The 
Tippecanoe  Club  attended  iii  a  body,  as  did  also 
the  faculty  of  the  Hahnemann  College.  The  ad- 
dress by  Rev.  Dr.  Bristol  was  a  just  and  fitting 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased.  He  said 
ill  part: 

"Asa  citizen  Dr.  Smith  was  widely  known. 
For  lil'ty-live  years  he  walked  these  streets  with 
the  legitimate  pride  of  a   thorough  Chicagoan, 

even  from  the  tirst  believing  that  this  city  was  to 
he  one  of  the  greatest  commercial  centres  of  the 
world.  He  has  seen  its  growth  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  and  has  been  identified  with  its 
marvelous  development.  He  had  the  satisfaction, 
which  was  to  him  a  most  genuine  satisfaction,  of 
being  one  of  that  highly  honored  company  known 
as  the  Old  Settlers  of  Chicago.       *       *  _.*       * 

"AH  wlio  knew  him  in  professional,  religious  or 
social  life,  will  agree  that  Dr.  Smith  was  a  most 
genial,  social,  hospitable  man  a  true  gentleman 
of  the  old  school.  With  all  his  seventy-five  years 
he  never  grew  old.  He  was  young  to  tin'  last.  In 
the  church,  of  which  he  was  an  official  member, 
in  tin-  old  Tippecanoe  Club,  of  which  he  was 
the  lion,. red  president,  and  in  the  other  societies 
with  which  he  was  connected  he  always  bore  him 
self  with  a  cheerfulness  that  made  his  presence  as 
welcome  as  the  mellow   sunshine.       *       *       *       * 

"Many  have  taken  sweet  council  with  this  good 
man  and  found  in  his  advice  the  secret  of  success. 
He  was  the  friend  of  the  young  physician  and  the 
young  minister  and  shared  in  the  joy  and  honor 
ill'  their  progress  and  success.     From  my  first  ex- 


Linn* 

UNIV£«#iTir  of  ILLINOIS. 


* 


C^L.    CPC<^e^c)^0^ 


BIOGRAPHY  OP  ILLINOIS. 


367 


perience  as  a  minister  in  this  city  I  have  felt  the 
helpful  and  inspiring  influence  of  his  friendship 
and  if  my  words  were  ;is  beautiful  as  these  Mow- 
ers, yet  could  I  not  repay  in  language  my  debt  of 
gratitude  for  that  friendship.  A  must  beautiful 
expression  of  a  loving  and  generous  Providence 
was  given  to  him  ami  to  us  all  in  tin-  close  of  this 
good  life.  The  doctor  had  expressed  the  desire 
to  live  until  he  had  reached  the  ripe  age  of  seventy- 
five  years.  His  birthday  came  to  him  on  the  28th 
of  April.  He  had  his  desire  realized.  He  was 
seventy-five  years  old.  The  next  day,  April  29, 
'  God's  finger  touched  him  and  he  slept.'       *    *" 


KEUBEN  LUDLAM. 

REUBEN  LUDLAM,  M.  D.,  a  distinguished 
physician  of  Chicago,  president  of  the  Hahne- 
mann Medical  College  and  Hospital  in 
that  city,  and  widely  known  throughout 
this  country  and  Europe  as  one  of  the 
leading  educators  ami  authors  of  the  homoeo- 
pathic school  of  medicine,  was  horn  in  Cam- 
den, New  Jersey,  October  7,  1831.  His  father,  tin- 
late  Dr.  Jacob  W.  Ludlam,  who  was  also  a  native 
of  New  Jersey,  took  his  medical  degree  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  early  manhood 
he  married  Miss  Mary  Dennis,  a  native  of  Phila- 
delphia. This  lady's  parents  wen-  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  otherwise  known  as 
Quakers.  Dr.  Jacob  W.  Ludlam  was  a  high 
minded  gentleman  and  skillful  practitioner.  His 
active  labors  as  a  physician  covered  more  than 
thirty  years,  ami  he  attained  to  a  position  of  emi- 
nence in  his  profession.  Tin-  later  years  of  his 
long,  honorable  and  useful  life  were  spent  amid 
the  most  refined  surroundings  at  Evanston,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  died  in  l^os.  His, esteemed  widow. 
who  still  resides  at  Evanston,  is  now  (1892)  in  the 
eighty-fourth  year  of  her  age.  The  youthful  edu- 
cation of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was 
trained  largely  under  the  personal  supervision  of 
his  parents,  included  the  branches  commonly 
taught  at  that  time  as  a  preparation  for  profes 
sional  study.  Quite  early  in  youth  he  manifested 
the  most  extraordinary  interest  in  his  father's 
labors;  and  the  latter,  who  playfully  alluded  p. 
him  as  "the  young  Hippocrates,"  kindly  and 
cleverly  fostered  his  predilection  for  medicine, 
recognizing  that  his  tastes  therefor  were  inher- 
ited ami  thus  likely  to  lead  to  thorough  work  and 
ultimate  success,  possibly  to  eminence.  Ration- 
ally encouraged,  the  son  grew  up  in  close  contact 


with  his  father  as  a  professional  man  and  may  be 
said  to  have  imbibed,  almost  unconsciously,  the 
essentials  of  a  medical  education  through  this 
congenial  association.  So  eager  was  the  lad  in 
his  desire  to  begin  actual  professional  work  that 
he  voluntarily  turned  his  hack  upon  nearly  all 
the  ordinary .  time  consuming  diversions  of  youth 
and,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  began,  under  his  father's 
preeeptorship,  the  systematic  study  of  medicine, 
to  which  he  devoted  himself  with  unfaltering 
persistence  until  he  won  his  diploma.  His  studies 
were  thorough  ami  exhaustive  ami  included  at 
tendance  at  three  full  courses  of  medical  lectures 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  a  some- 
what extensive  hospital  training,  which  was  less 
common  in  those  days  than  now.  In  LS.VJ  he  re 
ceived  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  medical  depart 
ment  of  which  is  the  oldest  ami  in  some  respects 
the  most  renowned  in  this  country.  It  was  in 
this  famous  school  that  his  father  had  won  his 
medical  degree  many  years  previously,  and  this 
fact  added  greatly  to  the  pleasure  which  the  sou 
and  pupil  experienced  when  he  found  himself  en- 
rolled among  its  alumni.  The  young  physician's 
student  career  had  been  one  of  remarkable  prom- 
ise, and  upon  obtaining  his  degree  he  applied 
himself  diligently  to  the  task  of  realizing  the 
hopes  of  his  father  and  preceptor  and  the  predic- 
tions of  his  professors  ami  friends.  How  success- 
ful he  was  in  this  laudable  endeavor  is  set  forth 
to  some  extent  in  this  biographical  sketch,  the 
necessary  brevity  of  which  prevents  more  than  a 
passing  allusion  to  the  principal  incidents  and 
achievements  of  his  busy  life.  Selecting  Chicago 
as  the  theatre  of  his  efforts,  he  settled  in  that 
city  soon  after  his  graduation  and  at  once  engaged 
in  professional  work.  At  the  time  he  began  to 
practice,  the  teachings  of  Hahnemann,  the  found 
er  of  homoeopathy,  who  had  died  in  the  previous 
decade,  were  receiving  renewed  attention  at  tin- 
hands  of  scientific  physicians  generally,  many  of 
whom,  after  a  thorough  investigation,  unhesitat- 
ingly adopted  them  and  thenceforth  practiced  in 
accordance  therewith.  Dr.  Ludlam,  whose  train 
ing  had  been  too  broad  to  admit  of  his  entertain - 
ing  any  prejudice  against  an  imperfectly  tested 
doctrine,  especially  in  medicine,  investigated  those 
put  forth  by  Hahnemann  and  his  disciples,  and 
becoming  irresistibly  convinced  of  their  general 

correctness  joined  the  ranks  of  the-  hoi pathists, 

with  whom  he  has  ever  since  remained  identified. 
Being  a  highly  cultured  man  and  in  consequence 
very  liberal  in  his  views,  he  does  not  pretend  that 


368 


lUOOKAl'HY   OF    ILLINOIS. 


"infallibility    has  been  attained  in  the  practice 
of  medicine,  or  that  his  own  or  any  other  school 
should  lay  claim  to  a  monopoly  of  knowledge  of 
the  healing  art."    In  his  opinion  all  medical  men 
-whatever  their  creed      "  should  labor  conscien- 
tiously to  discharge  their  duties  to  mankind,  al- 
lowing themselves  to  be  judged  by  the  results  of 
their  efforts  to  alleviate   human  suffering."    At 
times  when  controversy  has  been  verj   bitter  tie 
has  always  ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  modera- 
tion, and   has  counselled  an    avoidance   of  any- 
thing approximating  to  acrimony  in  purely  scien- 
tific discussions.    His  pacific  and  thoughtful  ut- 
terances  have   had   a   profound  influence  in  pro- 
moting    harmony    and    mutual   respeel    between 
practitioners  of  all  schools,  particularly  in  Chicago, 
where,  by  reason  of   his   strong   personality,  his 
winds   have  hail  more  than  ordinary  weight.     Dr. 
Ludlam    was   eminently    successful   almost    from 
the  beginning  of  his  career.    In  the  seventh  year 
of  his  practice  he  was  elected  to  the  first  profes 
sorshipof  physiology,  pathology  and  clinical  med- 
icine, in  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Chi- 
cago, then  just  established.    Four  years  later  he 
was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  obstetrics  and  the 
diseases  of  women  and  children  in  the  same  insti- 
tution, which  he  tilled  with  distinction  andability. 
In  1870  he  was  chosen   professor  of  the  medical 
and  surgical  diseases  of  women,  and  dean  of  the 
college  faculty.     He  now  holds  the  chair  of  the 
surgical  diseases  of    women  exclusively,  and  has 
been  promoted  to  the  presidency  of  the  institu- 
tion.   Uncontradicted   testimony  is  to  the  effect 
that  to  no  one  who  has  ever  been  connected  with 
it,  is  this  college  under  greater  obligation  than  to 
Dr.  Ludlam  for  its  high  standing  among  the  med 
ical  schools  of  the  country.     "A    watchful    guar- 
dian of  its  interests   and  a  liberal  contributor  to 
its     resources,     he     has     labored    constantly    to 
elevate   its   standard    to    the    highest    available 
plane  and  to  increase  its  usefulness  to  the  fullest 
possible  extent."    To   the   mastery   of   his  spec- 
ialty    Dr.    Ludlam     has    given     many     years     of 
close  Btudy,  consulting  all  available  authorities  in 
America  and  repeatedly  visiting  the  hospitals  of 
Europe   in    his  diligent    search   for    information 
bearing  upon   it.     In  the  department  of  uterine 
and  ovarian  surgery  he  has  developed  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  of  skill,  has  had  an  almost  phenom- 
enal success,  and  has  earned   a    national   reputa- 
tion.    His    great     work     entitled    "Clinical    and 
Didactic  Lectures  on   tie-    Diseases  of  Women," 
an  octavo  volume  of  over  one  thousand  pages,  was 
first  published  in  1871.  and   is  now  in  its  seventh 


edition.     This    valuable    work   is   used  as  a  text 
book  in  all  homoeopathic  colleges,  and  is  accepted 

by  homoeopathic  physicians  in  this  and  other 
countries  as  a  standard  work    of    reference  on  the 

subject  of  which  it  treats.  It  has  been  translate, 1 
into  French  and  published  by  Delahaye.  of  Paris. 
Partly  in  recognition  of  this  high  compliment  to 
his  own  production,  but  with  a  full  sense  of  the 
greal  value  of  a  volume  of  clinical  lectures  by  Dr. 
Jousset,  of  Paris,  he  translated  the  latter  into 
English,  and  the  excellent  manner  in  which  he 
performed  this  task,  adding  many  original  and 
valuable  notes,  called  forth  the  most  favorable 
eminent.  The  translation  met  with  a  large  sale 
both  in  this  country  and  England.  Another  very 
important  work  from  his  pen.  entitled  "A  Course 
of  Clinical  Lectures  on  Diphtheria,"  was  issued 
in  1863,  and  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
strictly  medical  work  ever  published  in  Chicago 
and  the  Northwest.  Its  sale  was  very  large.  Dr. 
Ludlam's  connection  with  periodical  medical  lit- 
erature lias  been  exhaustive  and  of  long  duration. 

Beginning  as  far  back  as  1860,  he  served  for  six 
years  as  associate  editor  of  tie'  North  American 
Journal  of  Homoeopathy,  a  quarterly,  still  pub- 
lished in  Xew  York;  and  for  nine  years  as  one  of 
the  principal  editors  of  the  United  statcx  Medical 
ami 'Surgical  Journal,  published  in  Chicago.  The 
American  Homoeopathic  Review  and  other  lead- 
ing periodicals  of  his  school  have  frequently  pub- 
lished valuable  and  highly  interesting  contri- 
butions from  his  pen.  As  a  general  editor  of  The 
i  Uinique,  a  monthly  abstract  of  the  clinics  and  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Clinical  Society  of  the 
Hahnemann  Hospital  of  Chicago,  now  in  the  thir- 
teenth year  of  its  publication,  he  has  been  a  very 
large  contributor  to  the  medical  literature  of 
America.  One  of  his  more  recent  contributions 
to  this  monthly  is  entitled  ••Clinical  Observations 
Based  on  Four  Hundred  Abdominal  Sections." 
These  major  operations  were  all  performed  by  Dr. 
Ludlam  between  1S7'2  and  1890;  and  notwith- 
standing that  they  were  begun  "at  a  period  when 
peritoneal  surgery  was  imperfectly  developed. and 
that  many  of  them  were  performed  under  the 
most  trying  and  adverse  conditions,  and  with  a 
technique  that  was  neither  aseptic  nor  satisfac- 
tory." they  were  attended  with  a  success  which 
has  never  been  excelled.  As  a  medical  lecturer 
Dr.  Ludlam  is  distinguished  for  lucidity  of  ex 
planation  and  the  intensely  practical  nature  of 
his  teachings.  As  a  public  speaker  he  has  few 
superiors,  his  manner  being  graceful  and  his  How 
of  language  easy  and  fluent.     Many   honors  have 


UNlVERSiir  of  ILUNOIS. 


t^ivv 


c«-«^ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


)69 


been  conferred  upon  him  by  leading  societies  and 
associations  of  medical  men,  local  and  national, 
in  reci  ignition  of  his  eminent  ability  and  important 
services  and  valuable  contributions  to  medical 
science.  Among  these  may  be  named  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Medicine,of  the 
Illinois  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society,  of  the 
Western  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  and  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy.  For  the 
past  fifteen  years,  or  from  its  first  organization, 
he  has  also  served  with  distinction  as  a  member 
of  the  Illinois  State  Board  of  Health.  Dr.  Lud- 
lam  was  married  in  I860  to  Harriet  G.  Parvin,  of 
New  York  city.  His  only  son,  Dr.  Reuben  Lud- 
lam,  Jr.,  was  graduated  at  the  Hahnemann  Med- 
ical College  of  Chicago  in  the  class  of  1886.  Sub- 
sequently he  spent  a  year  in  Eoreign  travel  and  in 
study  in  the  famous  hospitals  of  London  and 
Paris.  On  his  return  to  America  he  became  asso- 
ciated with  his  father  in  general  practice  and 
hospital  work.  He  is  now  (1892)  in  the  Berlin 
hospitals  fitting  himself  for  his  duties  as  clinical 
assistant  to  the  chair  of  surgical  gyntecology  in 
the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  and  Hospital  of 
Chicago. 


JOHN  E.   OILMAN. 

JOHN   E.   OILMAN.   M.   D..   a   distinguished 

physician  and  public  spirited  citizen  of  Chicago, 
professor  of  physiology,  sanitary  science  and  hy- 
giene in  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  thai 
city,  and  widely  known  through  his  devoted  labors 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  Relief  and  Aid 
Society,  was  born  at  Harniar.  a  suburb  of  Marietta, 
Ohio.  July  24,1841.  He  belongs  to  an  old  and  noted 
Puritan  family,  which,  from  a  period  long  antece- 
dent to  the  Revolution  ami  for  many  years  there- 
after, exercised  a  marked  influence  upon  the  po- 
litical, ecclesiastical,  financial  and  social  history 
of  New  Hampshire.  The  progenitor  of  the  fam- 
ily. John  Oilman,  came  from  England  in  1638  and 
settled  at  Exeter.  He  rose  to  considerable  promi- 
nence in  the  colony,  and  in  1630,  when  New 
Hampshire  was  separated  from  Massachusetts,  he 
was  appointed  one  of  the  royal  commissioners. 
Nicholas  Oilman,  his  great-great-grandson,  was 
a  leading  spirit  in  political  affairs  during  the  Revo 
lution,  and  subsequently  became  treasurer  of 
New  Hampshire.  Two  sons  of  the  latter  likewise 
achieved  high  distinction  iu  public  affairs.  John 
Taylor    Oilman,  the    elder,  born    in    New    Hamp 


shire  in  1753,  joined  the  patriot  forces  on  the 
morning  after  the  battles  of  Concord  and  Lexing- 
ton, and  served  in  the  held  until  called  to  assist  his 
father  in  administering  the  finances  of  his  native 
state.  Later  he  sat  in  the  Continental  Congress 
as  one  of  its  representatives,  and  afterwards  suc- 
ceeded  Ins  lather  as  state  treasurer.  He  filled 
several  other  offices  with  signal  ability,  and  was 
finally  elected  governor  of  New  Hampshire.  His 
popularity  was  so  great  that  he  was  retained  in 
this  office  fourteen  years.  Nicholas  Gilman,  the 
younger  son.  served  in  the  patriot  army  until  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  for  a  time  a 
member  of  the  military  family  of  Washington. 
He  was  also  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress. 

After  pi  ai  i a  member  of 

the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  and 
from  1805  until  his  death,  in  1814,  was  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate.  He  was  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  convention  which  met  at 
Philadelphia  to  forma  constitution  for  the  United 
States.  In  later  generations  the  Oilman  family 
has  distinguished  itself  in  the  field  of  science  and 
letters.  Among  its  more  prominent  members  in 
recent  times  may  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Gilman,  D.  D.,  a  well-known  divine  and  author; 
Professor  Chandler  Robbins  Gilman,  M.  D.,  a 
medical  teacher  and  author  of  high  repute,  and 
the  distinguished  educator,  Daniel  Coit  Gilman, 
LL.  D..  the  first  president  of  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity. The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Bartholomew  Oilman,  a  hardy  pioneer, 
was  among  the  first  to  settle  in  the  unbroken 
wilderness  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  taking  up 
land  at  Belpre,  opposite  Blennerhassett  Island, 
in  the  state  of  Ohio.  He  married  Elizabeth,  the 
daughter  of  Col.  Daniel  Fisher,  of  Exeter.  N.  H.. 
who  was  an  officer  in  the  Continental  army,  and 
who  fitted  out  a  company  of  cavalry  at  his  own 
expense.  Afterwards  he  removed  to  Kentucky, 
where  some  of  his  descendants  still  reside.  His 
two  sons,  George  and  John  Calvin,  adopted  the 
profession  of  medicine.  The  first  was  for  many 
years  a  prominent  physician  of  Lexington.  Ken- 
tucky. The  last  named,  who  was  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Massachu- 
setts in  1811.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Fay. 
of  Westborough,  Mass.,  daughter  of  William  Fay — 
a  veteran  of  the  War  of  1812— and  sister  of  Cath- 
erine Fay.  the  well-known  philanthropist,  whose 
devoted  labors  in  behalf  of  the  Indians,  and  later 
of  the  orphan  children  of  Ohio,  have  made  her 
name  honored  throughout  the  West.  In  1846  Dr. 
John  C.  Gilman  returned   to  Westborough  Mass.. 


37° 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    [LLINOIS. 


taking  wife  Him  his  wife  and  family.  Be  died 
there  in  L857.  It  was  his  intention  to  make  phy- 
sicians of  bis  three  sons.  William  L„  John  E.  and 
George  A..,  bul  the  last-named  engaged  in  the 
railroad  business,  and  the  first,  after  mastering 
the  profession  and  practicing  i1  for  some  years, 
gave  it  up  to  enter  the  Christian  ministry,  and  is 
now  tin-  esteemed  pastor  of  a  flourishing  church 
in  Denver, Colorado.  John  Ellis  Oilman,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  carried  ou1    the  design  of  his 

father.     As  a  boj    he   cl rfullj    assisted    him  in 

his  surgical   practice,  and  took  a  keen   interest  in 

the  work.     He  read  as  many  I ks  on   medicine 

as  were  accessible,  and  looked  forward  with  high 
anticipation  to  the  time  when  he  should  be  quali- 
fied to  engage  in  practice.  When  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old  his  father  died.  John  then  studied 
under  his  elder  brother,  at  that  time  practicing 
in  Marietta.  Ohio.  He  was  also  a  year  or  so 
under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  George  Hartwell,  an  able 
physician  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  lie  finished  his  course 
of  study  at  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  in 
Chicago,  and  immediately  after  receiving  the  de- 
gree of  doctor  of  medicine,  entered  upon  practice 
in  that  city.  Or.  Gilman  seems  to  have  inherited 
his  father's  profound  love  for  the  science  of  medi- 
cine. From  the  day  he  began  professional  work 
he  devoted  himself  to  his  duties  with  rare  en- 
thusiasm, neglecting  no  available  means  of  in- 
creasing his  scientific  knowledge  and  improving 
his  skill,  or  of  adding  to  his  fund  of  general  in- 
formation. The  usual  result  followed:  within  a 
decade  he  became  known  as  one  of  most  able  and 
successful  of  the  younger  generation  of  medical 
men  in  that  city,  and  when  the  great  fire  of  1S71 
took  place  he  ranked  among  the  Eoremosl  local 
practitioners  of  the  homoeopathic  school.  In  the 
face  of  this  dreadful  calamity,  which  within 
twenty  four  hours  swept  away  nearly  three  and 
one-third  square  miles  of  the  densely  populated 
part  of  the  city,  destroying  the  homes  of  about 
one  hundred  thousand  people  and  entailing  a  loss 
of  not  less  than  1190,000,000,  Dr.  Gilman  exhib- 
ited a  marvellous  degree  of  calmness  and  fore 
sight.  Realizing  to  the  fullest  extent  the  gravity 
of  the  situation,  and  that  many  of  the  sufferers 
would  be  in  sore  need  of  medical  attendance,  he 
came  at  once  to  the  front,  offering  his  personal 
services  to  tin-  authorities,  without  thought  of 
other  tie  or  reward  than  the  consciousness  of 
serving  his  distressed  fellow  citizens.  This  gener- 
ous act,  coming  in  an  hour  when  the  city  was  rap- 
idly melting  ma  conflagration  so  fierce  and  appall- 
ing as  to  carry  consternation  to  the  stoutest  hearts, 


was  gratefully  appreciated  by  the  city  authorities, 
who  accepted  Dr.  Gilman's  proffered  services, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation,  and  placed  him  in 
charge  of  the  medical  work  then  projected  to  be 
performed  under  its  auspices.  It  is  worthy  of 
record  here  that  Dr.  Gilman  was  the  first  physi- 
cian in  Chicago  thus  to  offer  his  services  for  the 
relief  of  sufferers  by  this  now  historic  fire.  On 
the  daj  following  that  on  which  he  took  the  field, 
the  Chicago  board  of  health  took  up  the  work  of 
relief  and  thenceforward  its  labors  were  con- 
ducted conjointly  with  those  of  the  Citizens'  Coin 
mittee  known  as  The  Relief  and  A  id  Society.  The 
late  Dr.  Hosmer  A. Johnson  was  elected  chairman 
of  the  commit  tee  on  sick  and  hospitals  of  this  soci 
ety.and  Dr.  Oilman  became  its  secretary.  These 
two  gentlemen,  representing  different  schools  of 
medicine,  labored  together  with  the  most  perfect 
harmony  in  their  humane  work,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  good  fellowship  born  of  this  intermingling  of  the 
rival  schools  has  continued  unbroken  down  to  the 
present  day,  with  the  happiest  results  to  the  cause 
of  medicine.  The  first  step  taken  by  thecommittee 
on  sick  and  hospitals  was  to  establish  temporary 
hospitals  and  dispensaries,  and  to  arrange  for  a 
corps  of  physicians  to  attend  them  day  and  night. 
It  is  impossible  to  estimate  too  highly  the  services 
rendered  by  Dr.  Gilman  in  this  work.  While  it 
was  in  progress  he  labored  twenty  hours  out  of 
the  twenty-four,  daily:  and  kept  at  his  post  unfal- 
teringly for  upwards  of  two  weeks.  The  splendid 
exampleset  by  Dr.  Johnson  and  himself  was  nobly 
followed  by  their  professional  brethren,  irrespeel 
ive  of  '-school."  and  although  the  work  in  hand 
was  prosecuted  under  great  difficulties,  it  was  ac- 
complished witli  excellent  success.  "It  was  the 
untiring  efforts,  the  never-flagging  zeal  of  Dr. 
Gilman  in  this  work,"  says  a  contemporary  writer, 
•■which  brought  him  prominently  before  the  pub- 
lic, won  for  him  the  kind  regard  of  his  brother 
practitioners,  without  regard  to  the  school  to 
which  they  happened  to  belong,  and  at  the  same 
time  secured  to  him  that  large  measure  of  confi- 
dence in  his  skill  and  ability  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon,  which  laid  the  foundation  for  the  splen- 
did practice  he  has  since  built  up."  Dr.  Oilman 
has  always  been  noted  for  his  diligence  and  indus- 
try, lb-  possesses  a  remarkable  capacity  for  con 
centration  of  thought  and  energy,  and  there  an' 
few  men  in  any  profession  able  to  accomplish 
more  in  a  given  time.  He  is  one  of  those  men  who 
never  seem  to  be  unprepared  and  as  events  have 
abundantly  proved  on  many  occasions,  he  rises 
equal  to  any  emergency.     His  eminent  professional 


unwary  of "illjnois. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


57' 


attainments  and  general  scholarship  and  ability 
are  widely  acknowledged  and  have  brought  to  him 
many  honors,  among  them  bi  intment, 

early  in  18S4.  to  the  chair  of  physiology,  sanitary 
science  and  hygiene  in  the  Hahnemann  Medical 
College  of  Chicago,  an  establishment  which  has 
been  appropriately  described  as  "the  mo 
of  all  the  homoeopathic  educational  institutions 
west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.'"  Beside  being 
a  practitioner  and  teacher  of  rare  skill,  Dr.  Gilman 
has  won  an  extended  reputation  as  a  writer  and 
educator.  His  contributions  to  current  periodical 
literature  cover  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  anil  ex- 
hibit literary  talent  of  a  high  order.  As  an  art 
critic  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Chicago 
a  number  of  years,  and  his  ability  in  this 
held  also  is  undoubti  d.  if 
leading  part  in  building  up  and  maintaii 

Opera  House  Art  Gallery— one  of  the 
finest  in  tlie  West.  While  engaged  in  this  work 
In-  not  only  attended  to  his  practice,  but  also  ed- 
ited,  in   company   with  Mr.  Joseph  Wri 

il.  Dr.  Gilman  was  married 
in  1860,  to  Miss  Mary  I).  Johnson,  a  native  of 
irough,  Massachusetts,  ami  daughter  of 
William  Johnson,  an  old  and  respected  n 
that  place.  Like  her  husband.  Mrs.  Gilman  is  of 
Puritan  origin,  and  it  is  not  without  interest  to 
add  that  the  farm  upon  which  she  was  born  was 
acquired  by  purchase  from  the  Indians,  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  remained  in  tin- 
Johnson  family  down  to  within  the  present  gen- 
eration. Dr.  and  Mrs.  Gilman  have  one  child,  a 
son.  William  T.  Gilman.  who  resides  in   I 


JOHN  W.   STREETER. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  and  successful  physi- 
cians in  the  West  is  Dr.  John  W.  Streeter,  of  <  !hi 
cago.     He  was  born  at  Austinburg,  Ohio,  Septem 
ber  IT.  1841,  and  is  a  worthy  son  of  that  p 
the  famous  state  which    has    given  to    American 
politics  and  literature  such   men  as  Benjamin  F. 
Wade.  Joshua  E.  Giddings.  James  A.  Garfield  and 
W.  D.  Howells.     Dr.   Streeter's   father  was   Rev. 
Sereno  W.  Streeter.  a  clergyman  of  the  Congrega- 
tional faith,  who  came  from  one  of  the  oli 
cal  families   of   Massachusetts.     His  mother  was 
Mary  (Williams   Stricter,  a  descendant  of  Roger 
Williams,  the  founder  of  the  Rhode  Island  colony. 
The  parents  of  Dr.  Streeter  were  both  graduates 


of  the  university  at  Oberlin.  Ohio,  his  father  be- 
ing one  of  a  party  of  students  who  went  there  in 
1837  from  Lane  Theological  Seminary  at  Cincin- 
nati, where  their  pronounced  anti-slavery  views 
had  brought  them  into  disfavor.  In  1847  Rev.  Mr. 
:  lied  to  the  pasti  irate  of  a  church  in 
Henrietta,  near  Rochester, New  York,  and  removed 
to  that  village  with  his  family.  His  son,  John  W.. 
i  lit  thie  sketch,  who  was  then  six  years 
of  age.  soon  began  attending  the  village  school. 
Ten  years  later  he  had  acquired  a  fair  academic 
education,  and  his  father,  with  the  object  of  giv- 
ing him  the  advantage  of  a  collegiate  training. 
ip  at  Otterbein  University. 
at  Westerville,  Ohio,  and  removed  to  that  place. 
The  son  was  quick  to  realize  that  the  scanty  sala- 
ry of  a  professor  in  a  small  college  in  those  'lays 
was  hardly  suffii  of  a  col- 

lege course,  and  after  some  months  of  study. young 
Streeter  left  the  college  in  1858,  and  went  to  Indi- 
ana, where  he  taught  school  and  worked  on  a 
farm  until  the  spring  of  1862.  In  July  of  that 
year,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  father,  who  had  ac- 
cepted the  pastorate  of  a  church  a'  Uni 
Michigan,  young  Mr.  Street,  ri  nlisted  as  a  private 
ii:  tic  Firsl  Michigan  Light  Artillery,  which  was 
known  as  the  celebrated  "Loomis  Battery."  With 
this  command  Mr.  Streeter  took  part  in  the  cam- 
paigns in  Kentucky.  Tennessee.  Alabama  and 
Georgia.  He  participated  in  the  battles  fought  by 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  was  mustered 
out  of  thi  first  lieutenant  at  the  end  of 

the  war  in  September,  1865.  His  first  promotion 
was  to  a  second  lieutenancy  for  bravery  at  the  bat  tie 
of  Chickamauga,  in  which  engagement  the  gun  in 
_>  was  the  only  one  in  the  battery  not  cap- 
tured by  the  Confederates.  He  was  offered  an 
appointment  on  the  staff  of  General  Carlin,  but 
declined  it  in  order  that  he  might  remain  with  the 
battery.  On  leaving  the  army  in  1865,  Mr.  Streeter 
began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Morse,  at 
Union  City.  Michigan,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
went  to  Ann  Arbor  University,  where  he  attended 
if  lectures.  This  was  followed  by  a 
close  reading  of  medical  works  under  the  guidance 
of  Dr.  D.  C.  Powers,  of  Coldwater,  Michigan, 
and  later  under  Dr.  Goodwin,  of  Toledo.  Ohio. 
Dr.  Streeter.  after  three  years  of  study  in  this 
line,   car  50  and  entered   Hahnemann 

Medical  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1868. 
In  order  to  get  the  training  of  active  practice. 
Dr.  Streeter  took  charge  of  the  Hahnemann  College 
dispensary. and  for  two  years  gave  his  timealmost 
exclusively  to  charity  patients.  He  was  at  that  time 


372 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


in  rat  tier  straitened  financial  circumstances,  having 
expended  all  his  means  in  obtaining  an  education, 
so  thai  ii  was  a  greal  acl  of  sell'  denial  on  his 
part  to  give  his  time  and  skill  to  dispensary  work 
when  he  needed  all  the  money  he  could  earn  for 
his  own  sustenance.  Even  after  Dr.  Streeter  had 
begun  practice  on  his  own  account,  he  had  a  pro- 
longed struggle  with  poverty.  He  had  one  warm 
friend  in  Mr.  A.  J.  Willard,  of  Chicago,  who,  from 
long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  his  lather, 
took  a  very  substantia]  interest  in  the  young  phy- 
sician. He  advanced  him  some  money  at  a  time 
when  it  was  greatly  needed,  and  with  the  under- 
standing that  it  could  be  repaid  out  of  Dr. 
Streeter's  professional  earnings.  After  a  hard 
struggle  Dr.  Streeter  established  his  reputation 
as  a  skillful  practitioner,  and  in  time  acquired  a 
very  profitable  clientage,  his  income  being  now 
fully  as  huge  as  that  of  the  average  bank  or  rail- 
way president.  Dr.  Streeter,  despite  his  large 
practice,  has  been  active  in  the  advancement  of 
the  interests  of  his  profession  by  an  extension  of 
its  medical  colleges  and  the  proper  training  of 
students.  In  1S77  he  assisted  in  founding  the 
Chicago  Homoeopathic  College,  in  which  he  was 
professor  of  diseases  of  women  and  children. 
Two  years  later  he  was  given  the  chair  of  the 
medical  and  surgical  diseases  of  women,  which 
he  now  holds.  While  very  successful  as  a  general 
practitioner,  Dr.  Streeter  is  recognized  as  an  ex- 
pert in  gynaecology.  He  lias  been  connected  with 
the  Cook  county  hospital  for  several  years  iu  this 
particular  line  of  practice,  and  on  the  completion 
of  the  new  hospital  now  being  erected  by  the 
Chicago  Homoeopathic  college,  he  will  have  charge 
of  all  cases  coming  under  this  head.  He  is  an  ex- 
pert operator  in  pelvic  and  abdominal  surgery  and 
maintains  a  large  private  hospital  for  the  treat- 
ment of  the  diseases  of  women.  Dr.  Streeter 
finds  an  agreeable  relaxation  from  professional 
labor  iu  his  connection  with  the  Illinois  National 
Guard,  in  which,  as  an  ex-soldier  of  the  war.  he 
takes  a  strong  interest.  He  has  been  active  in 
the  building  up  of  the  state  militia,  and  for  the 
past  ten  years  has  been  surgeon  of  the  First 
Brigade.  He  has  also  been  identified  with  the 
military  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  ever  since  its 
organization  in  Illinois.  Dr.  Streeter  was  mar- 
ried in  1869  to  Miss  Mary  Clark,  a  daughter  of 
Israel  W.  Clark,  now  a  wealthy  and  philanthropic 
citizen  of  Union  City,  Michigan,  but  in  early- 
life  a  prominent  merchant  of  New  York  city. 
They  have  three  children  —  one  son  and  two 
daughters. 


CHARLES   H.   DEERE. 

CHARLES  H.  DEERE  was  born  March  -JS, 
18:57,  in  Hancock,  Addison  county,  Vermont,  and 
is  the  only  living  son  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Deere, 
the  pioneer  plow  maker,  whose  parents  were 
William  Rinold  and  Sarah  (Yates)  Deere;  the 
former,  a  native  of  England,  the  latter  of  Con- 
necticut, of  English  parentage,  her  father  having 
come  to  this  country  as  an  officer  in  the  British 
army  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Captain 
Yates  served  his  king  faithfully  until  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  colonies  was  no  longer  a  question, 
when  he  foreswore  allegiance  to  all  foreign  powers 
and  thereafter  lived  in  strict  loyalty  to  his  adopted 
country.  John  Deere,  the  founder  of  the  works 
which  bear  his  name  at  Moline,  was  born  in  Middle- 
bury,  Vermont,  February  7,  1801.  At  an  early  age 
he  fully  mastered  the  blacksmiths  trade,  his  chosen 
occupation,  and  engaged  therein  until  1S38,  in  his 
native  state,  having  in  the  meantime  married  Miss 
Damarius  Lamb,  of  good  old  New  England  stock, 
and  became  the  father  of  several  children.  De- 
siring greater  scope  for  his  powers  he  determined 
to  come  to  the  great,  new  West,  and  settled  in 
Grand  Detour.  Illinois.  Ten  years  later  he  re- 
moved to  Moline.  and  there  founded  the  celebrated 
plow  shops  of  Deere  &  Company,  of  which,  from 
1868  until  his  death  in  1SSG,  he  was  president. 
Charles  H.  Deere  received  his  education  in  the 
village  schools  of  Grand  Detour  and  Moline,  and 
later,  in  Iowa  and  Knox  academies,  and  as  further 
preparation  for  his  business  life  graduated  at  Bell 
Commercial  College  in  Chicago  in  1854.  Mr. 
Deere  became  successively  the  assistant  and  head 
book  keeper,  traveler  and  purchaser  for  the  firm 
of  Deere  &  Company,  plow  makers.  When  the 
plow  works  were  incorporated  in  1S68  he  was 
made  vice-president  and  general  manager,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  until  his  father's  death  in  1886 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  com- 
pany. He  has  had  the  active  part  in  building  up 
and  extending  this,  one  of  the  chief  and  largest 
industries  in  its  line  developed  in  this  country. 
Mr.  Deere  is  founder  of  the  Deere  &  Mansur  Com- 
pany, corn  planter  works,  president  of  the  Moline 
Water  Power  Company,  director  in  various  other 
works  in  Moline,  as  well  as  in  the  large  branch 
houses  of  Deere  &  Company  in  Kansas  City,  Min- 
neapolis, Des  Moines,  Council  Bluffs  and  San 
Francisco,  and  in  various  other  business  enter- 
prises. For  several  years  he  held  the  chairman- 
ship of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  for  the 
state   of    Illinois   by    appointment    of    the    gov- 


UhiVtrtalUtfW-"*0^ 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


5  »7  -3 
3  /  3 


ernor,  but   has  recently  resigned  from   thai    posi 

tion.    His   present  appointment  as  Btate  c mis- 

sionerof  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  is  the 
second  he  has  received  of  that  character, having 
been  appointed  a  commissioner  t<>  the  exposition 
at  Vienna  in  1873  for  the  state  of  Illinois.  Mr. 
Deere  is.  politically,  an  active  Republican,  and 
was  chosen  an  elector-at  large  in  the  presidential 
campaign  of  1888.  He  has  frequently  been  urged 
to  accept  nominations  for  important  political 
offices,  but  has  persistently  refused  to  allow  his 
name  to  be  used,  though  never  failing  in  a  gener- 
ous expenditure  of  time,  money  and  energy  for 
the  success  of  the  party.  Air.  Deere  is  a  man  of 
liberal  ideas,  having  travelled  extensively  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  Socially,  he  is  a  | 
companion,  and  many  a  "friend  in  need"  has  found 
him  a  "  friend  indeed."  His  family  consists  of  a 
wife  and  two  daughters.  Mr.  Deere  was  married 
in  1862  to  Miss  Mary  Little  Dickinson,  of  Chi- 
cago,  vhere  she  was  well  known  and  much  ad- 
mired for  her  tine  qualities  of  mind  as  well  as  for 
her  unusual  personal  beauty.  Going  to  her  new 
home  a  bride,  Mrs.  Deere  identified  herself  with 
the  interests  of  the  community  in  a  th 
characteristic  manner,  where  she  is  beloved  for 
her  generous,  unostentatious  charity,  her  ready 
sympathy  with  every  movement  fur  the  benefit  of 
any  worthy  object  and  her  unswerving  adherence 
to  principle  and  duty.  Added  to  a  charming  per- 
sonnel, Mrs.  Deere  possesses  distinct  social  talents 
which  render  her  a  most  gracious  hostess  and  at 
their  beautiful  home,  " Overlook,"  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
I  lei  re  I  ave  drawn  about  them  friends  and  dis- 
tinguished guests  from  every  point  of  the  ©  impass, 
and  all  from  far  and  near  have  been  royally  wel- 
comed and  entertained.  Tie'  Misses  Deere  were 
educated  in  New  York  City,  have  travelled  ex- 
tensively and  are  attractive,  cultured  young  ladies, 
well  known  in  society  in  New  York,  Chic: 
Washington.  The  elder  daughter  was  married 
some  time  since  to  Mr.  William  Dwight  Wiman, 
of  New  York  City.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Deere  are 
specially  fortunate  in  their  daughters,  whose 
many  tine  qualities,  social  and  personal  graces  re- 
tire! i  In-  influence  of  the  charming  atmosphere  of 
culture  by  which  they  have  always  been  sur- 
rounded. 

LEWIS  H.  BISBEE. 

There  seems  to  be  a  certain  leaven  of  intellect- 
ual and  moral  power  born  in  the  mind  or  after- 
wards mysteriously  infused  into  it,  in  some  way 


too  subtle  and  hidden  to  be  successfully  inquired 
for.  which  is  largely  determinative  of  the  kind  and 

success  attainable  in  life.  Of  course  in- 
dustry and  perseverance  must  inevitably  lead  to 
success  in  any  particular  department;  but  what 
is  it  that  impels  to  industry  and   perseverance? 

i     maybe    its  origin   or  nature   there  is   a 

utial  quality,  a  principle  behind  every- 
thing else,  which  fires  the  powers  of  the  youth, 
and  impels  the  energies  of  manhood,  in  every  well 
marked,  successful  career.  Lewis  H.  Bi- 
subjeel  of  this  sketch,  one  of  the  gifted  and  prom- 
inent members  of  the  Chicago  bar.   a  bar  that    is 

excelled  in  the  proportion  of  hs  brilliant, 
scholarly  and  thoroughly  learned  lawyers,  was 
born,  and  reared  through  boyhood,  on  a  farm.  It 
is  not  true  that  the  broad,  stimulating  and  intense 
conditions  of  wealth  and  citj  life  are  necessarily 
suppressive  of  marked  individual  force  and  char- 
acter. It  is  time,  however,  that  much  of  the 
brawn  and  muscle,  the  life  and  brain,  the  refine- 
ment and  energy  which  lead  and  govern  the 
real  forces  of  society  are  developed  uniler  the 
more  quiet  and  rugged  condi  untry  life. 

It  is  a  most  happy  and  valuable  fact  that  the 
real  strength  and  virtue  of  society  are  being 
constantly  replenished  from  the  rural  and  agri- 
cultural forces  of  the  country.  And  there  is 
probably  no  source  from  which  is  derived  a 
stronger  and  better  reinforcement  of  manners  and 
social  refinement.  The  home  of  Mr.  Bisl 
Hyde  Park.  It  is  one  of  the  most  ntined  and  ele- 
gant in  the  country,  and  is  a  prominent  center  of 
healthful  anil  refining  social  influence  on  a  moral 
and  intellectual  plane  as  high  as  social  develop 
merit  has  anywhere  attained.  Mr.  Bisbee  was 
born  March  28,  1839,  at  Derby,  Orleans  county. 
Vermont.  His  advantages  in  the  common  schools 
while  a  lad  were  good.  But  he  early  conceived 
the  idea  of  obtaining  the  higher  and  broader  edu- 
cation atforded  in  the  college  and  university.  In 
summers  he  worked  on  the  farm,  attending  school 
in  the  winters  until  the  age  of  sixteen.  At  this 
age  he  fell  back  on  his  own  resources,  and  proved 
himself  possessed  of  the  energy  and  tenacity  of 
purpose  requisite  to  overcome  the  obstacles  natu- 
rally in  his  way.  He  prepared  himself  for  college 
in  the  academies  at  Glover,  Derby  and  Morrisville, 
in  northern  Vermont,  and  entered  St.  Hyacinth 
College,  near  Montreal.  Canada,  when  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  graduated  from  that  institution 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  The  course  of  instruc- 
tion there  being  conducted  in  the  French  Ian 
guage,  he   became    a   thorough   French   scholar. 


574 


BIOG  R  APHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


Subsequently  he  read  law  with  J.  L.  Edwards,  a 
prominenl  practitioner  al  Derby,  paying  his  way 
mainly  l>y  teaching  French,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  June,  1862.  The  same  month  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  E  9th  Vermont  Infantry,  and  was 
afterward  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  Com- 
pany H  of  the  same  regiment.  During  his  military 
service  his  conduct  was  marked  by  gallantry 
and  faithfulness.  Through  all  the  hardships 
of  war  he  was  found  resolute  and  cheerful, 
and  in  battle  always  at  the  front.  In  1864  he  re- 
signed <>n  account  of  sickness  and  returned  to 
Newport.  Vermont,  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
the  law,  soon  building  up  an  extensive  and  lucra- 
tive  business.  Inl865Mr.  Bisbee  was  elected  states- 
attorney  of  Orleans  county,  where  he  then  lived, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1867  but  soon  after  resigned 
to  accept  the  position  of  deputy  collector  of  cus- 
toms, which  office  he  filled  until  1869,  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  the  state.  He 
was  again  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1870.  He 
proved  a  most  valuable  and  efficient  member 
of  that  body,  was  the  leader  of  his  party  in  the 
legislative  debates,  and  member  of  important  com- 
mittees. In  extempore  debate,  when  theoccasion 
was  important,  he  was  considered  the  most  vigor- 
ous and  effective  speaker  on  the  floor.  From  1865 
to  1S70  he  was  United  States  commissioner  from 
Newport  under  the  extradition  treaty.  It  was  in 
May.  1871.  that  Mr.  Bisbee  moved  to  Chicago,  but 
scarcely  had  he  become  well  started  in  business 
when  the  great  tire  occurred.  In  the  rebuilding 
of  the  city,  the  reorganization  and  re-establish- 
ment of  order  and  business.  Mr.  Bisbee  came 
naturally  and  directly  to  the  front  of  affairs.  He 
had  unwavering  faith  in  the  future  of  Chicago, 
and  also  the  ability  to  seize  and  hold  the  front  posi- 
tion which  he  has  ever  since  occupied.  Mr.  Bisbee 
is  one  of  the  most  successful  jury  and  chancery 
lawyers  in  the  Northwest.  His  practice  is  of  the 
highest  and  most  lucrative  order.  His  manage- 
ment of  the  case  known  as  the  "  B.  F.  Allen 
blanket-mortgage  case,"  for  Hoyt  Sherman,  espe- 
cially, was  conducted  with  extraordinary  ability, 
and  was  highly  complimented  by  courts  and  bar; 
also  the  noted  Sturges  case  with  many  others, 
might  be  adduced  as  continuing  his  high  reputa- 
tion as  a  lawyer.  In  1S7S  he  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  of  Illinois,  receiving  nearly  the  unan- 
imous vote  of  his  district,  one  of  the  most  popu- 
lous and  intelligent  in  the  state.  In  that  body  he 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  as  a  ready 
and  able  debater, and  an  influential  and  judicious 


legislator.     He  is  a  graceful  and  impressiv 'ator, 

an  incisive  and  logical  thinker;  and  being  possessed 

of  a  tine  ami  commanding  presence  few  men  are 
his  equal  in  the  legal  or  legislative  debating  arena. 

In  politics  lie  isan  ardent  Republican, and  in  cam- 
paigns, when  the  principles  of  the  party  are  at 
stake,  his  voice  and  eloquence  are  always  eon 
spieiiotis.  Since  serving  in  the  Legislature  Mr. 
Bisbee  lias  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his  pro 
Cession.  In  1SS7  he  was  very  largely  instrumental 
in  securing  the  annexation  of  Hyde  Park  to  thecity 
of  Chicago,  and  that  territory  was  then  made  the 
twenty-fifth  ward.  He  was  at  once  almost  unani- 
mously elected  one  of  the  aldermen  for  that  large 
and  populous  ward,  and  in  that  capacity  served 
until  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
declared  the  law  under  which  Hyde  Park  had 
been  annexed  to  be  unconstitutional,  While  a 
member  of  the  city  council  Mr.  Bisbee  was  de- 
servedly very  popular,  both  wit  lithe  other  members 
of  that  body,  and  with  his  constituents  whose  in- 
terests he  so  carefully  regarded.  During  the  ab- 
sence of  the  mayor  he  was  almost  always  called 
upon  to  preside,  and  whether  in  the  chairor  upon 
the  floor  he  showed  the  same  marked  ability 
which  has  characterized  all  his  public  work. 
After  leaving  the  council  Mr.  Bisbee  set  to  work 
and  secured  the  pasage  of  a  new  law,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1889  not  only  the  town  of  Hyde  Park, 
but  also  the  towns  of  Lake  View.  Jefferson  and 
a  portion  of  Cicero  became  annexed,  adding  ■J.-'k 
000  to  the  population  of  the  city  of  Chicago.  So 
great  a  result  was  not  accomplished  without  a 
great  effort,  and  to  Mr.  Bisbee  more  than  to  any- 
other  man  is  due  the  credit  which  attaches  to  its 
attainment.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  he 
gave  the  movement  his  untiring  effort  and 
through  his  persistency  and  diplomacy  a  work 
was  accomplished  which  has  added  new  pride  to 
every  citizen  of  Chicago.  In  1864  Mr.  Bisbee 
married  Miss  Jane  B.  Hinman, daughter  of  Aaron 
Hinman,  of  Derby.  Vt..  an  interesting  and  accom- 
plished lady  and  a  descendant  of  good  old  New 
England  ancestry.  They  have  two  children,  a 
son  and  a  daughter  —  Hattie  and  Benjamin  H. 
Personally,  Mr.  Bisbee  is  a  genial  and  affable 
gentleman  of  broad  and  generous  nature,  digni- 
fied, courteous  and  obliging.  In  his  profession  he 
is  conscientious,  painstaking  and  laborious.  Of 
robust  and  hardy  nature,  aggressive,  yet  refined 
and  learned,  he  is  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term  a 
self  made  man.  And  the  most  of  his  life,  as  the 
lives  of  strong  men  generally  run,  is  still  before 
him. 


LIBRAE 

OF   THE 

UMlVERSiTY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGKAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


375 


ELLIOTT  ANTHONY. 

It  is.-i  well  attested  maxim  thai  the  greatness 
of  a  Btate  lies  no!  in  its  machinery  of  government, 
in)t  even  in  its  institutions,  but  in  the  sterling 
qualities  of  its  individual  citizens,  in  their  capac- 
ity for  high  and  unselfish  effort  and  their  devotion 
to  the  public  good.  Among  those  who  are  justly  en- 
titled to  be  enrolled  among  the  makers  of  I 

eon wealth  of  Illinois  and  the  city  of  ( 'Idea  go, 

is  Judge  Elliott  Anthony,  whose  more  than  forty 
years  residence  among  us  has  left  its  impress 
upon  the  state  and  nation.  Although  born  in 
central  New  York  and  surrounded  by  all  the  at- 
tractions which  that  charming  and  picturesque 
reel,  ,n  affords,  in  its  hills  and  valleys,  and  beauti- 
ful lakes,  he  saw  the  greatest  possibilities  in  the 
lands  of  the  setting  sun.  and  as  a  consequence  left 
his  home  and  native  state  within  one  month  after 
he  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar,  at  Oswego,  New 
York,  on  the  7th  day  of  May,  1851,  with  only  a 
small  sum  of  money  in  his  pocket,  which  was 
barely  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his 
journey  to  his  place  of  destination  in  Illinois:  and 
took  up  his  abode,  first  in  the  Rock  River  country 
at  Sterling,  the  county  seat  of  Whiteside  county, 
where  an  elder  brother,  who  had  preceded  him 
was  at  that  time  living:  and  in  the  next  autumn 
took  up  his  residence  in  Chicago,  where  he  has 
remained  ever  since.  He  possessed  no  rich  inher 
itanee  or  influential  friends  to  aid  and  assist  him 
in  establishing  himself  in  business,  but  he  was 
tilled  with  high  hopes,  a  laudable  ambition  to  suc- 
ceed, and  a  volition  which  shrank  from  no  obsta- 
cles or  difficulties  that  presented  themselves  to 
bar  his  progress.  His  life  has  been  one  of  cease- 
less toil  and  labor,  and  Ins  success  has  been  com- 
mensurate with  his  labors.  A  more  worthy  and 
exemplary  citizen  never  lived  within  the  borders 
of  our  commonwealth — and  it  is  to  such  men  as 
Judge  Anthony,  that  the  city  of  Chicago  ami  the 
state  of  Illinois  owe  their  rapid  advancement  and 
enlightened  development.  He  came  at  that  for- 
tunate period  when  everything  was  in  the  forma 
tive  state,  when  the  city  contained  not  more  than 
thirty  or  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  when 
there  wen-  not  more  than  fifty  lawyers  all  told, 
who  were  struggling  up  from  the  ranks  to  the 
higher  positions  which  force,  fitness  and  ability 
enable  their  possessors  to  ever  reach  or  fill.  If 
his  ambition  was  great,  his  rise  was  rapid,  and  in 
less  than  three  years  he  was  known  as  among  the 
most  promising  young  lawyers  at  the  bar.  He 
became   imbued  at  a  very  early  period  with  the 


idea  that  Chicago  was  destined  to  be  a  great 
city,  and  there  is  scarcely  any  great  public  en- 
terprise which  has  been  projected  hut  what 
lie  has  in  some  way  been  identified  with. 
Although  not  among  the  earliest  settlers,  yet 
he  was  a  typical  pioneer,  and  his  career  forms 
a  part  of  the  history  of  Chicago:  for  he  has 
seen  it  grow  from  a  bustling  frontier  town  to  that 
of  a  metropolis.  "If  a  general  diffusion  of  learn 
ing,  science  and  the  arts,  at  this  time  is  desirable," 
said  he.  "then  the  Mississippi  Valley  is  the  chosen 
spot  for  their  cultivation.  The  generations  are 
increasing,  and  the  career  of  duty  and  usefulness 
which  is  to  lie  seen  by  our  children  will  lie  under 
constantly  increasing  excitement,  and  the  voice 
which  in  the  morning  of  life  shall  awaken  a  large 
and  patriotic  sympathy  will  he  echoed  hack  by  a 
community  vastly  swelled  in  its  proportions  before 
that  voice  shall  he  hushed  in  death."  Judge 
Anthony's  forefathers  were  Quakers  who.  early  in 
the   17th  century,  made  their  appearance  in   the 

land    to    which    le r   Williams  was  exiled,  and 

from  that  day  to  this  the  family  history  has  been 
illustrated  by  some  of  the  brightest  examples  in 
all  the  walks  of  life,  in  the  annals  of  this  country. 
The  father  of  Elliott  Anthony  was  Isaac  Anthony, 
who  was  born  on  the  island  of  Rhode  Island,  eight 
miles  from  Newport.  His  grandmother  on  his 
father's  side  was  a  Chase,  and  was  connected 
with  the  well  known  Chase  family  of  which  the 
late  Chief  Justice  Chase  was  so  distinguished  a 
member.  The  mother  of  Elliott  was  a  Phelps, 
ami  belongs  to  the  Phelps  family  of  Vermont, 
who  at  an  early  period  occupied  portions  of  Con- 
necticut and  Massachusetts,  and  who  are  now 
scattered  widely  over  various  portions  of  the 
United  States.  The  grandfather  of  Elliott  and 
his  family  were  residents  of  Rhode  Island  when 
the  Hessians  held  it  during  the  Revolutionary 
war  and  when  all  felt  the  exactions  of  British  tyr- 
anny. At  this  time  the  whole  state  was  placed  un- 
der martial  law,  and  for  some  infraction  of  the  reg- 
ulations which  hail  been  adopted  by  the  Hessian 
and  British  forces,  which  at  that  time  constituted 
the  army  of  occupation,  the  grandfather  of  Elliott 
and  a  younger  brother  were  taken  prisoners  and 
held  for  some  time  at  headquarters  and  compelled 
io  perform  various  menial  duties  which  greatly 
embittered  them  against  the  British  nation,  and 
which  has  lasted  through  all  succeeding  genera 
tions.  Allot'  the  inhabitants  at  that  da\  were 
filled  with  high  and  lofty  patriotic  feelings,  and 
there  was  scarcely  one  of  the  Anthony  family  hut 
what   were  in  one  capacity  or  another  connected 


376 


BIOGRAPHY  OK   ILLINOIS. 


with  the  Revolutionarj  war,  some  as  officers  arid 
some  as  privates  and  some  as  sailors  on  our  men- 
of-war.  The  consequence  of  this  was  thai  al  the 
i 'lose  of  the  Ke\  olutionary  war  the  number  of  vet- 
erans was  quite  large,  and  the  traditions  of  that 
great  struggle,  told  around  the  fireside  became 
as  familiar  as  household  words.  Elliott's  father 
was  an  able  historian,  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  facts  concerning  all  the  Indian  wars  and  the 
uprising  of  l  lie  colonies  against  the  mother  coun- 
try, having  obtained  them  from  his  own  father 
and  grandfather,  and  the  incidents  connected  with 
wars  and  over  the  struggle  for  independence 
ame  the  common  topic  anions  the  friends  and 
neighbors,  and  in  the  family  cii  cle;  and  the  young 
and  rising  generation  soon  acquired  a  good  linowl- 

of  those  stirring  events  in  our  history  which 
has  had  a  most  lasting  effect  on  all  of  the 
descendants  of  the  family.  Their  sympathies 
have  always  and  everywhere  been  on  the  side  of 
the  oppressed  and  down  trodden  as  far  as  it  can 
be  traced  either  in  the  male  or  female  line. 
Those  who  belive  in  the  doctrine  of  heredity  have 

-I  striking  example  of  the  old  adage  that 

'•blood  will  tell."  Shortly  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war  word  reached  the  inhabitants 
of  the  New  England  states  of  the  boundless  re- 
sources of  the  West  and  of  the  great  opportunities 
which  were  afforded  to  the  enterprising  young 
men  and  women  who  should  take  up  their  abode 
in  the  regions  lying  beyond  the  Green  mountains 
in  Eastern  and  Western  New  York,  and  in  the 
country  which  had  begun  to  be  developed  near 
Troy  and  Albany  and  along  the  Valley  of  the 
Mohawk  as  far  west  as  what  is  now  known  as  cen- 
tral New  York.  Elliott's  grandfather,  on  his 
father's  side,  and  his  grandfather  on  his  mother's 
side,  almost  simultaneously  joined  that  great 
westward  moving  throng  and  set  out  for  tin1  west. 
and  after  weeks  of  toil  and  hardship  found  them- 
selves in  Washington  county,  and  purchased  lands 
in  the  town  of  Cambridge,  some  twenty  miles 
from  Albany,  where  they  commenced  to  fell  the 
forests  and  prepare  the  soil  for  crops,  and  where 
of  their  descendants  can  be  found  to  this 
day.  Here  in  this  agricultural  community  the 
father  of  Judge  Anthony  first  met  Parmelia  Phelps 

as  married  to  her  -her  father  having  moved 

hither   from    Vermont   with  all   their   househ  ild 

onlj  a  few  years  before.    One  daughter  and 

three  sons  were  the  fruil  of  this  union,  when  the 

father,  having  heard  the  most  glowing  ace its  of 

the  region  of  country  lying  west  of  Syracuse,  re- 
to  1  mil  country.    Following  up 


the  beaten  paths  of  the  Mohawk  valley  he  finally 
penetrated  the  wilderness  by  way  of  Cherrj 
valley,  to  the  south  -  western  town  in  Onondaga 
county. ca  11: 'il  SpafFord,  and  commenced  felling  the 
Eoresl  a  typical  pioneer  of  those  times.  There 
on  the  10th  day  of  dune.  1S'27.  tin-  subjed  of  this 
sketch  was  born.  This  country  was  in  the  very 
center  of  the  Iroquois  Confederation,  and  Indians 
abounded  on  every  hand.  The  country  round 
and  about  was  then  an  almost  unbroken  wilder- 
ness, there  being  but  few  settlers  between  Utica 
and  Buffalo.  His  early  years  were  spent  in  cut- 
ting down  and  clearing  the  forests  and  assisting 
in  every  way  in  work  on  the  farm.  Three  sisters 
v.  ere  born  while  the  family  reside. I  iii  this  locality, 
so  that  there  were  in  all  four  brothers  and  four 
sisiei-s  who  grew  to  man  and  womanhood.  At  this 
time  books  were  few  and  hard  to  be  obtained,  but 
everything  which  came  within  their  reach  was 
read  with  avidity.  The  energj  and  determination 
of  the  father  was  such  as  to  soon  place  him  in  the 
foremost  rank  among  his  friends  and  neighbors 
and  he  became  the  leading  and  most  progressive 
farmer  in  all  that  region.  The  children  attended 
the  country  schools  and  attained  a  considerable 
proficiency  iu  thecommon  branches;  but  that  was 
not  satisfactory.  The  leading  academy  and  pre- 
paratory school  in  that  vicinity  at  that  time  was 
Cortlandt  Academy,  located  at  Homer,  and  one 
after  the  other  the  sons  and  daughters  were  sent 
there  to  complete  their  education.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  Elliott,  who  was  the  fourth  son,  left  the 
farm  to  pursue  a  classical  course  preparatory  to 
his  entrance  upon  a  collegiate  career.  Cortlandt 
Academy  was  at  that  time  under  the  charge  of 
Samuel  B.  Woolworth,  a  great  educator,  who  sub- 
sequently became  one  of  the  regents  of  the  Slate 
University  at  Albany  and  for  many  years  its  sec- 
retary. Here  he  remained  for  two  years  studying 
Creek  and  Latin  and  some  of  the  higher  branches 
of  mathematics,  and  in  the  fall  of  1S1T  entered 
the  Sophomore  class  of  Hamilton  College,  of  Clin- 
ton, N.  Y\.  and  graduated  with  high  honors  in 
1850.  Prof.  Theodore  W.  Dwight,  afterwards  so 
distinguished,  was  at  that  time  professor  of  Law 
and  Political  Economy,  and  commenced  giving 
private  lessons  to  a  few  students  who  chose  to  avail 
themselves  of  his  services.  A  class  having  been 
formed  for  the  year  1850-51,  Elliott  returned  to 
Clinton  and  pursued  his  studies  most  diligently, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Oswego  on  the  7th 
of  May,  1851.  It  was  during  this  period  that  he 
and  a  class-mate  by  the  name  of  Joseph  D.  Hub- 
hard   had  charge  of  the  academy  located   in  the 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


377 


village  of  Clinton,  and  he  had  for  one  of  hispupils 
Grover  Cleveland,  afterwards  president  of  the 
United  States.  Soon  after  his  admission  to  the 
bar  he  came  West  and  stopped  for  a  short  time 
at  Sterling,  Whiteside  county.  Illinois,  where  he 

commenced  the  practi t  law  and  where  he  tried 

his  first  case  in  a  court  of  record.  He  returned 
East  in  the  following  year  and  was  on  the  11th  of 
July.  1852,  married  to  Mary  Dwight,  the  sister  of 
his  law  preceptor,  who  was  a  granddaughter  of 
President  Dwight,  so  well  known  in  connection  with 
Vale  College.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  came  to 
Chicago  and  from  that  time  until  elected  to  the 
bench  in  1880  he  has  pursued  his  profession  with  a 
zeal  and  success  rarely  equalled.  He  had  no  ad- 
ventitious aids  when  he  set  out  on  his  legal  career, 
but  reiving  alone  upon  his  individual  resources, 
he  gradually,  by  the  exertion  of  his  superior  tal- 
ents and  tireless  energy,  rose  to  a  position  which 
has  brought  to  him  a  competency  and  the  honor 
of  a  name  respected  by  all.  During  his  first  year's 
residence  in  Chicago,  he  compiled,  with  the  aid  of 
his  devoted  wife,  "  A  Digest  of  the  Illinois  Re- 
ports," which  was  soon  after  published  and  re- 
ceived with  great  favor  by  the  profession  through- 
out the  state.  In  1858  he  was  elected  city  attorney 
for  Chicago,  and  distinguished  his  administration 
of  that  responsible  office  by  the  energy  and  ability 
with  which  he  conducted  the  legal  business  of 
the  city.  He  became  an  expert  upon  all  subjects 
of  municipal  corporation  law  and  was  tor  several 
years  specially  retained  by  the  city  authorities  to 
conduct  many  important  cases  in  the  local  courts, 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  and  in  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  at  Washington. 
While  acting  for  the  city  he  established  several 
new  and  interesting  law  points,  among  which  was 
that  the  collection  of  special  assessments  could 
not  be  enjoined  by  a  COUrl  of  chancery:   next,  that 

the  city  of  Chicago  could  not  be  garnish 1  to  col 

lect  the  salary  or  wages  of  any  of  its  officers  or 
employes,  and  lastly,  that  no  execution  could  issue 
against  the  city  to  collect  a  judgment:  and  at  a 
later  period,  that  the  city  could  not  tie  up  its 
legislative  powers  by  making  contracts  with  the 
gas  companies  for  the  supply  of  gas  so  as  to  inter- 
fere with  its  legislative  prerogatives.  These  po- 
sitions were  at  the  time  so  novel  that  they  were 
for  a  time  gravely  doubted  by  the  most  eminent 
members  of  the  legal  profession  and  many  of  the 
newspapers  subjected  him  to  the  severest  ridicule. 
but  he  was  upheld  by  the  highest  tribunal  in  the 
state  on  every  point,  and  they  arc  now  fixed  and 
settle.!  as  the  law  of    the  state.      About    this   time 


anotherqueste.n  arose  which  attracted  a  great 
deal  of  attention,  and  that  was  the  liability  of  a 
property-holder,  who.  in  making  improvements 
upon  his  premises,  leaves  open  an  excavation  in 
the  street  where  he  is  about  to  lay  a  sidewalk  and 
use  the  space  underneath  for  coal  vaults  and  other 
purposes — and  a  person  falls  into  the  same  in  the 
night  time,  and  is  injured,  and  brings  suit  against 
the  city  and  thepropertj  holder  is  notified  of  the 
pendency  of  the  suit  and  asked  to  defend  and  he 
refuses  to  do  so  and  a  recovery  is  had  against  the 
city-  whether  said  property  holder  is  liable  and 
whetherthe  city  can  on  payment  of  the  judgment 
and  costs  recover  the  entire  amount.  This  ques- 
tion came  up  in  the  United  States  Court  in  the 
well  known  case  of  Robbins  against  the  city,  and 
was  argued  twice  in  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  by  Judge  Anthony  and  the  liability  of  the 
property  owner  fully  established.  The  brief 
which  Judge  Anthony  made  in  that  case  v.  as 
a  very  exhaustive  one  and  the  case  is  to-day 
tin  leading  authority  in  this  country.  The 
case  was  originally  tried  before  the  late 
Thomas  Drumiuond.  who  decided  adversely 
to  Judge  Anthony— but  he  took  the  case  to 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  and 
it  was  there  reversed,  and  the  next  trial  took 
place  before  the  late  Judge  David  Davis.  In  18C,:: 
he  was  appointed  the  general  attorney  and  solici- 
tor of  the  Galena  Union  Railroad  Company  and 
all  its  branches,  then  the  leading  railroad  corpo- 
ration in  the  Northwest,  and  for  many  years  held 
that  position,  until,  in  fact,  the  consolidation  of 
that  company  with  the  Chicago  a-  Northwestern 
Railway  Company  was  effected.  A  contest  arose 
over  this  consolidation  and  he  was  shortly  after 
retained  by  a  number  of  the  bondholders  and 
non-consenting  stockholders  to  test  the  validity 
of  the  consolidation,  and  in  connection  with  that 
case  prepared  and  printed  a  most  remarkable  ar- 
gument upon  the  law  of  the  case,  which  grew  into 
a  treatise  which  he  entitled  "The  Law  Pertaining 
to  the  Consolidation  of  Railroads."  which  is  un- 
questionably the  most  complete  and  exhaustive 
treatise  upon  that  subject  ever  made.  It  is  a 
marvel  of  legal  research  and  of  acute  reasoning 
and  is  a  most  learned  and  clear  statement  of 
the  rights  and  duties  of  directors  of  corporations 
and  the  rights  of  minority  stockholders  which 
called  forth  the  admiration  of  corporation  lawyers 
throughout  the  country.  The  late  Samuel  J. 
Tilden  was  directly  interested  in  the  questions 
involved  as  well  as  many  of  the  leading  capitalists 
and  railway  magnates  in  New  York,  and  the  array 


37« 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


of   legal  talent  was  formidable,   the   late  Judge 
Beckwith  leading  on  behalf  of  the  consolidation- 

ists,  and  Judge  Anthony  leading  on  behalf  of  the 
minority  bondholders  and  minority  stockholders. 
The  ease  was  a  chancery  ease  and  was  tried  before 
Judge  David  Davis  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  then  on  the  circuit,  who  associated  with 
him  the  late  Samuel  J.  Treat.  United  States  Dis- 
trict Judge  for  the  southern  district  of  Illinois, 
and  the  positions  assumed  by  Mr.  Anthonj  were 
upheld  and  affirmed  in  almost  every  particular. 
Soon  after  this  the  parties  interested  in  the  liti 
gation  met  and  settled  up  their  differences  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all.  as  the  eonsolidationists  found 
that  it  would  he  disastrous  to  them  if  they  con- 
tinued the  same.  At  this  time  Mr.  Anthony  re- 
ceived numerous  letters  from  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  lawyers  and  judges  in  this  country, 
complimenting  him  upon  his  masterly  exposition 
of  the  law,  among  them  was  the  late  Josiah 
Quincy,  and  Sidney  Bartlett,  of  Boston,  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Swayne  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
the  late  Thomas  A.  Ewing,  of  Ohio  and  many 
others.  His  brief,  which  was  in  the  shape  of  a 
bound  volume  of  several  hundred  pages,  was  in 
great  demand  in  this  country  and  in  Europe  and 
was  most  kindly  reviewed  by  several  of  the  lead- 
ing legal  periodicals  and  journals  in  Great  Britain. 
The  State  of  Illinois  has  since  its  organization  as  a 
state  and  admission  into  the  Union,  held  four  Con- 
stitutional Conventions,  the  first  in  1818,  to  frame 
a  constitution,  the  others,  to  revise  and  amend  the 
same,  and  it  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  Judge  An- 
thony to  be  a  member  of  two  of  them — the  first 
one  in  18G2  and  the  last  in  1870,  which  framed  the 
present  constitution.  The  convention  of  1862 
was  presided  over  by  the  late  William  A.  Hacker; 
and  Hon.  William  M.  Springer  now,  and  for  many 
years  a  distinguished  member  of  Congress,  was 
tie-  secretary.  Many  of  the  delegates  were  men 
of  distinction  and  had  been  connected  with  pub- 
lic affairs  almost  from  the  time  the  state  had  been 
admitted  into  the  Union.  The  colleagues  of 
Judge  Anthony  in  that  convention  were  Henry 
Muhlke,  and  Melville  W.  Fuller,  the  present 
Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
and  Hon.  John  Wentworth.  The  convention  of 
1870  was  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable 
assemblage  of  public  men  ever  brought  together 
in  the  state  and  they  promulgated  a  constitution 
which  was  well  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  and  which  attracted  great  at  tent  ion  through 

out  the  country.     In   both  of  these  conventions 
Judge  Anthony  took  a  leading  part,  and  was  re- 


garded in  many  respects  as  the  greatest  expert 
u  pen  constitutional  questions  and  methods  of 
proceedure  that  there  was  in  the  convention.  He 
was  made  chairman  of  the  executive  committee 
and  reported  the  article  as  it  now  appears  in  the 
constitution  relating  to  the  executive  department. 
He  served  also  upon  the  judiciary  committee,  and 
the  committee  upon  railroads  and  many  of  the  pro- 
visions in  the  judiciary  article,  and  most  of  those 
in  regard  to  railroads,  arc  the  work  of  his  hands. 
He  was  instrumental  in  providing  for  the  organi- 
zation of  appellate  courts  and  for  additional 
judges  to  be  added  to  the  circuit  and  superior 
courts  of  Cook  county  as  the  population  should 
increase  and  the  public  business  required  it.  His 
speeches  in  the  convention  were  always  thorough- 
ly prepared  and  he  never  spoke  without  com- 
manding the  attention  of  the  entire  body.  He 
took  part  in  the  formation  of  the  Republican 
party  in  this  state  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  first 
Republican  convention  ever  held  in  Cook  county, 
and  was  for  years  most  active  in  everything  relat- 
ing to  the  welfare  and  success  of  that  party.  In 
lsso  when  the  third  term  question  came  up  he 
took  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  that  movement, 
was  elected  chairman  of  the  Cook  county  conven- 
tion, at  which  a  portion  of  the  delegates  withdrew, 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention, 
and  was  then  selected  as  a  contesting  delegate  to 
tlie  national  convention  at  Chicago;  was,  after 
one  of  the  stormiest  debates  on  record,  and  after 
addressing  the  convention  in  opposition  to  Gen- 
eral Green  B.  Baum.  General  Logan  and  the  late 
Emory  Storrs  admitted  as  a  delegate  and  par- 
ticipated iD  all  of  the  proceedings  which  resulted 
in  the  nomination  of  General  Garfield  for  presi- 
dent. In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  was  nominated 
and  elected  to  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  was  re-elected 
to  the  same  position  six  years  after,  which  posi- 
tion he  occupies  at  the  present  time.  One  of  the 
most  marked  traits  in  Judge  Anthony's  character 
is  his  indomitable  industry  and  his  devotion  to 
business  which,  coupled  with  great  executive  abil- 
ity, enables  him  to  try  and  dispose  of  cases  with 
great  promptness  and  celerity.  Judge  Anthony 
pcissesses  a  most  retentive  memory  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  cases  and  points  of  practice  are  unsur 
passed.  As  an  investigator  he  has  no  superior 
and  there  is  scarcely  a  department  of  the  law  but 
what  he  has  at  some  time  or  other  explored  and  is 
more  or  less  familiar  with.  I  fe  is  a  most  accom- 
plished and  finished  writer  and  his  contributions 
to  the   various   legal   magazines  and   periodicals 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


379 


would,  if  collected,  till  volumes.  He  has  written 
several  hooks  of  a  historical  character  which  are 
of  a  very  high  order,  among  which  are  his  recenl 
works  on  "  The  Constitutional  History  of  Illinois."' 
"The  Story  of  the  Empire  State."  and  one  of  local 
interest  upon  "Sanitation  and  Navigation,"  which 
has  special  reference  to  the  disposition  of  the  sew 
age  of  the  City  of  Chicago  and  the  construction 
of  a  ship  canal  to  unite  the  waters  of 
Lake  Michigan  with  those  of  the  Mississippi 
river.  While  acting  as  corporation  counsel  of 
the  city  of  Chicago  in  187G  he  wrote  a  most 
interesting  work  upon  taxation  and  the  rules 
which  had  been  established  regarding  the  levy 
and  collect ioi.  of  the  same,  in  which  he  collected 
all  of  the  cases  which  had  at  that  time  been  de- 
cided by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  bearing 
upon  that  subject,  and  set  forth  at  length  the 
points  involved.  This  work  was  one  which  in- 
volved great  labor  and  research  and  was  a  most 
useful  and  timely  contribution  to  the  general  sub- 
ject and  is  very  frequently  referred  to.  In  1887, 
while  holding  the  criminal  court  of  Cook  county. 
which  includes  the  city  of  Chicago  he  wrote  a 
most  interesting  work  on  the  "Law  of  Self-De- 
fense, Trial  by  Jury  in  Criminal  Cases  and  New 
Trials  in  Criminal  Cases."  which  attracted  a 
great  deal  of  attention  in  this  country  and  is 
the  first  bold  stand  ever  taken  by  any  jurist 
of  distinction  against  the  wanton  abuses  which 
have  arisen  by  invoking  the  doctrines  of  self- 
defense.  In  this  work  he  reviewed  all  of  the 
Illinois  cases  bearing  upon  this  subject  and 
showed  how  great  had  been  the  departure 
in  many  of  them  from  the  original  incep- 
tion of  the  law  of  self-defense,  when  it  was 
declared  to  be  a  law  of  necessity  and  only  to  be 
invoked  to  ward  off  a  felony  or  great  bodily  injury. 
In  discussing  this  question  he.  among  other 
things,  said  that  it  was  getting  so  that  a  quarrel 
need  only  be  engaged  in  and  the  motion  of  the 
hand  or  the  glance  of  an  eye  were  all  that  w  ere  re 
quired  to  justify  a  party  in  drawing  his  pistol  and 
shooting  down  his  foe.  "  Indeed,  so  lax  has  the  rule 
in  regard  to  self-defense  become,  that  every  threat, 
act,  fear  or  apprehension  which  can  be  invented  i  >r 
conjured  up  is  allowed  to  pass  as  a  justification  for 
the  taking  of  human  life,  even  when  the  deceased 
meant  nothing  by  what  is  termed  threat  or  overt 
act."  This  work  has  done  great  good  and  served 
to  arrest  for  a  time  at  least,  the  many  loose  utter- 
ances which  were  being  put  forth  in  our  courts 
relating  to  this  matter.  Soon  after  this  Judge 
Anthony  wrote  for  the  Legal  Advisor,  at  that  time 


published  by  the  late  Elijah  M.  Haines,  a  sketch 
of  all  of  the  courtsof  England-  and  also  a  distinct 
treatise  upon  the  '■  Law  of  Arrest  in  ( 'i\  il  I  !asi 
which  is  probably  the  most  complete  and  exhaust 
ive  treatise  upon  that  subject  ever  written.  He 
wrote  along  and  most  interesting  Eeries  of  articles 
upon  "Old  Virginia  "in  the  Western  Magazineof 
History,  now  known  as  the  National  Historical 
Magazine,  in  which  he  showed  the  connection  of 
Illinois  to  that  ancient  commonwealth.  Illinois 
being  at  onetime  a  part  of  Virginia  and  the  fron- 
tier county  of  that  state.  By  special  invitation 
of  the  State  Bar  Association  he  delivered  a  most 
memorable  address  before  that  association  at  their 
annual  meeting  in  January.  1891, upon  "TheCon- 
stitutional  History  of  Illinois."  ami  another  in  the 
following  year,  entitled  "  Remember  the  Pioneers," 
which  is  replete  with  the  most  interesting  remi- 
niscences. Judge  Anthony  was  the  founder  of 
the  Chicago  Eaw  Institute,  having  drawn  its 
charter  and  at  his  own  expense  visited  Spring- 
field twice  in  one  winter  while  the  legislature  was 
in  session,  to  urge  upon  the  members  of  that  bod) 
its  passage,  and  has  for  several  terms  been  its 
president.  He  was  one  of  its  incorporators  and  the 
bar  of  the  city  of  Chicago  owe  him  a  debt  of  grat- 
itude for  his  great  services  which  they  cannot 
easily  repay.  He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Chicago  Public  Library  and  was  one  of  its  first 
board  of  directors  and  was  connected  with  it  for  a 
number  of  years.  Judge  Anthony  has  from  his 
youth  been  a  most  omniverous  reader,  and  had 
at  the  time  of  the  great  Chicago  fire  one  of 
the  largest  private  libraries  in  the  city  and  has 
at  the  present  time  one  of  the  largest  prob- 
ably in  the  state.  He  has  cultivated  his 
mind  not  only  by  reading  but  extensive  travel 
in  foreign  lands,  having  made  several  trips  to 
Europe,  during  the  last  of  which  lie  visited  most 
of  the  countries  on  the  continent,  including 
Denmark,  Sweden,  Russia,  Turkey,  Greece,  Italy, 
Spain  and  all  the  regions  along  the  Mediterranean 
and  southern  France.  Many  of  his  letters  relat- 
ing to  these  countries  were  published  and  were  real  1 
with  great  interest.  Those  from  Russia  described 
at  length  the  organization  of  the  government,  the 
Greek  church,  the  condition  of  the  Serfs  and  the 
organization  of  the  courts  of  law  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  law  in  that  country  and  were  es- 
pecially interesting.  In  1889  Judge  Anthony  was 
honored  by  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  bj  his 
alma  mater,  which  was  not  only  well  dcservcl. 
but  was  greatly  appreciated.  From  all  that  has 
been   stated   herein   it  will   be  readily  seen  that 


i8o 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Judge  Anthony  has  led  a  busy  life  and  his  capacity 

for  work  has  rarely  been  equaled  by  any  public 
man  in  this  country.  His  attainments  are  of  a 
very  high  order  and  there  is  scarcely  a  subject 
which  lies  outside  the  range  of  his  study  and  ob- 
servation. His  mind  runs  to  historical  and  philo- 
sophical subjects  as  well  as  those  which  relate  to 
the  law  and  jurisprudence.  As  a  judge,  he  is 
prompt,  painstaking  and  conscientious  and  his 
ability  and  integrity  unquestioned.  His  trans- 
action of  the  public  business  has  received  the 
highest  praise,  and  he  has  won  the  distinction  of 
being  not  only  a  most  learned  and  accomplished 
jurist  but  a  most  worthy  and  exemplary  citizen. 
Judge  Anthony  is  an  ornament  to  the  bench  and 
the  bar  of  this  state  and  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  often  said  that  the  fame  of  all  great  lawyers 
and  advocates  is  written  in  water,  and  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  truth  in  it.  Society  in  these  modern 
days  makes  scarcely  any  distinction  between  the 
shows,  the  shallow  and  solid  acquirements  of 
men.  The  struggles  and  the  efforts  of  the  most 
conscientious  for  the  benefit  of  their  fellows  are 
often  overshadowed  by  the  merest  pretenders,  and 
their  superficial  qualities  pass  for  wisdom,  and 
when  they  die  they  are  classed  as  among  the  im- 
mortals. Notoriety  is  not.  however,  renown,  and 
sterling  worth  does  no.t,  we  trust,  pass  wholly  un- 
appreciated. A  lawyer  may  be  known  and  re- 
spected by  the  people  of  his  city  or  county  when 
he  edifies  in  the  court  room,  but  when  he  dies  he 
is  usually  forgotten  within  the  lapse  of  a  genera- 
tion. If  a  man  would  be  remembered  beyond  the 
period  that  the  bell  rings  and  the  widow  weeps, 
says  Shakespeare,  he  must  erect  his  own  tomb. 
If  this  be  not  an  axiom,  there  is  certainly  philos- 
ophy in  it.  The  most  learned  and  astute  lawyers 
of  the  last  generation  are  hardly  heard  of  beyond 
the  immediate  precincts  of  the  neighborhood  in 
which  they  lived.  "Those  whom  by  patriotism 
and  wise  counsel  have  given  the  world  a  direction 
toward  the  good  may  have  their  names  inscribed 
on  the  bright  page  of  history,  and  be  enduring." 
It  is  toward  that  goal  that  Judge  Anthony  has  been 
hastening  through  all  his  years  of  toil  and  labor. 
He  has  devoted  his  life  not  only  to  the  law  but 
to  literature;  and  in  closing  this  sketch  of  his 
most  useful  and  successful  career,  we  cannot 
do  better  than  to  quote  his  own  words  which 
he  made  use  of,  a  few  years  since,  in  com- 
memorating the  virtues  and  achievements  of 
a  brother  judge  and  co-laborer,  which  re- 
veal most  clearly  the  lofty  ideal  that  he  has 
always   pursued    and    the   bright   example   that 


he  wished  to  set.  "  May  our  successors,"  said  he, 
"  in  the  profession  look  back  upon  our  times, 
not  without  some  kind  regrets  and  some  tender 
recollections.  May  they  cherish  our  memories 
with  that  gentle  reverence  which  belongs  to  those 
who  have  labored  earnestly,  though  it  may  be 
humbly,  for  the  advancement  of  the  law.  May 
they  catch  a  holy  enthusiasm  from  the  review  of 
our  attainments,  however  limited  they  may  be, 
which  shall  make  them  aspire  after  the  loftiest 
possessions  of  human  learning.  And  thus  may 
they  he  enabled  to  advance  our  jurisprudence  to 
that  degree  of  perfection  which  shall  make  it  a 
blessing  and  protection  to  our  own  country,  and 
excite  the  just  admiration  of  mankind." 


FRANCIS  H.  KALES. 

FRANCIS  H.  KALES  was  born  in  Broome 
county,  N.  Y.,  March  23,  1833.  His  grandfather 
came  from  the  north  of  Ireland  about  the  year 
1809,  when  his  father  was  three  years  of  age.  The 
family  soon  after  settled  in  Chenango  county, 
N.  Y.,  near  the  place  of  his  birth.  The  father  of 
Mr.  Kales  was  a  member  of  the  New  York  Legis- 
lature, and  held  several  offices  of  trust  in  Che- 
nango county.  Francis  was  fitted  for  college  at 
Oxford  Academy,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and 
in  1851  entered  the  sophomore  class  of  1854  at 
Yale.  Ill  health  obliged  him  to  give  up  his  col- 
lege course,  and  in  1852  he  entered  the  law  office 
of  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  renowned  as  a  lawyer  and 
orator.  He  completed  his  law  studies  with  Mr. 
Dickinson  at  Binghamton,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  New  York  bar  in  May,  1855.  In  the  following 
June  he  came  to  Chicago  and  entered  the  office 
of  Higgins,  Beckwith  &  Strother.  He  very  quickly 
secured  a  general  practice  in  the  different  branches 
of  the  law.  He  was  associated  for  a  time  with 
Norman  Williams,  and  in  1SIJC  became  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Beckwith,  Aver  &  Kales.  In  1873 
Judge  Beckwith  retired  from  the  firm  to  accept 
the  position  of  general  solicitor  of  the  Chicago  & 
Alton  Railroad  Company,  and  Mr.  Kales  continued 
the  partnership  with  Mr.  Ayer  until  that  gentle 
man  withdrew  to  become  solicitor  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad  Company.  Mr.  Kales  then  con- 
tinued his  practice  alone  until  his  death,  although 
alter  the  year  1879  there  existed  certain  business 
relations  between  him  and  Perry  H.  Smith.  Jr. 
Mr.  Kales'  practice  was  very  general  in  its  scope, 


Z^i^t^iyC^O/ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


embracing  cases  involving  property,  banking  ami 
corporation  affairs.  He  was  profoundly  versed  in 
the  learning  of  his  profession,  and  skilled  in  its 
practice;  but  it  was  the  acuteness  and  subtlety  of  ' 
his  mind  that  rendered  him  remarkable  and 
afforded  him  inexhaustible  resources  under  all 
circumstances  of  difficulty.  He  was  successfully 
identified  with  many  of  the  largest  property  lit- 
igations in  Chicago  during  a  period  of  active  prac- 
tice covering  almost  thirty  years.  He  had  pre- 
eminently a  judicial  mind,  being  distinguished 
for  his  ability  to  analyze  a  case  and  for  an  un- 
usual quickness  of  perception.  As  a  speaker  he 
was  convincing  and  ready,  possessing  a  clearness 
of  statement  and  facility  for  logical  and  concise 
expression.  The  flavor  of  exact  thought  per- 
meated his  conversation  as  well  as  his  arguments. 
His  scholarly  instinct  had  decorated  the  hard 
knowledge  of  the  law  with  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  English  and  classical  literature,  which  he 
never  ceased  to  cultivate  during  intervals  of  rest 
or  recreation.  Mr.  Kales  was  recognized  as  one 
of  the  ablest  lawyers  at  the  Chicago  bar,  ranking 
high  by  reason  of  his  brilliant  legal  talents  and 
his  unswerving  integrity.  As  a  man,  he  had  the 
unbounded  respect  of  the  community,  and  his 
social  qualities  were  highly  appreciated.  He  was 
appointed  Lincoln  Park  commissioner  by  the 
Governor,  but  never  sought  or  held  a  political 
office.  In  1863  he  married  the  daughter  of  Dr. 
X.  S.  Davis,  dean  of  the  Chicago  Medical  College, 
and  since  I860  had  resided  on  the  North  Side, 
where  his  family  of  four  sons  and  two  daughters 
grew  up  around  him.  His  home,  which  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  great  fire  of  1871,  he  rebuilt  and 
occupied  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Novem- 
ber 9.  1883. 


CORYDON  RECKWITH. 

HOX.  CORYDOX  BECKWITH  was  born  in 
Caledonia  county,  Vermont,  on  the  24th  of  July, 
1823.  He  attended  the  common  schools  in  the 
vicinity,  where  he  attained  great  proficiency,  and 
later  took  a  classical  and  scientific  course  at  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  and  Wrentham,  Massachu- 
setts. Of  robust  constitution,  and  fond  from  his 
boyhood  of  athletic  sports,  he  developed  into  a 
strong  and  vigorous  man,  and  throughout  his 
busy  life  was  distinguished  for  powers  of  endur- 
ance and  capacity  for  hard  work  which  on  several 


occasions  proved  of  signal  advantage  to  him  pro 
fessionally.     After  three   years  of   study  he   was 
admitted   to   the   bar   at  St.  Albans.  Vermont,  in 
1844.     He  practiced  law  in  his  native  state  for  two 
years,  and  then  moved  to  Frederick  City.  Mary- 
land,  where   he   remained  one  year.     In  1847  he 
returned  to  St.  Albans  and  formed  a  partnership 
with   Frederick   A.Schley,  then  a  distinguished 
practitioner  at  the  bar  of  Vermont.     In  the  spring 
of  1853  he  removed   to  Chicago,  and  in  that  year 
entered  into  partnership  with  Van  H.  Higgins  and 
Bolton  P.  Strother,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hig- 
gins.   Beckwith   &   Strother.     He   continued   the 
practice  of  his  profession  with  marked  ability  and 
success  until  1864,  when  upon  the  resignation  of 
Hon.  John  D.  Caton  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Yates  to  fill  the  unexpired  term.     On 
the  expiration  of  this   term   he  was  succeeded  by 
Judge  Lawrence.     During  the  short  period  of  his 
service  on  the  bench,  he  gained  the  respect  of  the 
entire  bar   of   the   state,  his  decisions   being  re- 
garded as  models  of  brevity  and  clearnessof  state- 
ment.    This  was  the  only  office  he  ever   held,  his 
preference  being  for  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
to  which  he  was  devoted.     In  1866  he  associated 
with  himself  as  partners,  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Aver, 
now  the  general  counsel  of   the   Illinois  Central 
railroad,  and  Mr.  F.  H.  Kales,  who  died  some  years 
ago.    He  had  been  appointed  two  years  previously, 
counsel  for  the  Chicago  it  Alton  railroad,  and  the 
firm  of  Beckwith,  Aver  &  Kales  had  charge  of  the 
legal  business  of  that  road  until  1873,  when  Judge 
Beckwith  was  made  its  general  solicitor,  and  re- 
tired from  the  firm.     This  appointment  did  not 
prevent  him  from  engaging  in  general  practice, 
and  he  was  consulted  in  many  important  cases. 
He  was  remarkable  as  a  lawyer  fen-  the  strength 
of  his  logical  powers,  his  quickness  to  grasp  the 
essential   points   involved  in   his  cases,   and   his 
clearness  and  plainness  of  statement.     His  style 
of    address   was   impressive  and  convincing;    he 
never   sought   to   embellish  his  arguments   with 
rhetorical  ornaments,  but  always  stated  his  points 
in  such  clear,  terse  English   that  there   was  no 
misunderstanding   them.     His  knowledge  of   the 
law  was  profound,   his  command  of  professional 
resources  inexhaustible,  and  his  industry  uncon- 
querable.    With  such  equipments  he  was  a  for- 
midable opponent,  and  in  important  cases  he  was 
conspicuous  for  his  able  generalship,  leaving  the 
execution  of  details  to  his  trusted  associates,  who 
were  inspired  with  confidence  by  his  leadership. 
He   was   continually  engaged  in  cases  involving 


RTOCRAPHY  OF    ILLINOIS. 


corporate  rights  and  liabilities,  and  in  rases  of 
this  class  he  had  no  equal  at  the  bar,  either  in 
Chicago  or  the  West.  His  characteristics  have 
been  well  summed  up  by  his  former  partner,  Mr. 

.\yei-.  in  an  interview  had  with  him  after  Judge 
Beckwith's  death: 

"I  never  saw  a  man  more  fertile  in  resources," 
says  Mr.  Aver.  "His  judgment  was  sound,  his 
powers  of  discrimination  great,  and  his  capacity 
for  work  unlimited.  He  never  had  a  ease  that  he 
did  not  examine  thoroughly  in  all  its  aspects,  and 
lie  had  a  capacity  for  seizing  almost  instinctively 
the  vital  points  in  a  ease,  and  the  power  to  im- 
press his  own  ideas  on  others  in  their  strongtst 
aspect.  There  is  not  a  lawyer  whom  I  have 
known  so  eminent  in  all  respects,  or  a  lawyer 
whose  judgment  was  more  respected  by  the  courts 
and  other  lawyers.  His  thoroughness  was  re- 
markable. Nothing  escaped  him.  He  discovered 
all  there  was  in  a  ease,  and  his  mind  moved  with 
equal  rapidity  and  accuracy.  His  greatest  strength 
lay  in  arguing  upon  the  law  before  a  court.  He 
was  particularly  adapted  to  the  practice  of  real- 
estate  law,  and  was  well  versed  in  commercial 
law.  Among  his  early  cases  of  great  importance 
were  the  South  Park  cases,  involving  important 
constitutional  questions.  He  went  to  Mount  Ver- 
non and  argued  for  the  constitutionality  of  the 
law.  which  was  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  had  a  great  deal  of  practice  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Illinois,  in  the  federal  courts,  and  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  He  was  re- 
markably successful,  and  was  rarely  beaten.  If 
he  found  he  was  on  the  wrong  side  he  would  ad- 
vise a  settlement.  He  was  never  willing  to  u"  to 
trial  and  expose  his  clients'  interests  where  the 
chances  were  strongly  against  him.  The  judges 
respected  his  opinion  because  he  was  careful  never 
to  mislead  the  court.  He  tried  first  to  satisfy 
himself,  and  then  the  court.  Scarcely  any  lawyer 
had  so  many  cases  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  this 
state." 

Similar  testimony  is  borne  to  him  by  Mr.  Henry 
S.  Monroe,  who  was  associated  with  him  in  impor- 
tant cases: 

■'In  some  particular  branches  of  the  law,"  he 
says,  "he  was  the  ablest  lawyer  in  my  estimation, 
not  only  in  this  state  but  in  the  United  States. 
In  all  important  questions  not  established  by 
precedent,  questions  that  required  to  be  solved  by 
tie-  elementary  principles  of  the  law,  he  had  no 
equal.  His  methods  in  a  complex  case  were 
always  original,  and  he  was  wonderfully  fertile  in 
resources.  He  liked  to  lay  his  plans  and  call  to 
his  assistance  men,  who  in  his  judgment,  were 
specially  qualified  for  the  particular  places  they 
were  to  occupy  in  the  management  of  the  case  in 
hand.  This  was  demonstrated  in  the  management 
of  tin-  Sag  Bridge  disaster  case  forthe  Alton  road. 
In  that  disaster  many  were  killed  and  many  more 
wounded.  Judge  Beckwith  employed  the  best 
surgeons,  spared  no  expense  in  earing  for  the  dis- 
abled, and  settled  every  case  but  one  without 
going  before  a  jury.  The  exception  was  the  case 
of  a  man  who  had  been  stealing  a  ride  and  was 


killed,  and  whose  relatives  brought  suit  for  dam- 
ages, but  lost  their  case." 

As  an  illustration  of  his  powers  of  endurance. 
among  many  which  have  been  told  of  him.  Mr. 
Monroe  recalls  a  suit  against  the  Chicago  &  Alton 
railroad  involving  a  large  sum  of  money,  in  which 
Judge  Lawrence  and  several  other  able  lawyers 
were  his  opponents.  The  ease  required  laborious 
preparation,  and  Judge  Beckwith  had  little  time 
to  prepare.  He  took  rooms  in  the  Grand  Pacific 
hotel,  shut  himself  up  there  with  a  stenographer 
from  Friday  afternoon  till  two  o'clock  on  Sunday 
morning,  working  all  the  time.  He  had  his  case 
ready  when  it  was  called  on  Monday  morning, and 
won  it.  This  is  only  one  of  several  stories  of  the 
kind  which  have  been  told  of  him.  It  is  said  that 
he  earned  more  money  by  his  legal  practice  than 
any  other  Illinois  lawyer,  but  he  spent  it  as  freely 
as  he  earned  it.  He  enjoyed  good  living,  but  sel- 
dom took  a  vacation,  and  might  have  prolonged 
his  life  had  his  passion  for  work  been  less  intense. 
About  a  year  before  his  death  symptoms  of  heart 
disease  began  to  show  themselves,  and  his  visits 
to  his  office  became  gradually  rarer.  He  died 
from  enlargement  of  the  arteries  of  the  heart  at 
his  home  near  Hinsdale  on  the  18th  of  August, 
1890,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  In 
politics  Judge  Beckwith  was  a  Democrat,  usually 
voting  with  his  party  in  national  matters,  but  in 
state  and  city  affairs  he  voted  for  the  man  whom 
he  considered  the  fittest,  without  regard  to  party 
affiliations.  His  advice  was  often  sought  in  the 
management  of  a  campaign,  and  many  a  Repub- 
lican friend  had  the  full  benefit  of  his  judgment, 
for  he  was  always  ready  to  help  his  friends,  no 
matter  how  much  he  might  differ  from  them  in 
opinion.  He  left  a  widow,  nee  Mary  Ann  Smith, 
of  St.  Albans,  Vt,  whom  he  married  in  18-18, 
and  three  children.  One  of  his  sons,  Henry  W. 
Beckwith,  was.  until  his  death  just  one  year  after 
his  father's-*death,  United  States  consul  in  Ber- 
muda. John  William,  the  youngest  son,  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1892,  is  engaged  pro- 
fessionally with  the  Chicago  &  Alton  road.  A 
daughter,  Mrs.  Edward  P.  Cutter,  lives  in  Cin- 
cinnati. O. 


WILLIAM  HENRY  BRADLEY. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  BRADLEY  was  born  in 

Ridgefield,  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut,  on  the 
29th  of  November.  1S1G.  For  four  generations 
the  family   from  which    he    was   descended    have 


LlbriAu, 

OF  THE 

UNIVEHSiT  IT  of  ILLINOIS. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


\S: 


lived  in  the  same  town,  in  good  old  conservative 
New  England  fashion.  His  grandfather,  Philip 
Burr  Bradley,  was  a  native  of  Ridgefleld,  a  grad- 
uate of  Vale,  ami  a  lawyer  by  profession.  During 
the  war  of  the  Revolution  he  was  a  colonel  in 
active  servive,  and  his  commission  is  still  pre- 
served. He  was  a  warm  and  trusted  personal 
friend  of  George  Washington,  one  of  whose  official 
acts  as  President  of  the  United  States  was  the 
appointment  of  Colonel  Bradley  to  be  marshal  of 
the  district  of  Connecticut— an  appointment  re- 
newed in  Washington"s  second  term  and  also  un- 
der President  Adams.  His  son.  Jesse  Smith 
Bradley,  was  also  a  graduate  of  Yale,  and  highly 
esteemed  as  a  classical  scholar.  He  was  elected 
by  the  Connecticut  Legislature  one  of  the  judges 
of  Fairfield  county,  an  office  which  he  retained 
until  his  death  in  May.  1833.  His  wife,  Elizabeth 
Baker,  was  also  born  in  Ridgefleld,  the  daughter 
of  a  physician  of  some  note.  Dr.  Amos  Baker. 
William  H.  Bradley  was  the  fifth  son  of  Jesse  S. 
and  Elizabeth  Bradley.  Having  completed  his 
rudimentary  education  in  Ridgefleld  Academy,  he 
was  prepared  to  enter  Yale  College  at  the  time  of 
his  father's  death.  Soon  after  that  event,  he  went 
to  New  Haven,  and  was  employed  as  teller  in  the 
City  Bank.  He  remained  in  New  Haven  four 
years,  and  in  the  fall  of  1837,  at  the  suggestion  of 
his  elder  brother,  removed  to  Galena,  Illinois,  then 
the  most  considerable  town  of  the  Northwest. 
Among  his  contemporaries  there  were  a  good 
many  bright  young  men  from  different  Eastern 
and  Southern  states,  who  were  one  and  all 
attracted  to  Galena  as  the  growing  city  of  the 
West,  and  have  since  become,  like  Mr.  Bradley, 
leading  citizens  of  Chicago.  But  at  time  Galena 
was  considerably  ahead  of  Chicago  in  population 
and  business,  and  was  apparently  in  a  fair  way 
to  keep  the  lead  for  years  to  come.  Mr.  Bradley's 
lirst  employment  in  Galena  may  be  said  to  have 
decided  the  course  of  his  future  career.  He  was 
ottered  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  county  court, 
then  an  appointive  office,  and  accepted  the  ap- 
pointment. From  that  time  he  was  almost  con- 
tinuously connected  with  courts  in  a  clerical  ca- 
pacity. While  discharging  the  duties  of  this  po- 
sition he  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Thomas 
Drummond.  then  a  prominent  lawyer  in  Galena. 
In  1840  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court  of  Jo  Daviess  county.  On  the  adoption  of  the 
new  constitution  of  Illinois  in  ISIS,  he  was  elected 
by  the  people  to  the  same  office,  and  reelected 
in  1852.  ••The  large  majorities  by  which  he  was 
successively  elected,"  say6  a  local  historian,  "not- 


withstanding the  intensity  of  partisan  feeling  oc- 
casioned by  a  presidential  campaign,  the  nearly 
equal  political  division  of  the  county  between  the 
two  parties,  and  his  active  identification  with  one 
of  them,  sufficiently  attest  the  public  appreciation 
of  him  as  a  man  and  as  a  faithful  and  efficient 
officer."  Mr.  Bradley  held  the  public  offices  to 
which  he  was  first  appointed  and  afterwards 
repeatedly  elected  in  Galena  for  a  period  of 
eighteen  years,  his  connection  with  the  courts  of 
that  county  being  only  terminated  by  his  removal 
to  Chicago  on  his  being  appointed  to  the  office  he 
still  held  at  the  time  of  his  death.  In  1855,  ('on 
gress  divided  the  state  of  Illinois  into  two  judicial 
districts,  and  the  Hon.  Thomas  Drummond,  who 
was  at  that  time  judge  of  the  United  States  dis- 
trict court  for  Illinois,  was  assigned  to  the  north 
em  district.  With  the  concurrence  of  Mr.  Jus- 
tice M'Lean.  Judge  Drummond  called  Mr.  Brad 
ley  to  be  clerk  of  the  new  court.  Mr.  Bradley  ac- 
cepted the  appointment,  resigned  his  clerkship  at 
Galena,  and  removed  to  Chicago,  entering  upon 
his  new  duties  on  the  22d  of  March.  1855.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  on  the  usual  examination, 
but  was  never  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  For  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years 
Mr.  Bradley  performed  his  duties  as  clerk  of  the 
United  States  court  and  during  all  that  time 
with  the  same  quiet  and  unfailing  industry  and 
exemplary  fidelity  that  won  for  him  the  confidence 
of  the  people  in  his  early  years.  His  promptness, 
accuracy  and  efficiency  in  disposing  of  the  large 
and  constantly  increasing  business  of  his  office 
gained  for  him  a  rare  and  honorable  measure  of 
respect  and  trust,  such  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  few- 
men  to  achieve.  He  was  respected  not  only  as  a 
faithful  and  efficient  public  officer,  but  also  for 
his  personal  qualities  as  a  citizen.  Soon  after 
coming  to  Chicago,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in 
what  was  then  known  as  the  Young  Men's  Asso 
ciation.  of  which  he  was  elected  president  in  1800. 
This  organization  was  not  identical  with  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  which  still 
exists,  but  was  similar  in  its  aims  and  purposes. 
It  possessed  an  excellent  library  which  was  de- 
stroyed by  tin-  great  fire  of  1871.  The  privileges 
of  this  library  could  be  enjoyed  by  others  than 
members  of  the  association  on  payment  of  a  mod- 
erate yearly  subscription,  and  it  was  the  only 
popular  circulating  library  that  Chicago  possessed 
before  the  fire.  As  is  well  known,  it  was  the 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  this  library  that  led 
Mr.  Thomas  Hughes,  author  of  ••Tom  Brown's 
School  Days,"  to  start  the  movement  in  England 


3§4 


UlOOKAPIIY   OF   ILLINOIS. 


which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  present 
free  public  library  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Bradley  was 
for  twentj  five  years  a  director  of  the  West  Side 
City  Railway  Company,  rice-president  for  several 
years,  and  president  of  the  company  tor  six  years. 
Ee  resigned  this  last  position  in  1875,  owing  to 
the  laborious  and  exacting  duties  incident  to  the 
position,  and  the  increasing  amount  of  business  in 
the  court.  Ee  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  National  Bank  of  Illinois  in  1871,  and 
was  a  director  and  viee  president  "I"  that  insti 
tution  from  its  organization.  In  June.  1871, 
he  was  appointed,  under  the  will  of  the  late 
Walter  L.  Newberry,  one  of  the  testamentary 
trustees  of  the  \V«  berry  estate.  to  till  the  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Hon.  Mark  Skin- 
ner: and  with  his  assoeiate.  Mr.  E.  W.  Blatchford. 
continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  that  trust  to 
the  day  .if  his  death.  By  his  will,  Mr.  Newberry 
directed  that  his  estate  should  be  divided  into  two 
equal  parts, one-half  to  beset  apart  for  his  col- 
lateral heirs,  and  the  remaining  half  to  be  retained 
by  the  trustees  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  free 
public  library  in  the  North  Division  of  the  city  of 
Chicago.  This  division  was  not  to  be  made  until 
the  death  of  both  Mr.  Newberry's  daughters  with- 
out leaving  lawful  issue,  and  until  the  death  of 
his  widow  if  she  should  survive  the  daughters. 
These  conditions  were  fulfilled  by  the  deaths  of 
the  two  daughters  without  issue,  and  also  of 
the  widow  of  Mr.  Newberry.  In  pursuanceof  this 
trust,  which  involved  delicate  as  well  as  responsi- 
ble duties,  the  trustees  then  made  an  inventory  of 
all  the  property  belonging  to  the  estate,  and  divided 
it  equally  between  the  heirs  and  the  library.  By 
the  inventory  of  the  property  made  by  the  exe- 
cutors in  1868.  its  total  value  amounted  to  some- 
what less  than  two  million  dollars.  By  the  wise 
and  judicious  investments  made  by  the  trustees, 
and  the  increase  in  the  value  of  the  real  estate. its 
value  had  grown  in  the  fifteen  years,  to  December. 
1885,  to  about  $4,700,000.  At  that  time  the  last  one 
of  the  direct  heirs  died,  and  the  trustees  then  pro 
ceeded  to  make  a  settlement  with  the  collateral 
heirs  and  begin  operation  for  the  establishment  of 
the  library.  It  is  now  in  successful  operation, 
Dr.  W.  F.  Poole,  the  librarian  of  the  city  free 
library,  having  been  chosen  by  the  trustees 
librarian  of  the  Newberry  library,  and  a  col- 
lection of  nearly  100,000  volumes  and  IlUXX)  pam- 
phlets are  now  shelved  and  open  to  the  public  in 
a  temporary  building  on  the  corner  of  Oak  and 
State  streets.  The  permanent  building  is  in  pro- 
cess  of   erection   on    the   Ogden    block,  so-called. 


which  is  remembered  as  the  location  on  which 
the  frame  residence  of  the  late  Mahlon  D.  Ogden 
w  as  situated,  which  was  the  only  building  in  that 
section  of  the  city  which  escaped  the  great  fire  of 
1871.  Mr.  Bradley  was  a  member  of  the  Congre- 
gational church.  As  early  as  1831  he  made  pro 
fission  of  his  faith  by  joining  the  Congregational 
church  at  Ridgefield.  and  again  in  1833,  when  he 
went  to  New  Haven.  There  being  no  church  of 
that  denomination  in  Galena,  he  joined  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  that  town  in  1839.  and  served 
as  a  ruling  elder  for  eleven  years.  On  removing 
to  Chicago  he  became  a  member  of  the  New 
England  church,  of  which  he  was  a  deacon.  He 
married  in  May,  1842,  Miss  Idea  Sophronia  Strong, 
daughter  of  Erastus  Strong,  of  North  Branford. 
Connecticut.  Mr.  Bradley  died  in  Chicago.  March 
1.  L892.  His  death,  caused  by  apoplexy,  and  com 
ing  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  was  a  great 
shock  to  his  family  and  friends.  He  was  appar- 
ently in  excellent  health  when  he  left  his  office  a 
short  time  before.  Although  past  seventy-five 
years  of  age  and  not  robust,  he  was  seldom  ill  and 
attended  to  the  duties  of  his  office  regularly  to  the 
day.  and  even  to  the  hour,  of  his  death.  No  honor 
which  love  and  admiration  could  suggest  was 
spared  by  the  great  concourse  assembled  at  the 
New  England  Congregational  Church  on  Sunday, 
March  6th,  to  attend  the  funeral  ceremonies  over 
the  remains  of  William  H.  Bradley.  The  most 
notable  citizens  of  Chicago  were  seen  side  by  side 
with  the  humblest.  The  remains  were  received 
at  the  church  by  a  delegation  from  the  Bar  Asso- 
ciation, selected  by  Judge  Blodgett.  The  hon- 
orary pall-bearers  were:  Judge  W.  Q.  Gresham, 
Judge  H.  W.  Blodgett.  E.  W.  Blatchford,  William 
P.  Poole,  George  Schneider.  John  P.  Wilson,  Gen. 
Joseph  B.  Leake.  Lyman  Baird.  J.  Russell  Jones, 
Edward  S.  Isham.  Philip  A.  Hoyne  and  John  X. 
Jewett.  The  casket  was  borne  by  O.  B.  Green, 
William  Dickinson.  Richard  I.  Field.  William  A. 
Hammond,  Frederick  A.  Root.  William  B.  Wirt. 
George  B.  Carpenter  and  George  K.  Dauchy,  all 
of  whom  were  long-time  friends  of  Mr.  Bradley. 
There  were  many  floral  tributes  from  friends  of 
the  deceased.  The  obsequies  were  conducted  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  S.  F.  Savage,  assisted  by  the  lev. 
Dr.  James  Gibson  Johnson.  In  delivering  the 
funeral  address  Dr.  Savage  said,  in  part: 

•■  We  are  assembled  in  the  house  of  God  under 
the  shadow  of  a  sudden  and  unexpected  grief. 
Without  warning  and  in  a  moment  this  honored 
servant  of  God  has  been  taken  from  earth  to  enter 
the  unseen  workL-this  beloved  father,  brother, 
friend    and    associate    has   entered    into  eternity. 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS 


3s  5 


There  was  no  time  for  farewells  or  for  a  parting 
benediction,  for  he  had  behind  him  the  benedic- 
tion of  a  long  and  useful  life.  He  was  called  away 
suddenly,  as  he  hail  wished  to  be;  ami  he  died 
after  the  manner  of  his  oft-expressed  wish.  "  in 
the  harness."  In  earlyyouth  he  gave  himself  to 
Christ,  ami  for  sixty  years  his  life  was  one  of 
fidelity  and  devotion.  The  life  of  such  a  man  is 
very  precious  to  us,  but  " precious  to  God  is  the 
death  of  his  saints."  We  have  gathered  hereto 
pay  the  last  sail  tributes  of  humanity  to  the  pre 
cious  bodj  of  our  friend,  which  is  still  precious  to 
us,  though  its  soul  has  flown.  But  it  is  not  for 
me  to  speak  at  length  of  him  who  has  gone.  As 
a  citizen  he  was  spirited  and  energetic;  as  a  law- 
yer, able  and  true:  as  a  man.  loyal  and  faithful  to 
the  end  of  his  life.  If  I  were  to  express  all  that  I 
feel  of  him  it  might  seem  like  eulogy,and,  if  those 
silent  lips  could  bul  Bpeak,  they  would  forbid 
such  eulogy.  The  wife  knew  his  love  and  care 
for  almost  fifty  years.  His  children  have  from 
him  the  best  of  legacies,  the  memory  of  a  Chris- 
tian life;  his  pastors  knew  his  fidelity  and  devo 
tion.  He  will  he  sadly  missed  from  his  wonted 
place  in  yonder  chapel,  where  his  voice  was  often 
heard  in  praise  and  in  prayer,  and  he  will  be  sadly 
misseed  in  the  pew  where  he  was  always  a  devout 
worshiper." 

Dr.  Johnson  then  delivered  a  short  address  of 
an  eulogistic  nature,  concluding  with  an  eloquent 
prayer.  The  burial  was  at  Rosehill  and  was  pri- 
vate. To  the  family  and  relatives  were  extended 
many  expressions  of  sincere  sympathy  and  sorrow 
in  the  form  of  resolutions  passed  by  the  directors 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Illinois,  trustees  of  tin- 
New  England  Congregational  Church,  the  clerical 
tope  of  the  Newberry  library,  the  Chicago  Bar 
Association- and  others.  At  a  special  meetii 
the  Chicago  bar,  held  in  the  rooms  of  Judge  H. 
\Y.  Blodgett,  Hon.  E.  Ii.  Sherman.  J.  L.  High.  ex- 
Judge  Brad  well,  Judge  R.  S.  Tuthill  and  H.  W. 
Bishop  were  selected  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  suit- 
able expression  of  the  loss  the  bar  had  sustained. 
and  the  committee  submitted  the  following  me 
nmrial: 

"An  estimable  man.  an  exemplary  and  public- 
spirited  citizen,  has  suddenly  passed  away.  In 
the  midst  of  a  career  of  more  than  ordinary 
promise  and  usefulness,  without  a  moment's 
warning,  he  was  summoned  to  stand  before  the 
Judge  "f  all  the  earth.         *  *  * 

"Mr.  Bradley  was  a  worthy  descendant  of  a 
distinguished  ancestry.  He  was  surrounded  in 
youth  and  early  manhood  by  what  is  more  val- 
uable than  classic  training  or  scientific  research— 
the  subtle  but  powerful  influence  which  con- 
tributes tht»  res  gestce  of  a  typical  New  England 
home.  He  possessed  the  sterling  virtues,  tin-  tin 
faltering  courage,  tin-  patient  persistence  and  the 
wise  caution  which  always  and  everywhere  insure 
success.  Industry,  integrity  and  a  high  sense  of 
h rwere  wrought  into  the  very  fiber  of  his  being. 


He  was  absolutely  incapable  of  injustice.  While 
he  had  a  natural  dignity  which  forbade  undue 
familiarity,  his  life   was  full  of  gentleness,  sweet 

curtesy  and  gracious  deeds.  His  heart  was  a 
perennial  fountain  of  kindness.  He  was  full  of 
generous  impulses  and  his  charities  were  abun- 
dant and  unobtrusive.  He  was  an  ardent  patriot, 
a  true  friend,  and  a  devoted  Christian.  But  his 
rugged  uprightness,  his  transparent  candor,  sim- 
plicity and  sincerity  were  the  chief  charm  and 
crowning  glory  of  his  character,  lb-  was  riot  am- 
bitious, but  he  never  shrank  from  duty  or  respon 
sihility. 

"He  never  sought  place  or  preferment,  bul 
when,    because  of  his  eminent  fitness,   they    were 

a irded    him.    lie  assumed  and    discharged    their 

duties  with  conspicuous  fidelity.  Every  import 
ant  step  was  considered  in  advance,  and  he  was 
never  compelled  to  retrace  his  way.  Self-poised 
and  self  reliant,  he  illustrated  most  admirably  the 
beautiful  epigram  of  Bishop  Hall:  'Moderation 
is  the  silken  string  running  through  the  pearl 
chain  of  all  the  virtues.'  Firm  in  his  conviction 
of  right,  brave  enough  to  express  his  honest  senti- 
ments on  all  occasions,  he  was  yet  so  frank,  so  fair. 
so  considerate  of  the  opinions  of  ..tlnrs  that  he 
won  the  high  esteem  and  warm  regard  of  all  who 
knew  him. 

"Standing  to-day  in  the  somber  shadow  of  his 
tomb,  we  need  not  invoke  the  aid  of  the  friendly 
maxim.  'A//  mortuis  nisi  bonum,'  as  an  excuse 
for  discreet  speech  or  more  discreet  silence,  for 
there  was  nothing  in  his  public  career  or  private 
life  which  charity  would  fain  conceal.  We  can 
recall  no  unjust  act.  no  unkind  word,  no  look 
which  could  wound  tin-  most  sensitive  soul.  His 
life  was  an  open  book  up. m  whose  fair  pages  are 
recorded  only  gracious  words  and  worthy  deeds. 

when is  found  no  disgraceful  stain,  do  careless 

l.lot.  His  character  was  the  incarnation  of  the 
golden  rule,  his  life  its  beautiful  exemplification. 
It  is  of  such  men  that  Emerson  says:  'The  world 
is  upheld  by  tin-  veracity  of  good  men:  they  make 
the  earth  wholesome.  They  who  live  with  them 
find  life  glad  and  nutritious."  Having  tilled  the 
full  measure  of  a  noble  and  useful  life.  'God's 
finger  touched  him  and  he  slept.' 

■He  will  be  greatly  missed  in  t!ie  city  he  has 
done  so  much  to  improve  and  beautify:  in  the 
church  where  he  has  so  long  and  faithfully 
wrought  and  sincerely  worshipped;  by  the  friends 
to  whom  his  companionship  has  been  so  precious; 
the  members  of  the  bar.  whose  relations  to  him 
were  so  pleasant  and  who  entertained  for  him 
such  sincere  respect,  w  ill  miss  his  genial  greeting. 
his  earnest  words,  his  responsive  sympathy,  and 
will  sorrow  most  of  all  that  they  shall  see  his 
face  no  m.  .re 


•Tilt  the  son  grows  cold, 
And  the  stars  are  old, 
And  tlie  leaves  of  the  judgement  hunk  untold. 

•On  tlie  shining  heights  beyond  the  river. 
In  the  beautiful  Ian. I. 
Whose  skies  are  not  like  earthly  skies. 

■  With  varying  hues  of  shade  ami  light, 
Which  Initli  ti. i  in-.'. i  of  suns  t..  rise 
Tn  dissipate  the  gloom  of  night.' 


I'.KHIKAl'HY   OK    ILLINOIS. 


"He  has  entered  upon  an  immortal  life.  There 
he  awaits  our  tardier  footsteps." 

Mr.  Bradley  is  survived  by  bis  widow,  who  for 
some  time  past  lias  been  in  delicate  health,  and 
throe  children  William  Harrison  Bradley,  the 
American  Consul  at  Nice,  Italy,  Mrs.  Victor  K. 
Lawson,  of  Chicago,  and  Miss  Anna  M.Bradley. 


HENRY    W.   BLODGETT. 

JUDGE  HENRY  WILLIAMS  BLODGETT 
was  I. urn  in  1821,  in  the  town  of  Amherst.  Massa- 
chusetts, where  his  father  was  in  business  as  a 
blacksmith.  Hismotherwas  a  woman  of  superior 
education  and  refinement,  and  both  his  parents 
were  sincere  and  earnest  people,  and  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  correct  training  and  development  of 
their  children.  They  removed  to  Illinois  when 
Henry  was  about  ten  years  of  age.  Here  the  boy 
received  a  public  school  education,  and  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  went  to  Amherst  Academy  for  one 
year.  Returning  to  Illinois,  he  engaged  in  teach 
ing  school,  and  subsequently  in  land  surveying 
until  he  reached  his  twenty-first  year.  In  1842  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  J.  Y. 
Scammon  and  Norman  B.  Judd,  in  Chicago,  and 

was  admitted   to  the   bar  in    184."),  when  h m 

menced  practice  at  Waukegan.  Illinois.  He  had 
from  boyhood  been  impressed  with  a  strong  sense 
of  the  iniquity  of  slavery,  which  had  become  a 
source  of  burning  contention  in  the  councils  of 
the  nation,  destined  to  grow  fiercer  and  fiercer 
until  it  culminated  in  rebellion  and  civil  war. 
The  party  who  were  known  as  Abolitionists  had 
just  formed  their  national  organization,  and  their 
advocates  pursued  their  agitation  in  the  face  of 
the  bitterest  opposition  and  persecution  on  the 
part  of  the  friends  of  slavery.  This  agitation  was 
just  beginning  when  Judge  Blodgett  was  a  boy, 
and  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  anti-slavery 
party,  of  which  he  remained  a  firm  and  loyal  ad- 
herent until  its  principles  were  triumphant.  In 
1811  he  voted  the  anti  slavery  ticket  at  the 
most  closely  contested  presidential  election 
in  our  history,  except  that  of  1876.  In  1852 
he  was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Illi- 
nois, being  the  first  avowed  anti-slavery  mem 
ber  who  ever  occupied  a  seat  in  that  body,  and  in 
the  following  year  was  elected  to  the  State  Sen 
ate.  \s  a  legislator  he  was  largely  instrumental 
in  promoting  the  development  of  the  resources  of 


Illinois  by  internal  improvements,  and  otherwise 
assisted  in  shaping  the  legislative  history  of  the 
commonwealth.  In  1855,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  subsequently,  he  was  associated  with  the 
legal  department  of  the  Chicago  and  Northwest- 
ern Railway,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  project 
ors.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  the  building  of  the 
railway,  originally  known  as  the  Chicago  and 
Milwaukee  Railroad,  along  the  lake  shore  from 
Chicago  to  Milwaukee,  and  was  identified  with  it 
in  the  several  capacities  of  attorney,  director  and 
president.  He  procured  the  charter  for  the  road, 
and  to  his  efforts  and  personal  influence  was 
mainly  due  the  securing  of  the  money  necessary 
for  its  construction.  A  few  years  later  tie  was 
solicitor  of  the  Michigan  Southern,  Fort  Wayne. 
Rock  Island  and  Northwestern  railroads,  and  the 
volume  of  business  which  passed  under  his  care 
while  thus  engaged  in  the  employ  of  these  four 
roads  was  something  enormous.  He  only  retired 
when  the  business  reached  such  proportions  that 
it  was  impossible  for  one  man  to  attend  to  it.  As 
a  railroad  solicitor  he  was  regarded  as  the  peer,  if 
not  the  superior  of  anyone  in  the  Northwest. 
During  all  these  years  he  had  been  industrious 
and  studious,  and  formed  habits  of  patient  atten- 
tion to  details  and  of  minute  investigation  which 
have  characterized  him  throughout  his  subse- 
quent career.  Judge  Blodgett  married,  on  the 
29th  of  April.  1850,  MissAlathea  Crocker,  daughter 
of  Hon.  Amos  Crocker,  of  Hamilton,  Madison 
county.  New  Y'ork.  Mr.  Crocker  was  one  of  the 
oldest  merchants  of  that  town,  and  a  member  of 
both  branches  of  the  Legislature  of  the  state  of 
New  York.  He  died  there  in  1857.  Five  children 
wen-  born  of  this  marriage,  only  two  of  whom 
survive  Mrs.  Lansing  Warren  and  Caroline 
A lathea,  unmarried.  Mrs.  Blodgett  died  in  Octo- 
ber, 1886.  In  1870  Judge  Blodgett  was  appointed 
by  President  Grant  judge  of  the  United  States 
District  Court  for  the  Northern  District  of  Illinois. 
He  still  holds  that  position,  although  the  period 
of  sen  ice  which  would  entitle  him  to  be  placed  on 
the  retired  list  with  a  pension  expired  over  a  year 
ago.  but  as  his  health  is  still  firm  and  his  capacity 
for  work  unimpaired;  he  has.  by  the  advice  'of  his 
associates.  Justice  Harlan  and  Judge  Gresham, 
decided  not  to  resign  for  thepresent.  During  the 
twenty  years  and  over  that  he  has  occupied  a  seat 
on  the  federal  bench  many  and  various  litigations 
have  been  conducted  before  him,  involving  issues 
of  great  importance,  in  which  the  most  distin- 
guished lawyers  of  this  and  other  states  have 
been  engaged  as   counsel.     The   retrospect  must 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   ILLINOIS. 


587 


be  full  of  interest  to  the  Judge  himself,  but  it  isnot 
less  so  to  the  student  of  the  hist  my  of  Western  ju- 
risprudence. To  mention  only  a  few  of  the  emi- 
nent lawyers  who  have  pleaded  their  cases  before 
him  Lssufflcient  to  carry  the  mi  ml  back  to  days  and 
events  that  have  now  become  historical,  and  to  a 
generation  that  has  almost  passed  away.  Roscoe 
Conkling  came  here  from  New  York  to  argue  a 
great  corporation  case;  Col.  Robert  G.  Ingersoll 
has  many  times  been  an  advocate  in  Judge 
Blodgett's  court  l>i«th  before  and  since  his 
removal  to  New  York  City;  in  a  long  list 
of  important  controversies.  Chief  Justice  l'ul 
ler  was  a  familiar  figure  in  the  same  forum; 
Lyman  Trumbull  and  James  R.  Doolittle  were 
frequent  pleaders  before  him;  Senator  Matt  Car- 
penter, of  Wisconsin,  and  many  others  from  other 
states,  who  were  prominent  actors  in  the  history 
of  this  country  during  and  since  the  Civil  War.  in 
■  .  1  i  and  hi  the  Held,  have  appeared  as  advo- 
cates and  conducted  trials  in  the  court  presided 
over  bj  Judge  Blodgett.  Every  Chicago  lawyer 
of  high  standing,  and  the  leading  lawyers  from 
the  interior  of  the  state,  have  practiced  in  his 
court  during  that  period.  After  the  panic  of  1873, 
an  enormous  mass  of  business  was  thrown  into  the 
federal  court  of  Chicago  in  consequence  of  the 
embarrassment  of  railroads  and  other  corporations 
that  were  obliged  to  take  advantage  of  the  pro- 
visions of  the  then  existing  bankruptcy  law.  and 
with  all  of  these  cases  Judge  Blodgett  was  called 
upon  to  deal  in  his  judicial  capacity.  The  prose- 
cution of  the  distillers  and  government  officers 
charged  with  a  conspiracy  to  defraud  the  revenue 
in  1876  still  further  increased  the  pressure  of  work 
that  was  imposed  upon  the  judge  during  the  first 
decade  of  his  services.  In  the  disposition  of  all 
these  litigations,  many  of  which  were  voluminous 
and  protracted,  and  keenly  contested  by  the 
brightest  and  ablest  lawyers  of  the  day.  Judge 
Blodgett  so  comported  himself  as  to  win  the  gen- 
eral respect  and  admiration  of  the  bar.  All  were 
struck  by  the  laborious  industry   with  which  he 


strove  t aster  the  minutest  detail  of  every  case, 

the  acuteness  and  penetration  with  which  he 
grasped  their  essential  points,  the  clearness  of  his 
logic  in  applying  the  law,  and  the  general  fair- 
ness of  his  decisions.  Considering  the  variety 
of  the  issues  which  have  been  tried  before  him 
for  he  sits  as  a  criminal  as  well  as  a  common  law, 
admiralty,  and  chancery  judge,  and  was  for  several 
years  a  judge  in  bankruptcy  as  well.  Judge  Blod- 
gett  has  been  for  over  twenty  years  one  of  tin- 
hardest  working  judges  in  the  country.  It  would 
he  surprising  if  in  all  that  time  there  were  not  some 
who,  whether  as  suitors  or  as  advocates  before 
him.  were  dissatisfied  with  his  rulings,  hut  the 
general  sentiment  of  the  bar  towards  him  is  that 
of  unqualified  respect  as  an  upright,  conscientious 
and  painstaking  judge.  In  his  charges  to  juries, 
he  is  guided  solely  by  the  facts  in  evidence,  and 
the  law  applicable  to  them.  His  derisions  are 
stated  in  perspicuous  and  simple  language,  with- 
out any  ornament  of  style,  and  in  such  a  manner 
as  not  to  he  misunderstood.  They  are  always 
terse  anil  concise,  and  embody  just  tin'  exact 
words  necessary  to  express  clearly  and  unmistak- 
ably his  meaning.  One  feature  of  his  career  on 
the  bench  must  not  pass  unnoticed.  He  has  al- 
ways taken  a  lively  interest  in  mechanical  inven- 
tions of  all  kinds,  and  has  made  himself  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  the  patent  laws.  So  satis 
factory  has  been  his  disposition  of  the  numerous 
patent  cases  which  have  come  before  him,  that 
the  lawyers  practicing  in  his  court  who  devote 
themselves  to  patent  law  as  a  specialty  have  for- 
mally expressed  their  regret  at  his  approaching 
retirement,  and  urged  upon  the  President  and 
Senate  of  the  United  States  the  desirableness  of 
appointing  as  his  successor  a  judge  who  has  some 
knowledge  of  patent  law.  On  the  organization  of 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  for" 
the  seventh  circuit,  in  June.  1891,  Judge  Blod- 
gett was  designated  by  Justice  Harlan  and  Judge 
Gresham  to  act  as  the  third  judge  in  that  court, 
and  he   is  still  a  member  of  it. 


UStfTY  OF  .LL1M01S-UHBJW* 


■ft  farm 


